Loudoun YouthFest Offers Free Exhibit Space to Nonprofits

The annual event focused on county teens is set for June 15 at the Brambleton Town Center.

Nonprofits organizations and government agencies that provide services to Loudoun middle and high school students are invited to reserve free exhibit space at YouthFest 2013, set to run from 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. June 15 at the Brambleton Town Center in Ashburn. YouthFest is planned each year by local teens serving on the county’s Youth Advisory Council and features a national headlining music act, winners of the YouthFest Battle of the Bands, attractions, interactive games and much more. Organizations that serve or include Loudoun teens, including sports teams/leagues, booster clubs, PTAs and PTSOs are invited to register. Limited space is available for groups interested in hosting a fundraiser. Fundraising may include snack or merchandise …

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Weird Virginia: Naked Driver, Forgotten Weed, High-Tech Art and High-End Funny Money

Plus, Iguana models, cell towers in disguise, a Ladybug exodus and two birds ask, "Who cooks for you?"

  Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings on over the past week. Drivers at the Lake Ridge commuter lot near Interstate 95 saw more than the road crews and heavy machinery that have become standard commute scenery. Prince William County Police arrested a man April 19 when they found him dancing naked on the hood of his car.  Without question, you should surrender to authorities when police have identified you as the suspect in a grand-larceny case. But we feel compelled to caution suspects about checking their pockets after a 27-year-old Annandale man turned himself in. Police in Falls Church say they …

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Loudoun Chorale Presents "Bach and Beyond" in Purcellville, Leesburg

The first of two spring concerts is set for April 28 at Bethany UMC, followed by a May 5 show at Holy Trinity.

The Loudoun Chorale will conclude its 2012-2013 season with two “Choral Favorites – Bach and Beyond” concerts, featuring works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Faure, Haydn, Handel, Mendelssohn, Mozart and Thompson, under the direction of William Propst. The first concert starts at 4 p.m. April 28 at Bethany United Methodist Church, 100 West Main Street, in Purcellville. The second begins at 4 p.m. May 5 at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 605 West Market Street, in Leesburg.  The Loudoun Chorale, a community-based arts organization founded in 1991, is Loudoun’s largest vocal ensemble, with about 60 singers. Ticket prices For more information, visit www.loudounchorale.org, call 571-207-5354 or email info@loudounchorale.org.

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Movie Review: 'Oblivion' Stunning Yet Flawed Sci-Fi

PG-13 film starring Tom Cruise opens Friday in theaters.

In director Joseph Kosinski's Oblivion, you can see a love for and desire to expand on the great classics of science fiction on film. With the most impressive use of IMAX for a feature film to date, in that respect he has created something new and exciting, with what is essentially a 3-D movie where you don't need the glasses.   Production esigner Darren Gilford (of TRON: Legacy) and cinematographer Claudio Miranda (Oscar winner for Life of Pi) make, to quote the movie, "an effective team." The visual landscapes of the film and the meticulousness taken in the action sequences are extraordinary. Here, the integration of CGI (computer-generated imagery) and live filming is another indication of the rapid advancements happening in moviemaking…

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SNEAK PREVIEW: Inside the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema

The franchise owners of the first Alamo in the DC area provide a tour in advance of the cinema-eatery's opening in May.

With just a couple of weeks to go before the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema opens its doors at One Loudoun, the franchise owners offered a preview of the theater to media Wednesday as workers continued construction. The official opening date is set for May 3, but the community is invited to take advantage of early staff training days from April 29 to May 1. Then Iron-Man 3 begins showing at 9 p.m. May 2. Other new releases begin May 3. Early screening movies include: Alamo considers itself different from other theaters in many ways, from the way dinner is served during the movie via “ninja servers” to the bottomless popcorn to the strict ban on mobile device usage. “We don’t show dancing popcorn,” said franchise partner Anthony Coco during …

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Loudoun’s Got Talent! Auditions Coming Up May 4

High school students are invited to compete for scholarships and the chance to perform with the Loudoun Symphony.

Loudoun's young musicians are invited to audition for the 2013 Loudoun’s Got Talent competition for the chance win a $1,000 scholarship and a night on stage with the Loudoun Symphony. Additional scholarships for $750 and $250 will also be awarded. Audition day is set for May 4. Any high school musician or vocalist can audition. See video of 2012 Loudoun’s Got Talent Auditions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0nxf2qqn1A Loudoun’s Got Talent Chairman Ara Bagdasarian called the competition an “opportunity for youth musicians to work toward a goal, gain audition experience in a supportive environment and have a chance to win significant scholarship awards.” The experience can prove valuable to beginners as well as intermediate and skilled …

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Heritage Takes on West Side Story

Four performances are scheduled this weekend for the family-friendly, classic musical.

Montana Brown, Heritage High School’s drama department director, knew it would be hard to come up with a spring musical as popular as last year’s production, Legally Blonde - The Musical.  “I struggled to find something as epic, and then decided that West Side Story would be a good show for our school,” Brown said. “Everyone told me there is no way you are going to pull this off.” This weekend, the community is invited to come and see how they did just that. More than 100 students auditioned for a cast of 50; that’s more auditions than any other show Heritage has put on.  To draw the students in, Brown billed it as a Gangs of New York meets Romeo and Juliet type of show, complete with fight choreography and dancing, and she told them, “It …

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Movie Review: 'Trance' a Hypnotic Head Trip Worth Taking

Rated R for language, violence, nudity.

Director Danny Boyle, fresh off being dubbed a national hero for his triumph directing the Olympic ceremonies in London, took another big directorial risk with his new release Trance.  It is a frenetic, haunting genre-bender that grabs hold of and keeps your attention from its first moments to its last with such force you'll feel like you're falling through Alice's rabbit hole after being hurled into it by two burly six-foot bunnies in kilts.  This cinematic journey is one filled with confusion, illusions, violence and moral ambiguities, and not a head trip everyone will be willing to surrender to or appreciate. Much like the somewhat similarly convoluted Inception, it is a love it or hate it kind of flick. Whether it will be enjoyable for…

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Loudoun Bluegrass Festival, Set for May 11

For the fourth year, the festival will bring great acts to the county for an all-day event; bring your instrument for a pickin' session.

Break out the banjos! The 4th annual Loudoun Bluegrass Festival is set for May 11 at the Loudoun County 4H Fairgrounds in Leesburg. Proceeds for the event, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dulles International Airport, help pay tuition for local students who otherwise could not afford college and provide funds for other charitable donations. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the sponsors are hoping the crowds, which have doubled each year, continue to grow again this year. There will be pickin’ contests, workshops, bluegrass and old-time jam sessions, a band competition, an old time barn dance with music provided by The Hotseats, food, local wineries, kids’ activities and, of course, the headliners: Audie Blaylock and Redline and…

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Briar Woods Student to Find His 'Voice'

Ashburn teen will appear on the popular television program highlighting young talent.