Santa at a set in the Food Court at Tysons Corner Center
Tysons Corner Center
Christmas Eve is the perfect day to look back on the 2018 Santa Breakfast at Tysons Corner Center. While parents were in the middle of the holiday season, Santa gave them a little break before starting a Sunday of shopping. Similarly to last year, Santa arrived by the train to the 3rd Floor Food Court. While there were some kids in line to get balloon animals and face painting, many came to see the show after his arrival. Those Funny Little People performed some songs and dances, then Santa greeted some kids and families. I stayed with Santa to get one photo of each family as quickly as I could! If you are looking for your images, you can find them at the Tysons Corner Center Facebook page. This is always the busiest event at the end of the year, and really gets me excited to finish my shopping!
Looking through Tysons Corner Center from the 3rd Floor Food CourtBalloon artists making creations at the 2018 Santa breakfast at Tysons Corner CenterSanta waving to kids during the show at the Santa Breakfast at Tysons Corner CenterThose Funny Little People and Santa at the Food Court at Tysons Corner CenterSanta breakfast visits with children at Tysons Corner Center
Earlier this month, I photographed the 2018 Holiday Reception for the Tysons Partnership. Although I have photographed brides getting ready at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons, it was never the reception venue. The ballroom on this occasion was setup for a lot of activities for the event.
In the first place, I want to thank Meghan, Drew, and Ellen from the Tysons Partnership for another year of great photo projects! Given that they work to have unique elements at their events, I really enjoyed the art station. In this case, scraps from construction in Tysons were assembled into an art piece. Because it was white all around, anyone could design the exterior surfaces with markers. It was nice to see Pindar Van Arman creating art not with a robot but with his own hand!
After talking with MPO Vazquez at the First Responders Day at Tysons Corner Center, he invited me to cover the 2018 Santa Ride. A few days ago, this ride was done by officers from the Fairfax County Police Department, and the Town of Vienna police. Since I can count on one hand how many times I have even been inside a police station, this was a completely different experience for me! Moreover, this was the 30th anniversary of this event which meant a lot of participation from many officers on this cold morning.
Initially, we started at the Vienna Police station. The group of motorcycle officers from Fairfax arrived in Vienna. They stopped for breakfast and to pick up the Vienna officers that were joining. Afterwards, we all got into vehicles and made a caravan to schools in Tysons, Fairfax, and Reston. Being that this was my first time riding in a police car with lights and sirens, I enjoyed the experience! Since I was specifically assigned to the Vienna police, I made sure to focus on their officers. They were interacting with the school kids throughout the day passing out candy canes during their stops. Of course there were other Christmas characters from Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolf and Frosty that also came with us. Undoubtedly this would have been one of my favorite days during school just before Christmas break!
In addition to the schools, we also visited the Fairfax County Government Center. While the kids were excited to see the spectacle, all of the County supervisors were also supportive. To see more of the photos, please visit the Town of Vienna Facebook page.
