Chocolate Tasting

Looking for a classy spot with budget-friendly bites and drinks? Join Social Sips & Bites for an upscale happy hour with unbeatable deals! This will be a small and fun group.

Visit us at http://1792.toastmastersclubs.org/ Light dinner is at 6:30 PM. The meeting promptly starts at 7:00 PM. The agenda comprise of: • Pledge of Allegiance, • Toastmaster of the Evening leads the meeting, • Thought of the Day, • Joke of the Day, • Formal Speakers, • Table Topics, • General Evaluation & Evaluation of Speakers, • Timers Report, • Selection of Best Speaker, Table Topic, and Evaluator, • Adjourn

World Learning Toastmasters Club meetings are held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. We are a fun loving group of professionals looking to develop our public speaking and leadership skills. Take a break from your work and come join us for a fun afternoon. All guests are welcome! Closest Metro station: Either McPherson Square (white house exit) or Farragut North. For more information about the club, please visit http://worldlearningtoastmasters.toastmastersclubs.org/

Come out to the Reston Community Center and play some games! Party games? Strategy games? Tabletop role-playing games? This massive space can accommodate games for every interest. While the event starts at 5pm, feel free to roll in whenever you are able! If you have games to bring that you'd like to share or run, please do! Food and drink are not provided within the venue, but you are allowed to bring in anything you need from outside locations, just please be considerate of other people's games and the tables when doing so. Park anywhere in the parking lot. The Community Center building is located directly behind Ledo Pizza. Walk straight back to the main room once you enter the building. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to either David Gray or Bill Parker through Meetup, or you can email Bill at william.parker@fairfaxcounty.gov. Hope to see you all there!

The Social Collectives is an open Facebook group and a place where you can connect with people who are driven, ambitious, and looking to grow in their business. We'll share insights on how we've achieved success and provide helpful referrals to support one another while building meaningful relationships that will help us grow together! In-person meet-ups take the digital and bring it to life, and there is no cost to attend. Please park in the back of the building and not in front of the main entrance to allow the lunch crowd space to park. Stay for lunch and continue the conversation.

Start at the old train depot. After the run, we'll meet at Mile 20 for a drink! Run starts at 6:45 pm we will head toward Sterling tonight. Run at your own pace out and back. 2 mile runners turn around at Crestview Drive. 3 mile runners turn around at Tamarack Court. 3.5 & 4 - No cross streets in this stretch. You're on your own. :-) 5 mile runners - turn around at Sterling Blvd.

Please join DMV Wine Explorers on Thursday February 12th at Total Wine Ballston at 6:30PM for a wine and chocolate pairing class. \*\* Tickets are $20 and can be purchased [here](https://www.totalwine.com/class/wine-and-chocolate-a-perfect-pair/ballston/virginia/e/ec714779) \*\* Some things really are better together. Wine and chocolate! Pairing the right wine with the right chocolate creates new and unexpected tastes to delight the senses. Featuring premiere chocolate from a world-famous maker, this is a delish class for wine lovers with a sweet tooth!

Bonsoir à tous! Venez nombreux pour causer autour d'un repas ou d'un verre chez La Madeleine. On n'a que deux règles: (1) qu'on y parle exclusivement le français et (2) qu'on achète quelque chose à boire ou à manger (c'est La Madeleine qui le demande). Merci et à bientôt!

Social Sips & Bites — DC Rockers Winter 2026 Showcase Social Sips & Bites friends, we’re heading to the DC Rockers Winter 2026 Showcase- an all-ages, afternoon-to-night celebration of Rock ’n’ Roll through the decades. Five bands. Five decades. One epic day. Each band performs a full 1-hour tribute set, so come early, stay late, or drop in anytime. Lineup & set times • 2:00 PM – Barco Loungers • 3:30 PM – The Redactions • 5:00 PM – The Wanderers • 6:30 PM – The Spirographs • 8:00 PM – Dad Bod **Event fee: $15** Questions or Tickets : Email: ericSeisler@yahoo.com Easy vibes, great music, and classic Social Sips & Bites energy. RSVP and let’s rock winter 2026 together. https://www.unionstagepresents.com/shows/dc-rockers-15-feb

