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Falls Church has launched a redesigned municipal website after 12 years of planning, marking the start of a packed April that also includes an egg hunt, transportation hearings, concerts, art events and an Earth Day pop-up.
The new FallsChurchVA.gov went live April 1 with a responsive design intended to work more smoothly across devices. High-traffic information—including early voting details, solid-waste schedules and community events—has been prioritized so residents can reach commonly requested resources with fewer clicks.
City officials also overhauled the site’s internal search tools and worked to improve how municipal services appear through external search engines.
The launch represents a major step in the city’s ongoing effort to meet digital accessibility standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Auditing tools will continually identify barriers, while an online feedback form allows users to report broken links and technical problems.
“This update is not a finish line,” Communications Director Mary Catherine Chase said, noting that the city plans to continue refining its digital services as community needs change.
Annual egg hunt set for April 4
Falls Church’s free Annual Egg Hunt will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 4, at Cherry Hill Park, 312 Park Ave.
Families are encouraged to arrive by 9:15 a.m. for arts and crafts, games, face painting, music and bubbles. Children will hunt in three age groups: newborn through 3, ages 4 through 6 and ages 7 through 11. Participants should bring a basket or bag for their treats.
Mr. and Mrs. Bunny will pose for photographs after the hunt, and Abracadabra Alex will present a magic show at 10:30 a.m.
Sponsors include Big Blue Swim School, CommuniKids, Growing Smiles of Nova, LEAD Day School, Levine Music, Raising Cane’s and presenting sponsor Renewal By Andersen.
No public parking will be available at City Hall or the Community Center from 8 a.m. until approximately 1 p.m. because of safety concerns involving Egg Hunt and Farmers Market visitors.
Free public parking will be available at the Kaiser Permanente garage, 201 N. Washington St., and on the lower level of the George Mason Square garage, accessed from South Maple at 103 W. Broad St. Some side-street parking is also available, subject to posted limits. Accessible parking will be provided on Little Falls Street.
Visitors should avoid private lots marked for towing. Organizers recommend walking, carpooling and arriving early.
If weather forces a postponement, the hunt will be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 6, in Cherry Hill Park.
Public input sought on $1.265 billion in transportation requests
Northern Virginia residents have until 11:59 p.m. May 17 to comment on 27 transportation projects competing for regional funding.
Eight jurisdictions submitted applications for the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s fiscal 2026-2031 Six Year Program. Together, the requests total $1.265 billion and cover bus and rail transit, road improvements, transportation technology, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, intersections and interchanges.
Residents may comment through an online form, by calling 703-947-7606 or by mailing the authority at 2600 Park Tower Drive, Suite 601, Vienna, VA 22180.
A hybrid public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 14 in the sixth-floor boardroom at the same Vienna address. Project descriptions, maps, technical analyses and hearing registration are available through the authority’s website.
The authority is expected to consider adopting the six-year program at its July 9 meeting. Procedures and dates remain subject to change.
Concert explores American identity at 250
Little City Concerts will close its 2026 season with the 9th Street String Quartet’s “Sounds of Home at 250” at 7:30 p.m. April 18 at The Falls Church Episcopal, 166 E. Broad St.
Part of state and local observances of the nation’s 250th anniversary, the program will examine belonging and the range of experiences that shape American life. Featured composers include Jessie Montgomery, Kevin Puts, Steven Snowden, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, Stephen Gorbos, Gabriela Lena Frank and Reena Esmail.
Works such as Montgomery’s “Strum,” Tate’s “Pisachi,” Snowden’s “Appalachian Polaroids” and Frank’s “Leyendas” draw upon folk traditions, Indigenous history, regional memory and ancestral identity. Esmail’s “This Is It,” Gorbos’ new composition “Migration” and Puts’ “Home” consider the emotional and philosophical meanings of belonging.
The venue has been a community landmark since 1723. George Washington and George Mason served there as vestrymen during the colonial era, and the church was used to recruit members of the Fairfax Militia during the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence was read to area residents there in the summer of 1776.
