I just got this email of a list of fun things to do in the DC Metro area this Fall/Halloween. Thanks to Derin, Megan and Jen!

Apple-picking at Homestead Farm in Poolesville, Maryland - It isn't too far of a drive (and the drive is beautiful!), and they have apples, pumpkins, squash, etc., as well as sheep, turkeys, chickens, and roosters for the kids to visit. They are also very reasonable in price.

Driving up Skyline Dr.

Cox Farms and Burke Nursery, both in VA

Butler's Orchard Pumpkin Festival in Maryland - really fun and very child-focused

The Ranvensworth-Bristow Civic Association in Annadale has a great (and FREE) Halloween parade for children -- families gather along the route and pass out candy to the children. They even have some pets dress up! It's held on the Saturday before Halloween at 4 p.m. on the corner of Erie and Newcastle Sts.

Rock Creek Park's Nature Center in DC has a costume party on October 29 at 2:00.

Croyden Creek Nature Center in Rockville, MD has Croyden Creep events with an animal show, graveyard tour (totally not scary), climbing wall, drive-in movie with a kid friendly movie (last year it was "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"). Last year they had a little "bat cave" and talked about and showed a bat. Everything is free, except for the movie (I think).

Burke Lake Halloween train ride is great. We also go to Boo at the Zoo every year.

Halloween Fashion Show at Babies R Us in Falls Church.

DelRay Halloween Parade in Alexandria - It's usually held the Sunday before Halloween on Mt. Vernon Avenue at 2 p.m. There are awards for best costumes.

We love Cox Farm for preschool through elementary-age children. They have mazes of baled hay, rope swings, gigantic slides, farm animals, fresh applesauce and grilled hamburgers, and on the weekend they have terrific folk-rock performers on an open air stage. You can also take a tractor-drawn hayride through a ridiculously silly haunted field (painted cartoonish signs) and get a small pumpkin from the patch.

Brookside Gardens in Maryland has a pumpkin patch for toddlers - Sign up early!

Belvedere Plantation in Fredricksburg seems to be the favorite for taking children to a real pumpkin patch for parents that live in Woodbridge, VA.

Greenbelt, MD has an annual costume contest and parade at the Roosevelt Center. This year it's October 27 at 4 p.m. (registration starts earlier). Costume contest is for ages 18 mos. through sixth-graders.

There is a vendor who sells his fresh farm produce in Tenleytown Saturday and Sunday. Last year he sold pumpkins. So far, I've only seen gourds this year.

There is a patch in Upper Marboro that had assorted pumpkinsn and corn last year. It is way laid back and a lot of fun.

The Leesburg Animal Park has a great pumpkin patch with a petting zoo, puppet show, hay rides and a host of slides and other activities that promote a family fun-filled afternoon. There is an admission fee of $10 per person on the weekends and holidays. It is less during the week. Leesburg Animal Park, 19270 James Monroe Hwy., Leesburg, VA 20175.

Turtle Park in NW DC (the AU Park neighborhood) has a great costumed kids' Halloween festival each year, with a costume parade and a children's musician or performer. This year I believe it's the morning of Saturday, October 28, starting at 10:00.

Burke Nursery's "pumpkin playground" is the "closest in" one we go to -- it's really great for small children as they have few "big slides" like the pumpkin patch at Cox Farms. But the Cox Farms one is great now that my oldest is in elementary school.

There's a pumpkin patch near the Blockbuster Merchants Starbucks on Rolling Rd.

In Alexandria, we love the annual pumpkin patch on the grounds of Immanuel-on-the-Hill Episcopal Church, near the intersection of Quaker & Seminary Ln. The pumpkins are brought in from a Navajo farm in New Mexico, and there are also some great seasonal soups and baked goods for sale. They have an annual children's Halloween costume parade through the patch each year - This year it's on Sunday, October 22 at 12:30 p.m., and all are welcome. You don't have to be a church member.

In Arlington on October 28 at 4 p.m., Westover Baby-Toddler Halloween Parade. Starts at intersection of Kennebec and N. 11th St, at the pavilion. Mr. Don will perform.

Cox Farm is a drive but it is the BEST!! We go every year. Take a picnic lunch and make a day of it.

Cox is great, but it has crowds on the weekends. Go during the week, when it first opens.

My own sideposts:

I just learned about a fun and free Halloween party for the little ones at Jonah's Treehouse in DC on October 27... more details coming soon in a blog post of its own!

And as I've mentioned previously, my best tip is this: For many more great Halloween events appropriate for children ranging from toddlers through school-age, be sure to check out the fabulous Our Kids seasonal event list, which covers the District, ALL of suburban Maryland, and ALL of the NoVa suburbs.

