One of the highlights of this year's event will be the Nature Pavilion created by the Walker Nature Center volunteers and staff. Inside this hands on area attendees will experience a mini Reston with meadow, woodland and aquatic habitats. Smell the flowers, touch a turtle, listen to birds and see water creatures while learning how to create similar habitats in your yard and where to discover them in Reston. Roll over a log and discover the many animals that make it home. Meet Sam the Snag and discover how important dead trees are to our environment. There will be live animal demonstrations at the Nature Pavilion throughout the day. This sensory, interactive experience will be enjoyed by all.
The Headline Wall is another special feature designed for intergenerational and intellectual pursuits. A huge display wall will provide the opportunity to gaze into the future to the year 2014 and predict what headlines will appear in Reston's newspapers eighteen years from now. Those headlines identified with its author will be preserved for an unveiling at the 50th Anniversary of Reston. Because the children of today will become the community's adult moers and shakers of tomorrow, local VIPs are preparing to be a resource to children participating in this Block Party activity. Longtime residents, public figures and community activists wil be available for a one-on-one assignment with the youthful headline writers. Although the Headline Wall activity will continue throughout the entire day, between 1-2 p.m. is the designated primary time for invited VIP's to be paired off to share this experience with Reston's future. These adult friends will be encouraged to develop a rapport with their young companions to enjoy joint viewing of other Block party displays and be a walking oral history adventure of Reston's progress in its first 32 years - and what may be expected in the future.
Entertainment will be offered continuously from 10 a.m .to 5 p.m. at the Community Stage with live cable coverage by Jones Communications. Master of Ceremonies Ronnie Collins will host the stage festivities featuring music, dance, singing, and wildlife presentations. The stage line up will keep your toes tappin and fingers snappin! The entertainment schedule includes:
10:00 a.m. Master of Ceremonies, Ronnie Collins 10:15 a.m. Owls! with Kent Knowles 10:30 a.m. Live Reptile Show by Caroline Seitz 10:45 a.m. Juggling by Bingo and BUdies 11:00 a.m. Clogging Express 11:30 a.m. Al Robertson, Smooth Jazz Solo Artist Noon Giant Cakewalk 1:00 p.m. Reston Artists Vocal Ensemble (RAVE!) 1:30 p.m. Reston Young Singers Ensemble (RYSE) 2:00 p.m. Giant Simon Says Contest 2:45 p.m. Dreamscape, folk music 3:15 p.m. Reston Institute for the Arts (RIA) 3:30 p.m. The Herndon High School Step Team 3:45 p.m. Synphonic Music Systems Yung Keyboard Artists 4:00 p.m. Ke Anuenue Pu nahele, hawaiian hula dancers 4:30 p.m. Nemesis, rock/pop bandThe event's Block Party Theme will be brought alive with an area of Block Games. This neighbor friendly area will be a sport for playing hopscotch, foursquare, double-dutch jump roping, chalk drawing or exercising your chess and backgrammon stragegies. New
In addition to these free events, amusements will be on hand during the day for a 50 cents ticket with one or two tickets required for each amusement. Jump in the moonbounce or slide bounce, try your luck at the dunk tank, take a relaxing ride on Lake Newport in a paddleboat, spin around on the gyroscope, take a young person to the pony ride trail or enjoy the trackless train with your favorite pal. Whatever your age or pleasure, you're sure to have fun!
