<b>Take Aim
</b>Bull Run Shooting Center
7700 Bull Run Drive, Centreville
703-830-2344
Located in Bull Run Regional Park, the Bull Run Shooting Center is a hunter’s or archer’s delight — with skeet and trap, sporting clays, a renovated indoor archery range, and an archery and gun pro shop. Five people may occupy each of the five skeet and trap shooting fields, and 14 clay-shooting spots are available.
Cost: shooting skeet and trap is $5.50/round; sporting clays are $20/round for 50 targets; five-stand is $8/round. Shotgun rentals are $11 for the day, and $6.50 for a box of ammunition. Take the learn-to-shoot class for $30/person. Group and corporate shoots can handle 6 to 120 people. Archery lanes are $5.25/hour. (Must bring archery equipment). The shooting center is open Wed.-Fri. 4-8 p.m.; Sat.-Sun. 9-5 p.m. Closed Mondays. Go to:
nvrpa.org. Click on the Bull Run Shooting Center link.
<b>Shadowland Laser Adventures
</b>4300 Chantilly Shopping Center, Chantilly
703-263-1004
<bt>Ever tried laser tag? At Shadowland Laser Adventures, you can strap on a lightweight, high-tech suit and enter the 6,500 sq. ft. multi-level carpeted arena with 40 other players. With your handset, remotely "tag" other players as you sneak around the darkened, fog-filled maze to earn points for yourself and your team. Also tag wall-mounted hardware in the arena to earn special "powers" to improve your ability to play. Ages 6 and up, individuals, families, youth groups, summer camps, scout troops, business team building.
Hours: Mon.-11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tues.-Thur. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; Fri. 11 a.m.-midnight; Sat. 10 a.m.-midnight; Sun. 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Cost per person: single play $7.75; double play $14.75; triple play is $20.50 per person. Walk-in groups of six to 14 playing two adventures are $13.50 per person. Groups of 15 to 39 playing two adventures are $12.50 per person. Groups of 40 and up are $11.50 per person. Offers birthday parties for ages 7 and up as well as group outings.
Each adventure lasts 30 minutes with 15-minute briefing and 15-minute play time. Located near the Dulles Expo Center.
www.ShadowlandAdventures.com. Call 703-263-1004.
<b>Strike and Spare at Bowl America/AMF Centreville
</b>Bowl America Chantilly
4525 Stonecroft Blvd., Chantilly
Cost to bowl: Mon.-Fri. before 6 p.m. is $2.79/person per game. Sat. and Sun. $3.69 per game. After 6 p.m. it's $5.25/per person. Shoe rentals: $3.75. Leagues play every evening. For schedules, call Bowl America Chantilly at 703-830-2695.
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AMF Centreville Lanes
13814 Lee Highway, Centreville
Cost to bowl: Mon. - Tues. $1.99 all day. Wed-Fri. $2.75 per game. After 6 p.m. is $4.25. Friday and Saturday nights is Cosmic Bowling for $5.50. Sat. -Sun. daytime is $4.25/person. Shoe rental. $3.25/child; $4.50/adults. Leagues bowl on certain nights. For schedules, call AMF Centreville Lanes at 703-830-3700.
<b>Cox Farms' Fall Festival
</b>15621 Braddock Road, corner of Braddock and Pleasant Valley roads, Centreville.
<bt>Each fall, Cox Farms becomes a 96-acre children’s playground featuring mountain slides, rope swings, petting zoos, a castle, hay bales to climb on, mounds of soft sponges for kids to land on, and live musical entertainment. Attractions include Panda Pagoda, Miners’ Motel, Cox’s Mountain, Volcano Mountain, Fairyland, Winnie the Pooh’s House and Jack-and-the-Beanstalk Barn Slide. The Volcano Mountain Slide has dragons on top and special sound effects. Pumpkin Madness, group visits, food and a pumpkin patch round out the entertainment. Go to www.coxfarms.com
<b>Please Pass the Popcorn
New-Movie Nights
</b>Trinity Centre
5875 Trinity Parkway, Centreville
<bt>Starting this August, families can participate in free movie nights every Saturday at Trinity Centre Park. Families can arrive at 6 p.m. to enjoy fun children activities. The movies start rolling after dark for an exciting night with the family.