-There will be an official dedication to the new Air Force Memorial (see picture) Saturday, October 14 beginning at 1:30. I had no idea this was being erected until I was on my way back from a Nats game recently. I didn't even know what those pointy things in the sky were supposed to be until today. In any case if you dig the military, or more specifically, the Air Force you'll probably find this mildly interesting. Keep an eye out for Military groupies...I'm sure they will be out in full force.

-The Small Press Expo is being held this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 13-14) at the Marriott Bethesda North. SPX hosts independent comic artists and writers to exhibit their material to comic book and graphic novel fans. Seems like comics are making a comeback, but I haven't jumped on that bandwagon myself. I never really got past the Betty & Veronica comics.

-I can't remember if I already mentioned this, but Night Dreams in Bethesda will be hosting a "Sexiest Costumes" fashion show Saturday, Oct. 14 from 6-8pm. This looks like a great opportunity for men to openly oogle women in skimpy outfits pre-Halloween. Have at it.

-I will be attending the Green Festival this Saturday at the DC Convention Center. The Green Festival is a joint project hosted by Global Exchange and Co-Op America. I'm looking forward to being surrounded with earth conscious folk in patchwork and hemp. There are some interesting panels, speakers, and movies on the schedule. Come out and learn a bit more about saving our Earth!

-James Blunt will be at Merriweather tomorrow night Oct. 13. Even though I can't really stand the guy, a lot of people seem to like him...

-I don't really like all these suggestions for stuff to do in Maryland, but it appears to be the hot spot this weekend. The Maryland Brewer's Oktoberfest will be held Saturday (Oct. 14) at the MD State Fairgrounds (in Timonium, MD...wherever that is). From the looks of the website, this seems to be a pretty cool event. Admission is $17 and you get three free beer tokens if you come dressed in German attire. There will be over a dozen brewers with over 70 kinds of beer, but, the Beer Belly Contest looks like it might be pretty entertaining!

-I think I might have found the greatest thing ever. There will be an event entitled Don't Hassel the Hof Brau at Rustico in Alexandria on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The idea is you drink Oktoberfest beers and listen to the music of the lovely Mr. Hasselhoff. Starts at 6pm. I don't think I've ever seen such a good reason to go to Happy Hour.

-Tonight is the kick-off for the 16th annual Reel Affirmations Gay & Lesbian film festival which will be going from Oct. 12-21. Tonight they will show the film Shortbus which is directed by John Cameron Mitchell, of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Shortbus features actors engaging in real life sex in the film so its pretty risque (I'm not sure if its ever been done before...) but I've heard great things about this film. The schedule is jam packed with movies being shown at Lincoln Theater, Goethe Institute, and the Landmark E-Street Theater.

-DC Hunt 2006 will be taking place next Saturday Oct. 21 so register now if you would like to participate. The location this year will be in the U Street Corridor. I don't know what this is all about cause I've never done it before, but it looks fun. If anyone is interested in creating a team, let me know...I dont think I have anything to do that day.

-My friend Lindsay is going to the Markoff's Haunted Forest tomorrow night. AOL City Guide rated it in the top 13 haunts in the USA so I guess that means its entertaining and hopefully scary.

-Last on my list (but certainly not the last thing going on in the area this weekend) is Minus the Bear playing at the Black Cat Saturday (Oct. 14). I'll be there!!! Hopefully my foot will bear with me while I dance to Pachuca Sunrise :)

Have a great weekend people!

Sometimes when I'm reading my daily news and blogs I find a subject that I find particularly interesting and start researching it. Today my interest was in the DC grafitti artist Borf. I had kind of been following the story after the artist got arrested last summer, but lost touch with it after that. Today I went into more detail about the message that "Borf" was trying to get out. Turns out, "Borf" is an anarchist (a philosophy which seems particularly popular with todays youth). The image of a young boy that is often accompanied with the Borf name is actually the image of a friend the young man who got arrested who had commited suicide several years ago. According to "Borf"'s mother, he saw his friends image as portraying everything he felt was wrong in this world.

Personally, I don't agree with anarchy, but I do admire these people who feel so strongly against our government that they choose not to follow any of its rules. Though a bit of graffiti isn't really going to do much rebelling, it is a unique way of getting out a message and catching people's attention.