**A deliciously grounding 1-hour workshop that turns chocolate into a calming and quieting experience for your mind and body.** Instead of rushing through a treat, you’ll learn how to slow down, engage your senses, and savor the moment. Through a guided sensory meditation, you’ll experience chocolate in a whole new way, tuning into the subtle shifts and offering a gentle reset for your nervous system. There will be a variety of chocolates to choose from and you will discover how a single bite can become a grounding ritual of presence and pleasure. The sweetness will continue after the workshop ends, as you'll be invited to take some chocolate home to enjoy later...a simple reminder to slow down and relish life’s moments. **Investment: $20 \| EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: $15 \(register by 2/6\)** *Registration deadline is Wed 2/11* Led by Mojgan Pourmand, Psy.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist

Join us for a high-energy night of live music with one of the popular DC-area bands! Diamond Alley brings the perfect mix of today’s top hits, crowd-favorite covers, and original music, all in a fun, lively atmosphere. We’ll be hanging out and partying with our friends from NOVA Live, so expect great vibes, a fantastic crowd, and nonstop energy all night. Great music. Great people. See you at Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern.

# Happy Birthday, You’re Dead Written and Directed by Terry Smith Produced by Jerri Wiseman ***You are invited to a surprise birthday party for Candy Crush, a D-list actor. She’s the hottest ticket in town. But her birthday party isn’t the only surprise she will get tonight! Someone’s about to be murdered. Only you can prevent this from happening before it’s game over. To miss this would be a crime.*** February 14 at Casanel Winery in Leesburg (with dinner) Casanel Winery, 17956 Canby Road, Leesburg, VA 20175 6:30pm Doors open and dinner buffet starts. 7:15pm Show starts. There will be a 15-20-minute intermission. Tickets: $77 plus ticketing fee and sales tax / $72 for Wine Club members plus ticketing fee and sales tax (see Casanel Winery for promo code) includes the show, catered dinner and dessert by Pure Perfection Catering. Menu: Baby Greens Salad with Truffle Croutons, Dried Tart Cherries, and Confit Tomatoes with Pesto Vinaigrette Dressing. Baked Salmon with Saffron Sauce. Herb Seared Chicken with Mushroom Sauce. Roasted Mixed Vegetables. Scalloped Potatoes. Rolls with Butter. Chocolate Cheesecake. Unsweetened Iced Tea. Coffee. Special meals can be accommodated with 48 hours’ notice. Wine will be available for separate purchase. ### [Buy tickets for Casanel Winery. ](https://www.stagecoachtc.com/happy-birthday-youre-dead/) You must buy a ticket to attend. An RSVP here will not save you a seat.

Social Sips & Bites… We accidentally found out it’s Ann’s birthday 👀 And as a group that never misses food, drinks, or a perfectly good excuse to celebrate… we’ve decided to politely crash her birthday party Come laugh, sip, snack, and help us convince Ann this was always the plan. Because let’s be honest, birthdays are better with great people and zero warning See you there

Join Social Sips & Bites for our Wednesday Happy Hour. Great drinks, easy conversation, new faces, familiar faces, and that signature SSB energy that turns a simple night out into something memorable. https://m.ruthschris.com/home/tysons-corner/7341

Had to shift this to the third Wednesday of the month in February (instead of the usual second Wednesday), hope you can make it! While the initial limit is for 8 people, if there is sufficient interest I will ask Verre if the can make space for 12 of us, and will update the event listing accordingly. **EVENT STARTS AT 6PM. PLEASE BE PROMPT.** 🍷What is blind wine tasting?🍷 You use your sense of smell, sight, and taste to try to deduce which variety (grape) is in the glass. This group is very experience-diverse and we welcome both wine newbies and wine pros (and everyone in between). Verre will pour us two wine flights, one white and one red (3 of each, so a total of 6 wine samples) and we will discuss what we are tasting to try to solve the mystery together. After each flight is a big reveal where we find out just how right (or wrong!) we were. Diana will let us know the possible wines we are going on grid tonight. Please arrive at **6:00pm**. The white wine flight is served around 6:10 and the red flight around 6:50. The cost will be about $15 per flight, depending on what is poured for us. Food and other wine will be available for purchase as well. 🍷RSVPs: Verre has a limited amount of table space and is reserving much of that space for our group. Out of consideration to the business, the event hosts, and anyone on the wait list, **please edit your RSVP as soon as possible if your plans change** and you can no longer attend the event, **even if you are on the wait list**. 🍷Transportation: * METRO: Verre Wine Bar is walking distance from Courthouse metro. * CAR: Metered street parking and paid garage parking are available in the area. Hope to see you there! \~Pete Waitlisted Friends! \*PLEASE\* keep an eye on this page and your messages especially close to the day of the event. Thanks!