<b>Dive into the Cub Run Rec Center
</b>4630 Stonecroft Blvd. Chantilly
Call 703-817-9407
<bt>The Cub Run Recreation Center features a plethora of amenities, including a competitive pool with spectator seating for 175 people, a 4,860-sq. ft. leisure pool with two huge slides, a whirlpool spa, two multipurpose rooms, a 9,600-sq. ft. fitness and health spa, a 270-square foot party room. The competitive pool also has an advanced drowning-detection system to aid the lifeguards on duty. Cost for county members: $6.85/adults; $5.95/youth, students, seniors. Cost $9.15 for out of county residents. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks.
<b>Hoop Magic Sports Academy
</b>14810 Murdock St., on the opposite side of Stonecroft Boulevard, off Route 50, in Chantilly.
<bt>The 65,500-sq. ft. Hoop Magic Sports Academy contains one NBA/NCAA regulation basketball court; six high school basketball courts and state-of-the art exercise equipment. There are courts for volleyball, badminton, martial arts, cheerleading and dodgeball. Offers individual and group training in basketball, volleyball and martial arts. Daily drop-in is $8. Lunch drop-in is $7. Weekly pass is $52.50. Individuals who are not playing are $1. Family membership available. Call 703-268-5780 or go to www.hoopmagicsa.com.
<b>Giddy Up, Pony
</b>The Clifton Horse Society: P.O. Box 183
Clifton
703-250-6188
<bt>Established in 1977, the Clifton Horse Society serves the needs of those interested in horses in Fairfax County and the surrounding communities. Most club members are horse owners, but membership is open to all horse lovers. Although founded in Clifton, the society's hundreds of members now include people throughout Virginia, in other states, and overseas. Activities cover every base including recreational, social, educational and service.
Recreational Activities — Organized monthly trail rides with fast and slow groups are on local trails or those within a short trailer drive of Northern Virginia. Other mounted events throughout the year have included horse/fun shows, Judged Pleasure trail rides, the Fairfax Fourth of July Parade, and Christmas caroling on horseback in the Town of Clifton.
Social — Activities include spring and fall social parties, Knowdowns (a "Trivial Pursuit/Pictionary" type of event) and Christmas caroling. Although this is not a children's riding club, social activities frequently include the whole family.
Educational — CHS sponsors clinics on horse care, training, vetting, safety, trailering, purchasing and maintenance of tack, and other aspects of quality horsemanship.
Service — In cooperation with local park authorities and landowners, the club maintains trails and develops new ones. Funds raised support worthy causes such as Therapeutic Riding and scholarships for those pursuing equine studies.
Benefits Of Membership — Provides camaraderie with others of similar interests and fosters sharing, learning and meeting new friends. CHS' monthly newsletter, Lead Line, includes articles about horse care and horsemanship, trail and pasture maintenance, other articles of interest, classified advertisements, and a calendar of CHS events and other area horse organization's activities. Members also receive a club roster with members' telephone numbers and addresses (postal and e-mail). Yearly dues are $20 for individual or $30 for family membership.
For more information or to get a complimentary copy of the Clifton Horse Society's monthly newsletter, write to CHS, P.O. Box 183, Clifton, VA 20124. Call Mary Flowers at 703-250-6188. The Web site is cliftonhorsesociety.org.
<b>Gone to the Dogs
</b>Centreville Dog Park
15150 Old Lee Road
Chantilly
<bt>The Centreville Dog Park is on three acres at 15150 Old Lee Road, one-eighth mile north of Old Lee and Braddock Roads. The facility features a separate large-dog area of 1 1/4 acres and a small-dog area of 1/6 acres. The park is free and is open seven days a week during daylight hours. This off-leash playground for pooches opened March 2005 and was made possible by CentrevilleDogs and the Fairfax County Park Authority.
CentrevilleDogs, a nonprofit group of 350 area residents and businesses, sponsored and maintains the 65,000-sq. ft. facility. And dogs need not reside in Centreville to come and have fun. All licensed dogs are welcome, since that also means their shots are up-to-date. Visit http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/offleash.htm or visit Centreville Dogs online at Centrevilledogs.org. Call the Public Information Office at 703-324-8662.
<b>Hey, Swinger
</b>Swing Dancing at the Dulles Hilton, 13869 Park Center Drive, Herndon, Va.
www.gottaswing.com
<bt>Swing Dances are held every Friday night at the Dulles Hilton in the Red Fox Room with Sue and Gary Caley. Drop-in beginner lesson included in price of admission from 8:30-9 p.m. Live music from 9 p.m. to midnight. Cost is $15. All ages welcome, large dance floors, air conditioned. Hilton Washington Dulles Hotel, 13869 Park Center Road, Herndon. Go to www.gottaswing.com for details etc.