Anyways, within the whole Borf search I found an article entitled We're All Borf in the End by Oxford student Claude Willan. The article talks about how the youth of today (Gen X, Gen Y, whatever you want to call us) don't have a single voice representing their generation. Perhaps thats because we are all so different in our ideas or that we have each able to represent ourselves through the power of the internet. I'm not sure if it actually means anything that we can't point to a guy like Abbie Hoffman or Jack Kerouac and say, "See what this guy is saying? THIS is how we feel." So what is really better? To have one person speak for millions or to have millions speak for themselves? Which is the better way to be heard and understood? Its much easier for one individual to be a kind of poster boy or girl for a cause...someone charismatic, good-looking, and well spoken that the press loves to interview. But as we can see more recently, people are paying attention to the blogs...a collective group of anonymous voices. Maybe not having one person represent, but all of us speaking out has and will make the difference that we long for.

Local political stuff (except the road thing) -

-Washington Boulevard/Rt 27 in the vicinity of Arlington Boulevard/Rt. 50 the roadway - northbound and southbound will be closed for the next three days between 8am -5am.

-GMU and the Campaign for a Living Wage is showing excerpts from the film Waging a Living and have invited Democratic and Republican nominees for Norther Virginias House and Senate races to come to answer questions and discussion. October 11 at 7pm in the Johnson Cinema.

-Lou Dobbs will be at the Olssons Bookstore in Arlington tonight discussing discussing his book War on the Middle Class.

-Final Virginia Senate debate between candidate Jim Webb and George Allen on TV tonight (check CSPAN) at 8pm.

Stuff I'm doing this weekend...

Since it mostly looks like rain up until Sunday, my big plan is to stay in and do chores tonight and tomorrow. Sounds exciting huh? I do have a fabulous dinner plans for Saturday night to celebrate my friend Susie's birthday. We will be dining at Dupont Grille, which I've never been to before, but the menu looks scrumptious as does the wine menu.

If the weather clears up by Sunday, I'm going to try hitting up Eastern Market early morning. I just heard that they have a great slection of food merchants. Time to stock up on meats and cheeses!


Stuff you can do this weekend...

-Middle Distance Runner is playing at the Velvet Lounge Saturday night with The Dance Party and e. Joseph. I always recommend MDR to indie music fans. I might go myself, but I'm not a big fan of the venue at Velvet Lounge. Last MDR show I went to I didnt even have to move to jump up and down cause the floor was bouncing. Just a bit too crammed in for my taste. I'll be trying to make it to the show on 10.28 at Iota. Although I have a movie premiere that day too...I digress........

-Snakes on a Plane Friday! and lots of other great flicks at the Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse.

-Just found out about this thing called First Fridays where art galleries in the Dupont Circle area area free and open to the public from 5 - 8pm the first Friday of each month. A lot of galleries serve food and wine...some even have musicians.

-Mid-Atlantic Oktoberfest at the Capitol City Brewing Co. this Saturday from noon-7pm. For $20 you get unlimited samples of a variety of beers, german music and the Alpine Dancers.

-Perhaps you might be interested in getting some rain boots with all this wetness going on. My feet got soaked this morning during my commute and I refuse to sit through another day with wet toes.

-Oh, if you are planning on hitting up the museums at any point between now and summer of 2008 let me tell you where NOT to go. The National Museum of American History closed Sept. 5 for renovations. I found out a couple week ago when I was on a quest to visit every Smithsonian on the mall. (My suggestion is to skip the Castle. Not worth getting through security.)

-Sunday is BINGO! night at the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department. Not sure if I'll hit it up this weekend, but I may become a bingo regular. I love me some bingo. This information is courtesy of Moni who is (un)fortunate enough to work with me here at the office and she is also a volunteer at VVFD.

-If you are lucky enough to have a fireplace (or know someone with one), I think that is the best idea for tonight and tomorrow night. Thank You For Smoking and United 93 are both good picks for rentals.

-Some movies in the theaters that look promising (to me anyways..it is my blog):
Little Miss Sunshine
The Last Kiss
The Illusionist
The Science of Sleep
The U.S vs. John Lennon
The Black Dahlia

If you are lucky enough to have Monday off (I am not), enjoy yourself! Perhaps you can catch up on whats going on in daytime soap operas. Let me know whats going on on Passions!

iPod Shuffle Random Playlist:

1. Red is the New Black - Funeral for a Friend
2. Rockmaker - Toto
3. If I was Your Girl - Janet Jackson
4. Hungry Like the Wolf - Duran Duran
5. The Background - Third Eye Blind
6. This Place is a Prison - The Postal Service
7. Thats a Lie - Middle Distance Runner
8. Marching Bands of Manhattan - Death Cab for Cutie
9. No Surprises - Radiohead
10. Speacialist - Interpol

The rules, for bloggers who want to play:

Get your ipod or media-player of choice, select your whole music collection, set the thing to shuffle (i.e., randomized playback), then post the first ten songs that come out. No cheating, no matter how stupid it makes you feel! Maybe link the songs to online music stores for readers' convenience.

