Local History & Culture

Great vibe here! The owner has a passion for cafe culture and it shows in everything they do here. Come out for some relaxed downtime.

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.

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!

Ages 3–6 Bring your energy and imagination to play and make new friends. We will have various toys and games for little ones to play freely.

*Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy registration requested at* [The Disappearance and Persistence of Bees (Virtual) - Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy](https://loudounwildlife.org/event/persistent-native-bees/) The demise and disappearance of bees is well documented, yet bees still persist. Wildlife biologist Sam Droege shares a more nuanced look at the current state of native bees based on his research. This presentation is co-sponsored by the Loudoun County Public Library and Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. ***Questions:*** *Contact [info@loudounwildlife.org](mailto:info@loudounwildlife.org)*.

I’ve heard there’s a good vibe here. A recommendation and good reviews tells me this is a good stop. Lots of seating and good espresso should make this a great experience for anyone who can make it. Bring a thirst for relaxed conversation, and we’ll get along fine. (No discussions on politics, religion or potentially controversial topics. We're here to relax and have fun. Just be respectful and we'll be alright. Pay your own way, and enjoy!)

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“The Hidden Cleopatra,”** an excavation through myth and slander to uncover the real Egyptian queen, with Jacquelyn Williamson, an Egyptologist and associate professor of archaeology and ancient art at George Mason University. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/hidden-cleopatra](https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/profsandpints/hidden-cleopatra) .] Depictions of Cleopatra are abundant in popular culture. A long list of painters have depicted her, Marilyn Monroe and Kim Kardashian have posed as her, and Vivien Leigh and Elizabeth Taylor famously portrayed her in Hollywood films. At the end of the day, however, what most of us think we know about Cleopatra is wrong, the product of the ancient Rome’s “fake news” and anti-Egypt propaganda. Learn about the real Cleopatra—and how our understanding of her came to be so distorted—with Professor Jacquelyn Williamson, scholar of women and power in ancient Egypt, teacher of courses on ancient Egyptian art and archaeology, and author of *Nefertiti’s Sun Temple: A New Cult Complex at Tell el-Amarna.* Dr. Williamson will walk us through how the first Roman emperor, Octavian, created the distorted image of Cleopatra as seductress that we know today as part of his political scheming to defeat his rival Antony and end the Roman Republic once and for all. Cleopatra has been the subject of debate and controversy ever since. William Shakespeare later relied on ancient Roman sources such as Horace and Plutarch in writing *Antony and Cleopatra*, and his play helped give rise to countless other works offering a distorted picture of her. Professor Williamson argues that “Cleopatra was a human being, like you and I,” and “deserves the dignity of being represented as accurately as possible.” Her efforts to set the record straight have met frustration, however—after being extensively interviewed for the recent Netflix historical docuseries Queen Cleopatra, she concluded that it, too, had missed the mark. You’ll gain a much deeper appreciation of the challenges of researching and accurately depicting the ancient past from Dr. Williamson, who also has taught at Harvard, Brandeis, and the University of California at Berkeley and is involved with an ongoing archaeological investigation of Queen Nefertiti’s sun temple. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image: Layla Taj portrays Cleopatra VII as part of an Egyptian Cultural Performing Arts Society production. (Photo by Amos Gvili / Wikimedia Commons.)

🎤✨ Karaoke Night at Crafthouse – Fairfax! ✨🍻 Get ready for a fun night of music, food, and drinks at Crafthouse in Fairfax! Whether you’re a shower singer or a stage superstar, grab the mic and sing your heart out, or just sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. 🍔 Great food 🍹 Awesome drinks 🎶 Karaoke vibes 👯‍♀️ Good company Karaoke Starts at 8PM, but Happy Hour ends at 7:00 PM, so make sure to arrive before 7 PM if you want discounted drinks! Come hungry, thirsty, and come ready to sing. Let’s make it a night to remember! 🎵 See you there! Menu: https://mhme.nu/lp/fdc79f82-322b-404e-b905-6ce3342abf31 Please note: if you are unable to make it please remove your RSVP at least 24 hours before the event. Organizer reserves the right to remove no-shows from the group.

