Rufus the Red Nosed Rain Dog

Did you see him?  He was in Leesburg this morning!   

As part of the Childrens Performance Series, Kaleidoscope Theatre at Ida Lee, Rufus was our special guest this morning!  Once a month, there is a different performer.  My son and I try to go each month - it's special "Mommy-Devon" time; but this month, our friend Zavion joined us.

Rufus is a brown dog with a red nose.  He's been homeless, hungry, cold and in the rain, for some time.  He was looking for some food to eat and a place to stay when we met him.  Then, out of the blue, SANTA arrived!  But, Santa did not believe he was a dog, as Santa had never seen a dog with a red nose. 

You see, Santa's dog is hot pink and has a purple nose, and so that is what Santa thinks ALL dogs should look like.  To prove he is a dog, Rufus had to go to dog school, taught by a Banana!  There, he learned important vocabulary like "ARF" "GRRR" and other such common dog language. 

In the process, we had some fun with letter sounds, and rymthing words.  In the end, Santa learned an important lesson... things that make us different make us special, and we're all different.  Santa offered Rufus some food and a permanent home, and dubbed Rufus the "Red Nosed Rain Dog" telling him to go find other special dogs that are out in the cold and rain with no food and no home... and to bring them all to the North Pole to live with them as one big happy family!

It was a great story and we didn't feel bad about skipping preschool to go, since there were several good lessons in the story.  The most important lesson of all:  Our differences make us special.

Thank you to Blue Sky Puppet Theatre for a great show today!  Be sure to check out the upcoming schedule for the Kaliedoscope Theatre HERE; and we hope to see you next time.

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For more information about Loudoun Living, stay tuned to

http://www.livinginloco.blogspot.com/

For real estate information, check out

http://www.therealestatewhisperer.blogspot.com/

You can search for homes for sale in the Northern Virginia market at

http://www.vickychrisner.com/

Happy Holidays to you all!

No Matter How Unique

No matter how unique your situation or your needs, please remember I am here to assist you and your friends, relatives and colleagues with all your real estate needs!

To remind you of this, I wish to share with you this video, found on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erPLr16Zzjc

While these homes are found who-knows-where, with your help, I'd like to put together a photo collection of the strangest homes/buildings in Northern Virginia. Send me a photo of the funniest most unique home you can find, by August 31st, for each picture of a home that is used in our video, you'll be paid $100; for commercial buildings, you'll earn $50.

And, remember, your business is important to me, and your referrals are the lifeblood of my business. Call me today with any real estate questions!

Vicky Chrisner
Keller Williams
703-669-3142
VChrisner@KW.com

Pop!Bang!Boom! Loudoun Is Celebrating This Weekend!

It’s time to celebrate America’s Birthday and no one is more proud of our heritage than Loudoun. All across the county, our residents will be celebrating in style! There are at least 10 public fireworks displays; and many other festivities being hosted in our various towns, villages and communities.

Everywhere you turn this weekend, you’ll see red, white and blue. The air will be scented with the smell of charcoal. Quiet meadows will come alive with make shift stages and homegrown music. Our local parks will be filled with families and friends. Little boys and their dads will be catching crayfish in our streams. Children will be playing ball, riding bikes, and climbing trees. Fishermen (real or wanna-be's) will crowd our riverbanks. Our waterways will look like marinas, with boaters positioning themselves for the best view of the fireworks. Pools, public and private, will be overflowing. Fireworks – legal and otherwise – will inevitably fill the nighttime heavens.

Pop! Bang! Boom! Get ready… Loudoun is celebrating this weekend!

We kick it off early here in Loudoun with 6 celebrations on Friday the 3rd!

Lovettsville starts us off right with a hometown parade followed by activities at the Community Center ball field; a concert by DC3, and awesome fireworks. Festivities begin at 5:30. Tickets are $3 for kids, $4 for adults.

Landsdowne, just east of Leesburg, will hold their Sounds of Summer show from 7:30 to 10:30 with fireworks starting at 9:20.

South Riding begins festivities at 6 with a parade from Center Street & South Riding Blvd, making a right on Upper Clubhouse to South Riding Golf Club. Bikes, trikes, small floats, and wagons are welcomed. Food will be available for purchase during the King of Swing concert beginning at 7. Fireworks start at 9:30, and blankets, lawn chairs and picnics are encouraged.

Sterling Park has fireworks beginning at 9:15.

At the Old Stone School in Hillsboro, see the Blue Ridge Thunder Cloggers perform, hear live music by Hewn By The Mountain. There's a BBQ dinner, bake sale, and free ice cream and picnics are welcomed. Kids will enjoy the moon bounce, games and prizes. Then, the family can settle down to watch the fireworks display at dusk.

The Town of Waterford is so hyped, they are having a 2 day party! At 4pm on Friday the 3rd, the town will host a softball game at Waterford Elementary. At 6, the music and potluck dinner starts at Bond Street Tanyard; followed by fireworks at Water Street Meadow.

On the 4th, festivities really get rockin!

Waterford continues their celebration with an 11am parade down Factory Street to the Bond Street Tanyard. At 11:45 there will be patriotic songs and remarks; more music, photos, and of course... more food. Then, the Greystone pool will be opened (fee for non-members).

Nearby Paeonian Springs also has a parade beginning at 11. It starts at the upper end of Highland Circle and ends at the McLaughlins' at the lower end. Motorized vehicles are prohibited. All are welcome to join in the "after party" at the McLaughlins'.