I love my iPod...ask me about it

Mayor Anthony Williams will be getting roasted October 18th at the MarriottWardman Park Hotel. If you've got $250 to blow on a ticket, this'll probably be pretty entertaining. Although, I'm sure we could just watch the highlights on the 11:00 news.

-Metro will have to wait a little longer for a permanent General Manager. (See cartoon.)

-Ryan and I went to Olssons Bookstore last night to see Andy Stern discuss his new book A County That Works. He had a lot of great things to say. When we went to The Big Hunt later with the Drinking Liberally group, Andy came up to introduce himself as soon as I had taken a huge bite of my burger. Why does that always happen? Anyways, he seemed like a great down to earth kind of guy...liked how he was saying the biggest way to start change is in our communities, not in congress.

-I just found out that there is a Eating Liberally group. That is kick ass. Too bad it looks like its just going on in New York. I think this is something that we need in Fairfax, don't you? Or at least in Arlington.

-Webb campaign playing it smart and making some $$$. Hopefully we'll see some ads like these on TV soon.

-Looks like someone had a test they weren't prepared for in Culpepper today.

-Why have I never been to Eastern Market? This is right up my alley!

Upcoming book events in the area...

-Two days left for the Fall for the Book Festival at GMU.

-Lou Dobbs - War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War On the American Dream and How to Fight Back
Monday, October 09, 2006 at 08:00 PM at Olsson's Arlington/Courthouse, 2111 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA, (703) 525-4227



Offering solutions as well as commentary, prominent CNN host and commentator Lou Dobbs unleashes his manifesto on the vanishing American dream.

Olsson's will validate your parking ticket for one hour of free parking at the Colonial Parking Garage located at 2101 Wilson Blvd.


-Emily Franklin - The Girls Almanac
Tuesday, October 17, 2006 at 07:00 PM At Olsson's Books & Records-Dupont Circle, 1307 19th St. NW, (202) 785-1133.



In these interconnected short stories set across the Northeast, through suburban neighborhoods, preppy camps, island resorts, and Ivy League colleges--as well as far flung locales like Ecuador and Iceland, "The Girls' Almanac" chronicles the lives of Jenna and Lucy-;two thirty-something women who desperately long for a true friend-;as well as the lives of the women and men who have touched them: friends, lovers, parents, and neighbors.


-Leslie Sbrocco - The Simple & Savvy Wine Guide: Buying, Pairing, and Sharing for All
Tuesday, October 24, 2006 at 05:30 PM At Best Cellars Dupont Circle, 1643 Connecticut Ave., NW, 202-387-3146.


Following on the heels of her successful first book, Wine for Women, Leslie Sbrocco's Simple & Savvy Wine Guide offers today's young wine drinkers tips, top 10 lists, roundups of best buys, and easy-to-use shopping guides to help them select the perfect wines for any food, mood, or occasion. Join Ms. Sbrocco and Best Cellars Dupont Circle when Ms. Sbrocco presents her new book, The Simple & Savvy Wine Guide: Buying, Pairing, and Sharing for All. Free. Books to be sold by Olsson's. Call Best Cellars Dupont for more information at 202-387-3146.

-Women are beeing pantsed around the Vienna Metro.

-New express lanes at the Vienna, Pentagon City, Bethesda, New Carrollton, and Anacostia stations will hopefully make experienced metro riders rides more convenient. Read: no more waiting for grandma to try and figure out how to get her card through the faregate.

-Southwest airlines come to Dulles airport.

-In case you haven't been near a TV recently, NBC's Friday Night Lights premieres tonight. Whitney Matheson gave it a thumbs up, so I figure it can't be all bad.

-Work in or around Tysons Corner? This is the best place to go to lunch. I'm enjoying the grilled tilapia BLT right now. Yum!

-George Allen coughs up 50 grand for a TV spot encouraging voters to concentrate on the issues, although the Allen campaign was the one to go negative in the first place.

90 Days till DC becomes Smokefree

Since I can now call myself a non-smoker (two weeks and counting!) I am very happy about this change in our city bars and restaurants. I would be even happier if this law was enforced in Virginia. Even as a smoker, I was all for it. It would have kept me from smoking a pack and a half when out for a heavy night of drinking and feeling like ass the next day (I'm sure the drinking didnt have anything to do with it...).

I can now go out to the bars in DC w/o having to deal with the smoke smell that has more recently made me feel ill rather than tempting. And its not really a big deal to just go outside. Sure, winter is coming and itll be cold, but itll save lungs and $$.