[Profs and Pints Northern Virginia](https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc) presents: **“Satanic Panics,”** a look at waves of fear of demonic activity as an American tradition, with Luxx Mishou, cultural historian and former instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy and area community colleges. [Advance tickets: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Available at [https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-satanic-panics2](https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/nv-satanic-panics2) .] The 1980s found the United States gripped by fear of Satanic cults targeting children. They were believed to be corrupting young ones in daycare centers and tempting teens through subliminal messages on heavy metal albums or through the quiet inclusion of demonic rituals in role-playing games. Satanic serial killers supposedly stalked the suburbs. Doctors helped patients uncover what were claimed to be repressed memories of ritualistic satanic abuse. Parents, police, and politicians were urged to protect impressionable youths from both moral and physical danger. With Satanic cults deemed to be a real and material threat, it was a frightening time for everyone, including those who suddenly came under suspicion for doing evil deeds. Then, suddenly, it all faded from public consciousness, just as surely as did eighties fads such mullet haircuts, leg warmers, and Cabbage Patch Kids. Why did it all start? Why did it stop? And has this happened before or since? Hear such questions tackled by Luxx Mishou, a cultural historian and media specialist who has long researched the devious and villainous in cultural artifacts. She’ll discuss moral panics as a longstanding cultural tradition, with each new one stemming from fear of cultural shifts and shaped by the time and place where it occurred. Among the panics we’ll look into are the Red Scare of the 1950s and the public response to the gruesome 1969 murders committed by the Manson Family. Delving into the 1980s panic, Mishou will describe how it began with the 1980 publication of psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder’s memoir *Michelle Remembers*, detailing the suppressed memories of ritualistic abuse reportedly suffered by a patient. As that book quickly became a best seller, its ideas saturated American culture. A California daycare center became the focus of a three-year investigation, followed by three years of trials, based on allegations that its owner had engaged in secret ritualistic abuse of the children in its care. Mishou will lead you through the media that convinced the public that devil worshipers were among them, and she’ll talk about how reactions to imagined threats can have very real social costs. (Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.) Image by Canva.

In celebration of Black History Month, we are hosting a special 4-mile Black history hike that highlights some of our mountains’ historic peoples who persevered under improbable conditions and in some cases, quite literally, carved a family legacy out of the mountains’ quarries. For this special event, we are welcoming back past Cultural History Fellow Barinaale Dube, where she will join VOF staff in bringing the stories of historic Black homesteaders to the fore, with new information uncovered by a team of contributors partnering with VOF to help us better understand BRMNAP’s cultural resources and diversely-peopled past. To Bring: This is a moderate hike due to its length, with potential for mud and weather, so be prepared with hiking shoes, water, snacks, bug spray, tissues, rain gear, AND sunblock! There are no facilities at the preserve, but there is a porta-john towards the end of Beverly Mill Drive, next to the contact station trailer. As a friendly reminder, to keep this Natural Area Preserve as wild as possible, we do not allow pet dogs, even on leashes, on our trails. Meetup Specific: Spaces are limited. Please RSVP if you intend to go. If you RSVP and find you can no longer attend, please cancel so that those on the waiting list may have a chance to attend. Thank you! For questions you may have or for more information, please email Preserve Manager, Joe Villari at jvillari@vof.org

Personally, I think this is the best kept secret in Leesburg. During the week, the owner rents out her cafe for private events, but on the weekends, it’s a cozy botanical cafe where you can get a beautiful plant to bring home after a good convo over a latte. In warmer weather, there’s a hidden patio in the back, where you can enjoy some tree-shaded privacy. Limited pastries and seating, but plenty of parking in the town garage across the street. Please join me, and add this to your itinerary next time you’re in Leesburg.

We will be participating in a trivia night event at Ballston Local in Arlington on Monday. Trivia starts at 7 pm. The location is in proximity to the Ballston Metro Station if you plan on taking public transportation. Parking: There may be free street parking in the nearby residential neighborhoods (perhaps between Wilson and Carlin Springs). Otherwise, paid street or paid parking garage (Ballston Quarter Mall is a garage a few blocks away). Maximum number of members on a team is 6. To ensure you get a spot on a trivia team: * Please arrive by 6:45 PM, or notify the hosts that you are running late by 6:45 PM. If you arrive after 6:45 or don't notify the hosts, you are not guaranteed a spot on a trivia team and may need to form your own, separate team. * Please RSVP so we know to expect you. Don't be like Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn from Wedding Crashers and crash a trivia event. \-\-\-\-\-\-\-\-\- If you have Instagram, you can check out our account at asiandiningandadventuregroup for photos and announcements of group outings!

Cool cafe just south of the historic district in Leesburg. Their food menu offers options that stray from the norm. Friendly staff and good music compliment the vibe here, where you can get the standard espresso drinks and enjoy some (much needed?) downtime. There's dedicated parking, and we shouldn't have trouble finding seating. Come out and, if you like, take a walk through downtown Leesburg afterwards.

KPot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot opened in November. I have not eaten there but have a 20% off coupon for groups of 8 or more. Why not give it a try? **THE RULES:** * Everyone at the table must have the Korean BBQ and Hot Pot option. * The cost will be approximately $30 plus tax and tip. * I will pay the entire food bill and EVERYONE will pay me back in Cash or Venmo. * Drinks will be paid for by the individuals who ordered them. * Space is limited! If you sign up and then can't make it please update your RSVP. * Do not sign up if you do not agree to the rules listed above. [Click here to view their website](https://thekpot.com/) Let's be adventurous and have fun!