In more recent history, the congregation endured a prolonged legal dispute following the 2004 election of the Episcopal Church’s first openly gay bishop. The Falls Church Episcopal welcomed its first gay rector in 2022.
The Arlington-based quartet also operates an inclusive chamber-music program for students in grades 8 through 12. Fundraising helps cover tuition so the ability to pay does not prevent young musicians from participating.
Advance tickets cost $25. Admission is free for people 18 and younger and for students with valid identification. Half of ticket-sale proceeds will benefit Second Story, a Fairfax County organization serving young people experiencing homelessness or other crises, as well as young mothers and their children.
“Joy” exhibition announces two award winners
Two works have received top honors in Falls Church Arts’ “Joy” exhibition, which continues through April 12 at the gallery at 700-B W. Broad St.
Juror Jennifer Kahn Barlow selected Jon Milstein’s 2026 watercolor “Whoosh!” for the Juror’s Choice Award. The colorful scene depicts a child riding a bicycle through a park as adults walk behind him.
Barlow praised the work’s warmth, freedom and momentum, citing its brilliant colors, diagonal path and moving bicycle. Milstein said the scene recalls the exhilaration he once felt riding between the trees as a child.
Visitors chose Malia Kishore’s acrylic-on-wood work “Joyful Chaos” for the People’s Choice Award after voting through March 27.
Kishore created its hydrangeas and lily of the valley from more than 2,000 individually painted wooden hearts. She began the piece after buying the inexpensive hearts while trying to cheer a friend who was going through a difficult time. An open window in the assemblage represents an open heart and mind.
The exhibition will conclude with a free artist talk from 2 to 4 p.m. April 12. Asia Anderson will moderate a panel featuring Precious Burger, Irene Chambers, Tyler Cruse, Berchel Douglas, James Seith and Hana Yang.
The artists will discuss their inspirations, methods and creative perspectives before taking audience questions. Light refreshments will be served.
Earth Day pop-up puts reuse and repair in focus
Idylwood Studios will hold a free Earth Day Pop-up from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 22, at 7617 Idylwood Road in Falls Church.
Artisans, vendors and community advocates will offer hands-on demonstrations and information about reuse, recycling, composting and sustainable living.
Participants include Berryfine Goods, an estate service focused on waste diversion and reuse; Jenny Newberry Art, which creates work from discarded materials; and Fillagreen, a Manassas zero-waste shop offering refillable health, beauty, home and personal-care products.
Future Acres Farm will discuss composting practices. Luci’s Mobile Library, a Springfield nonprofit, will distribute gently used books to children and encourage reading.
Mend a Hand will teach people how to repair and reimagine possessions instead of replacing them. Paloma Vintage Designs will display accessories and décor made from vintage and reclaimed costume jewelry, while Rokatree will showcase textile art for living spaces.
Scout troops and other community groups are also expected to attend.
Falls Church loses its fleeting “Snowcrete” distinction
For a brief moment, Falls Church appeared to have one of the region’s last surviving piles of the dense ice-and-snow mixture nicknamed “Snowcrete.”
Alex Post had monitored piles around the Washington region and photographed a small remnant in Falls Church on March 31. With temperatures expected to reach 80 degrees, he doubted it would survive the day.
Had it been the final pile, Snowcrete would have remained on the ground for 67 consecutive days. Other monitored accumulations near the U.S. Capitol, RFK Lot 6, Arlington Courthouse and Lakelands Park in Gaithersburg had already disappeared through melting or removal.
The apparent record did not last. By April 2, additional piles had been reported in Alexandria, Germantown, Fairfax, College Park and Burke. A particularly large mound remained at Carter Barron in Northwest Washington, while Jonathan Dean, communications director at BWI Marshall Airport, documented another substantial pile outside the airport’s Daily Lot.
Even those holdouts were short of previous benchmarks. Snow left from the 2010 “Snowmageddon” winter survived until April 9, while piles following major March storms in 2014 lasted until April 30.