Ladies of Social Sips and Bites- if you have been thinking about a girls’ day out, this event is for you! We will meet at the Fairfax Corner movie theatre to see the 1:15 showing of Wuthering Heights. Please purchase your ticket next to seats G24 and G25 so that we can all sit together. Please reserve your seat here: https://www.cinemark.com/ticket-seat-map/ Following the movie, we will go to Uncle Julio’s for an early dinner together in Fairfax Corner. It is walkable from the theatre. For payment at the restaurant, we are able to do separate checks. We really look forward to seeing you there and spending time together. New members are welcome. Please check your Meet Up settings to ensure that you can communicate with the organizers before the event. We will be reaching out to confirm RSVP’s the week of the event so that all those that are interested can attend.

The next NoVABeerSec event - "Informal Gathering of Security Minds Over Beer'' will be Wednesday, February 25th, 5:30PM til 7ish at Crooked Run Fermentation (22455 Davis Drive, Sterling, VA ). **BONUS** there is a Senor Ramon Taqueria as part of the brewery; so it will be a “Taco Wednesday” for everyone ;) **Venue for February:** Crooked Run Fermentation (https://crookedrunfermentation.com/sterling-virginia-2/) - Crooked Run Fermentation is a Virginia-based producer of contemporary and traditional beers, coolship sours, natural wines, ciders, and seltzers. Started in 2013 in Leesburg, Virginia, Crooked Run has developed a following for creative and nuanced beverages across a variety of styles, from lagers to IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, sours, and beyond beer. In 2017, we opened our main production facility in Sterling, Virginia, and will open a third location in northeast DC in 2022. Opened in 2017, the Sterling location features a bustling taproom, outdoor biergarten, 10 BBL brewhouse, and best of all, TACOS! Senor Ramon Taqueria offers a full menu of tacos, quesadillas, empanadas, and more. Come relax with 12 beers on tap, weekend live music, and some great food! If you're biking, we're right off the W&OD Trail. **Additional Info:** We are an inclusive group, so if we missed anyone please let us know or if you want to bring your significant other/spouse please do. Have a great week and see you later this month! Cheers, Rinaldi Rampen & Mike McCabe of @NoVABeerSec

### **BIG Dreams ✨** **Soundscape Journey & Heart-Opening Cacao Ceremony** *An invitation to honor the call of your heart* 🐎 🗓 **Thursday, February 19th** ⏰ **7:00–8:45 PM** 📍 **Mind Body Paloma**, Oakton, VA (Full address shared after registration) Join us for a nourishing evening designed to support clarity, intention, and heart-centered connection during the Year of the Horse—a symbol of momentum, inner power, and aligned forward movement. We’ll begin with a **soundscape journey**, using calming sounds and vibrations to help the body relax, the mind settle, and awareness turn inward. This creates a receptive space where intentions can be felt and grounded, allowing your dreams to be gently anchored in the body. Following the soundscape, we’ll gather for a **heart-opening cacao ceremony** led by **Kristine Kelly**, a longevity chef and holistic nutrition coach with experience studying cacao and earth-based healing practices in wellness communities around the world. Participants will enjoy ceremonial-grade cacao prepared with intention, followed by guided reflection, journaling, and gentle conversation. This portion focuses on clarifying what you are choosing to nourish in your life and what you’re ready to release, so your dreams can unfold with greater alignment and ease. **This experience is ideal if you’re seeking:** • Heart-centered connection • A supportive space for reflection • Meaningful community • Intentions set without pressure • A calming, restorative evening 💫 **Cost:** $80 ✨ **Space is limited. Advance registration required.** 👉 **Register here:** https://events.humanitix.com/big-dreams-a-cacao-and-soundscape-event Learn more: 🌐 [www.mindbodypaloma.com](http://www.mindbodypaloma.com) 📸 Instagram: @mindbodypaloma