Send community notes to the Connection at mclean@connectionnewspapers.com or 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean VA 22102. Call 703-917-6449 with questions.
The McLean Farmers’ Market, located at Lewinsville Park on Chain Bridge Road, will open on Friday, May 4, and with the exception of McLean Day on May 18, will be open until November 16. Market hours are 8:30am to 12:30pm each Friday. New features this year include vendors selling honey, ice cream and lamb dishes.
The Great Falls Garden Club is holding a flower show and annual plant sale at the Great Falls Community Library on Georgetown Pike. The flower show will be open to the public Friday, May 4, 4-6 p.m. and Saturday, May 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The plant sale will be held Saturday May 5, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
The theme of this year’s flower show is “The Elements: Earth, Fire, Wind and Water.” For more information about the Great Falls Garden Club, contact Membership Chair Caroline Van Wagoner at 703-430-9030.
Northern Virginia Family Service needs 15-20 volunteers for its annual Road to Independence Gala on Friday, May 4, 6-11 p.m. The event will be held at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner hotel at 7920 Jones Branch Drive, McLean. Participants will assist with greeting guests, silent and live auctions, raffle, information table, and clean up. Appropriate attire required: suit & tie or tuxedo for men, cocktail or evening dress for women. Minimum age is 16. For information or to volunteer contact Ann Granger at 703-219-2193 or volunteer@nvfs.org. Visit www.nvfs.org.
The McLean Branch of the American Association of University Women will be collecting used books, CD’s, tapes, videos and software on Saturdays, May 5 and 19 at the Sun Trust Bank, 515 Maple Ave. E in Vienna. The collections will be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. No records, textbooks or encyclopedias will be accepted. Children’s books are needed. Similar collections will take place June 9 and 23 as well as July 14 and 28. For further information call 703-726-6470 or e-mail DSNUSN@aol.com.
Household Hazardous Waste Disposal, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, May 5 at the Public Works Maintenance and Utility Complex, 1481 Sterling Road, Herndon. Accepted waste items include acids, automobile fluids, fluorescent bulbs, fungicides, gasoline, herbicides, insecticides, mercury products, oil-based paint, paint thinner, pesticides, poisons, pool chemicals and rechargeable batteries. Fairfax County residents only; proof of residency required. No business or commercial waste will be accepted. Contact the Department of Public Works at 703-435-6853.
The Tire Rack Street Survival program is returning to the area. Teenagers get hands-on learning about how their actions govern a car’s responses, what the limits of their vehicles are and how to avoid accidents entirely. Students use their own vehicles so that the skills they learn can be directly translated to their own daily driving experiences. The program will be at the ADESA Auto Auction, 43375 Old Ox Road, Dulles, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.
Tire Rack Street Survival is open to permitted and licensed drivers ages 16-21. Registration forms can be found online at www.streetsurvival.org. The cost is $60 per student and some insurance companies offer premium discounts to graduates.
The USO of Metropolitan Washington and the Joint Employment Transition Services will present its second-annual Military Spouse Career Expo on Saturday, May 5, at the Barden Education Center at Fort Belvoir, 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The program will include workshops on federal jobs, self-employment, alternative careers, resume-writing and more. The day will also include a Job Fair, featuring employers from associations, businesses and federal agencies. Information on home-based businesses will also be available. Complimentary breakfast and lunch is included.
Attendance is free to any military spouse, but registration is required. To get a registration form, visit www.USOMetroDC.org. For information, contact Vicki.Mullen@belvoir.army.mil.