<b>A History of Flying High
</b>Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
14390 Air & Space Museum Parkway
Chantilly
202-633-1000
www.nasm.si.edu/UdvarHazy
<bt>The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center opened in Chantilly in December 2003 and is the companion facility to the Smithsonian Institution’s museum on the National Mall in D.C. Among the planes on display are the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird — the fastest jet in the world — and the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay.
The centerpiece of the museum’s space hangar is the space shuttle Enterprise. The center also offers an IMAX theater, flight simulations, food service, a museum store, free tours, daily educational programs and school group tours and activities. It's open daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Parking costs $15, but admission is free.
<b>Preserve and Protect Centreville's History
</b>Historic Centreville Society
703-352-2370.
<bt>Founded by Carol Drake Friedman, the Historic Centreville Society was established in 1987 as a nonprofit organization to promote and encourage historical research, to preserve and protect buildings and sites of historic interest, and to foster and promote public knowledge of and interest in local history. The group has a quarterly newsletter and a membership fee of $15 per family. It has four program meetings a year, plus other meetings that are unscheduled. The group meets in the Centreville Regional Library and Mount Gilead house to hear speakers of historical importance. Contact Paul at 703-266-0104.
<b>The Alliance Theatre
</b>The Alliance Theatre
703-263-2085 or 703-830-1078
www.thealliancetheatre.org
<bt>Now in its 10th year, the nonprofit Alliance Theatre is a community theatre that puts on both adult and children’s productions. In the past, the theatre company has produced “Capital Cabaret,” "Willy Wonka," and "The Beauty and the Beast." They recently staged "Aladdin" and "A Christmas Carol." This summer the children’s Summer Stars production was “Mulan.” There are open auditions to anyone in the community. They partner with Mountain View School in Centreville, where they hold rehearsals, as well as Chantilly High. The summer plays usually involve around 50 children and 25 adults. Contact Pat Boswell Kallman at 703-263-2085 or Elaine Wilson at 703-830-1078.
<b>Fairfax Chocolate Festival
</b>Main Street, Town of Fairfax
<bt>The first weekend in March is the annual Fairfax Chocolate Festival. It's held that Saturday and Sunday in the City of Fairfax, in the Old Town Hall on Main Street. Bakeries, restaurants and candymakers bring delectable chocolate treats — including ice cream and chocolate fountains — and visitors buy tickets to purchase whatever they'd like to taste. Another attraction is the Chocolate Challenge in which amazing buildings, baskets and other things are carved out of chocolate.
<b>Camp, Swim, Disc-Golf, Play, Fun
</b>Bull Run Regional Park, 7700 Bull Run Drive
Centreville
703-631-0550
<bt>Bull Run Regional Park is a 1,600-acre park in Centreville. Picnic tables, picnic shelters (by reservation) and grills are available for cooking out with family or friends. In addition to the daytime accommodations, there are 143 campsites, 90 of them with electricity. Bull Run also offers an 18-hole disc-golf course, a playground, and a gigantic swimming pool equipped with a slide, palm trees, aquatic monsters and shipwrecks. There is a shooting center that offers five stand, skeet, trap, sporting clays and wobble trap shooting, as well as an indoor archery range. Gun rental and private lessons as well as learn-to-shoot classes are available.
<b>Live Music and Fresh Air
</b>Special Events Center: 7700 Bull Run Drive
Centreville
703-631-0550, Ext. 105
<bt>One of the features of the Bull Run Regional Park area is the Bull Run Special Events Center. The center hosts great outdoor concerts that include the Capital Jazz Fest, along with other events such as craft shows, concerts, wine and beer festivals. Entrance is free for residents living in Alexandria, Arlington, the city of Fairfax, Fairfax County, Falls Church or Loudoun County. For everyone else it is $7 per vehicle per day (starting in April), $14 per vehicle per week, $10 per vehicle per day (10 or more passengers) or $30 for the annual pass.
www.nvrpa.org/park/bull_run/content/special_events_center
<b>Explore Hemlock Overlook Park
</b>13220 Yates Ford Road, Clifton
<bt>Hemlock Overlook Park provides one of the most exhilarating and rewarding experiences. It is a gigantic, 5,000-acre park, full of mini-quests and physical challenges, not to mention a zip wire across a small valley. The idea is to promote teamwork by relying on your team members to complete the tasks. It is ideal for office groups, friends or schools. Offers school programs, community programs, University teams and the Center for Professional Development. For more information, including directions, log on to www.hemlockoverlook.org.