The Celebration here in Leesburg, in the county seat, will begin at at 10am on the 4th, with an old fashioned Independence Day Parade in the downtown area. The parade will start at Ida Lee park and travel down King Street to Fairfax Street (just before the intersection with Catoctin Circle). Residents are encouraged to dress in their very best Red, White and Blue outfits! Then, it’s off to enjoy your favorite summer time activities. Ida Lee rec center and AV Symmington Aquatic Park will be open for all to enjoy. At 6, the gates at Ida Lee will open for the evening celebration where your family can enjoy Jimmy Buffet tunes played by the Land Sharks (a nationally recognized band featured with Jimmy Buffett at Margarittaville). Be sure to bring a little cash – there is usually a suggested entrance donation; and the concession stands there are the bomb! Be sure to line up early for the funnel cake; one year I nearly missed the fireworks waiting for mine! Fireworks begin at 9:30 and are synchronized to explode in time with a medley of patriotic songs. The combination of “hearing” and “seeing” synchronized celebrations of patriotism truly adds to the experience. If you can’t be within hearing distance, but are watching the display from elsewhere, check the local Leesburg radio station – Wage AM 1200, as they usually broadcast the songs, too! Don’t miss the full experience.

Ashburn Village has an entire day planned. At 10:30, you're invited to join in the one mile parade, which begins at Fincastle Field featuring residents with decorated bikes, wagons and strollers. At 11, the party gets going with inflatables, food, swimming and games at the Sports Pavillion. Just after 7, the music kicks into gear, with the Suburban Rush band. At dark, they'll finish off the night with a "low flying" fireworks display from the island in Ashburn Lake.

At Claude Moore Park in Sterling, from 10:30 to 3:00 there is an old fashioned July 4th celebration with live music, crafts, nature and reptile exhibits, historic tours, and even pony and wagon rides. All this is offered for a small suggested donation of only $5 per family. The Heritage Farm Museum at Claude Moore will have an open house, offering free admission throughout the day. They will also have a special celebration for our “Heroes on the Homefront”; in recognition of the contributions of Loudoun Farms during WWII.
In Middleburg, the Community Center pool will be open from 11 to 6; and the family can enjoy evening music, games, and contests. Fireworks there begin at dusk.
Purcellville’s Franklin Park hosts the Polka Dots, a local folk group, and Acoustic Burgoo, the headlining bluegrass sensation. Fireworks begin at dark. Gates will open at 6; admission is $5 per car.

Please, make this a wonderful weekend. Keep re-applying the sunscreen – especially on the kids. Make sure everyone stays hydrated. Keep the potato salad refrigerated. Carefully supervise the use of personal fireworks, and keep it legal for your own safety. Have a designated driver, and don’t over indulge in the spirits. Your pets will be scared, so keep them inside.

Loudoun is a great place to visit, and an even better place to live. Although we have high quality emergency response teams and very good hospitals; I really want you to never have to know it. Be safe and be well… Happy Birthday, America!

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For more information on public festivities offered by the Town of Leesburg and Loudoun County Parks and Rec, visit http://www.leesburgva.gov/index.aspx?page=568 and http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=328&fmpath=/Current%20Activity%20Guides .

To learn about our local real estate market, please visit http://www.therealestatewhisperer.blogspot.com/ or http://www.vickychrisner.com/.

Halloween in Leesburg

When we moved to Leesburg, no one told us how different Halloween would be. Here, on “All Hallowed Eve”, children dress in their costumes, lining the streets of downtown Leesburg, to collect treats thrown to them from passing parade floats. The parade is put on by the local Kiwanis club, and this year, everyone in attendance was asked to bring a canned food item to help fill our local food banks.

Most floats are sponsored by local businesses, who are having a little fun promoting their business and giving back to the communities they serve.I’m told that the Leesburg Halloween parade is the longest running in the country, which I think is kind of neat. I love to see old traditions remain strong. Here in Leesburg, I see no danger of this tradition ever going out of style. Every Halloween, if you live in Leesburg, you go the parade. EVERYone’s there. You’re IN the parade or AT the parade, but you’re there.

Now that we’ve been here 8 years, we’re finally getting the hang of it.In fact, the last 2 years, I’ve been IN the parade; on a float with my brokerage office, Keller Williams Realty of Leesburg. Last year, I drove our float - and it was among the most frightening halloween experiences I've ever had! You try driving a float while dodging 5 year olds who are playing chicken with your truck to get a Reese’s!

This year, I opted to walk along side the float, giving out candy, being careful to reward those children that obediently stood by their moms, despite the greatest of temptations. So, did you see us? What did you think? We didn’t win any awards… but we thought it looked great.

Can you believe our broker (Rick Cockrill) actually had these houses “lying around” as leftovers from a 4-H project he’d done with his son? It was a very easy assembly for us… and special thanks to local J & M Market on Rt 15 (think Pumpkinville) who donated all pumpkins, mums, corn stalks and more.

This year, our float was promoting a new web site launched by own of our very tech savvy agents, Steve Lieby. If you haven’t seen it, you should check it out…www.callloudouncountyhome.com/.

I can not imagine how cool it would have been to have this parade experience as a child. My 2 and 5 year olds left the scene with bags FULL of candy! Pre-teens and teenagers can still get candy without being those annoying kids without costumes at your door on Halloween. I think it's fabulous.

By the time we returned home, two year old Spiderman was done for the night. Hanna Montana, on the other hand, had to take to the streets to see her fans.

Lucky for her, trick or treating in Leesburg starts AFTER the parade. Lucky for me, it doesn’t last long.