GOCA Summer 2022 Update - Jun 17, 2022

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

Summer approaches, and many of us are scattering in different directions, especially as the loosening of pandemic restrictions now permit that. We hope you’ll take a moment, though, to catch up on some of the latest developments in the Greater Oakton community by perusing the updates below.

GOCA News

Community Directory. Do you own or know of an Oakton-based business or nonprofit that could benefit from being listed in our soon-to-be published, first-ever Oakton Community Guide? If so, we want to hear from you! Listings (name, phone, email, and website) are completely free. Please email us at contact@greateroakton.com by June 25 to give us those leads, and we will follow up. Or do you have a child, relative, friend or neighbor you’d like to recognize or congratulate publically? If so, we are also selling short shout-outs in the Guide for $25. We plan publication to coincide with Oakton Day in the Park.

Volunteers Needed for the 2nd Annual Oakton Day in the Park, August 14th from 1-4 pm! Mark your calendars for this fun event, which this year promises to hold all the charm of last year, but also will include some exciting new activities (more on those in a future email). Last year’s festival drew on the efforts of some 50 volunteers, and we anticipate needing a few more for this year’s. Shifts are generally 1.5 hours each, leaving volunteers time to enjoy the rest of the festivities. If you can volunteer, please email us at contact@greateroakton.com.This is a great way to meet new friends and to get to learn more about your community. We can also use the assistance of your teenagers, who can earn service hours for their time. Hope to hear from you!

News from Oakton Park. We are continuing to make progress in our efforts to make Oakton Community Park the treasure we know it can be. Stop by sometime to walk along the paths in the woods, which are increasingly being freed of invasives and planted with new, native tree seedlings. Take in the fresh air on the bench installed last year, or enjoy a picnic lunch on the two new picnic tables the Park Authority provided at our request). We continue to talk with the Park Authority in our quest to get water to the schoolhouse, which will allow the installation of the facilities needed to open the schoolhouse more regularly. And we are gradually making progress on establishing a regular plan for maintaining the field, part of which (the area closest to Hunter Mill) will now be mowed biweekly along with the area around the schoolhouse. We have been trying to encourage a meadow in the part of the field closest to the woods, and will resume that following a recent mowing mishap–still leaving a mowed path across the meadow to the woods. Send us a note if you want to volunteer for one of our monthly sessions to remove invasives–or sign up for the next one, scheduled for July 9th, by sending a note to oaktonmark@outlook.com.

History came alive in the Schoolhouse! On April 24th, GOCA hosted Jeff Clark, Video Production Specialist with Fairfax County Public Schools, for a presentation on education in Fairfax County during the period of our own historic schoolhouse, one of only 15 remaining one-room schoolhouses in the county, although not all are in such good condition or open to the public. For a summary of what Mr. Clark conveyed, you can click here. The gathering of over 45 local residents marked the first time this historic building has served as a place for the community to gather since 1912. GOCA sees this event as a great start to what will become an occasional series featuring additional talks on local history and other topics, musical events, and community meetings. Suggestions for programming are welcome. Stay tuned for early announcements of such events in the occasional GOCA newsletter and also on the GOCA website.

Other Community Events

Make Blake Lane Safer - Patrick Henry Library, Tuesday, June 21st, 7 to 8:30 pm. Community gathering to discuss safety enhancements to Blake Lane. If you plan to attend, please RSVP by clicking here.

Illuminate Fairfax, July 16th, 10 am to 5 pm. A local health and wellness festival being held at Unity of Fairfax Church at 2854 Hunter Mill Road. More information can be found here.

Habitat Restoration at Tattersall Park, July 31st, 9 to 11 am. Help restore habitat at Tattersall Park by removing invasive plant wineberry. Be sure to bring protective work gloves and wear long pants & sleeves. Register by clicking here.

Upcoming Activities and Events at the Oakton Library. Click here for a listing. If you would like to learn more about the Friends of Oakton Library, please visit Friends of Oakton Library.

Farmers Market at Oakton United Methodist Church. Weekly Fresh Farm Market, 9 am-1 pm in the OUMC parking lot.

See more information about the above events and other local activities on GOCA’s website. If you have an event you would like listed on the website or in the next newsletter, let us know.

Warmly,

The GOCA Board

Jody Bennett, Linda Byrne, Lauren Crum, Shelley Deutch, Mark Deaton, Michelle Fisher, Kris Olsen, Janet Kerr-Tener, Robin Thurman, and Gary Wong

Please consider making a tax-deductible gift at www.greateroakton.com or you can mail a check to GOCA, c/o Lauren Crum, 10665 Oakton Ridge Ct, Oakton, VA 22124. One hundred percent of your donation will go to our community enhancing projects.