June Summer Movie Nights: Fridays June 13 & June 27

Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, snacks, and MPOA RECREATION TAGS and enjoy a FREE movie at Dolphin beach.  Fresh Popcorn, soda and water will be available for purchase!  Vote online and select the movie of your choice at www.montclairva.com beginning June 1st!

February in Montclair is Volunteer Appreciation.  This month, MPOA will recognize volunteers for events, committees, and our hard working, diligent Board of Directors at the Volunteer Appreciation Reception.  The reception will be held on February 27 at the Montclair Country Club from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Look for an invitation to hit your mailbox by Valentine’s Day, February 14.  The R.S.V.P.

Happy New Year to you all!  The holiday season is behind us and I hope you all were able to ring in the New Year with a big bang! 2008 is promising to be a great year already for Montclair.  We have the creation of the new movie nights at the beach to look forward on multiple Friday nights in the summer months, along with resurrecting the Adult Beach Party, tentatively scheduled for late July.  Take a look at the new calendar for next year, dates subject to change based upon entertainment availability.  As always, we are looking for new and more volunteers to help with the events.  It is a great way to get involved in the community, especially if you are new to the area. 

On behalf of the Events Committee of Montclair, I would like to wish all the residents a very happy and successful New Year.  In 2007 many changes took place concerning the planning, organization and marketing of our community events, and more changes are to come this year. Just to mention a few, we introduced the summer movie nights of which we will have 6 in 2008.  We had our first Halloween "Boo Cruze" which proved to be very successful, and this summer we are planning to bring back the Adult Beach Party.

Financially, we have been trying to save money while improving the quality of our events and activities at the same time.  With the help of our Events Director we managed to achieve that goal.  In 2008 we will try to get sponsorship from local businesses in Montclair in order to cover part of the costs associated with the new events that we would like to host.

Greetings and Happy Holidays! ‘Tis that wonderful time of year of great food, family gatherings and gifts!  The Montclair Senior's holiday luncheon will be hosted at the MPOA building on December 13 from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.  Come play bingo, partake in the White Elephant gift exchange, and listen to the Forest Park Jazz Ensemble perform holiday music.  For more information on this, please contact Jane Reuben at 703/583-8331.  Please reserve a space by calling MPOA at 703/670-6187, now until December 7.  Space is limited for this event.  

Be sure to catch Santa's Ride and the Holiday Caroling on December 15.  Mark your calendars so you and your family can catch the special treats Santa will pass out from the fire truck, beginning at 9:00 a.m.  Later in the evening at 6:00 p.m. at Dolphin Beach, Santa will be by the big bonfire helping lead carols along with passing out hot chocolate and cookies.  You don't want to miss out on these great holiday activities for your whole family!

I would like to thank those that helped make our new Halloween events successful! A special thanks to the Iwanicki family for allowing us to use all of their awesome Halloween props for the ‘Boo Cruze' at Kids Dominion! Click here to view pictures from the event. Next year we look forward to adding more special effects! I hope everyone is getting excited about Thanksgiving at the end of this month. Be safe in your travels, and if you have family coming to see you, I hope you have a great Turkey Day!

Looking ahead to December, I encourage everyone to participate in the Holiday House Decorating Contest. Applications will be available on the MPOA website or at the MPOA office starting November 26. Judging will take place December 14 and the winner will be announced December 15. The Montclair Senior's will be having their Holiday Luncheon on December 13 at the MPOA building. If you would like to attend, please contact MPOA and make your reservations by December 7. Also, make sure to add Santa's Ride to your calendar, when Saint Nick will ride through Montclair on the Dumfries/Triangle fire truck, followed by Holiday Caroling and hot chocolate at Dolphin Beach. All the fun happens on December 15.

This month we are focusing on the spooky celebration of HALLOWEEN!  Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, is officially on October 31, which falls on a Thursday this year.  Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).   The Celts-who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France-celebrated their new year on November 1.  This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and beginning of the dark, cold winter-a time of year that was often associated with human death.  The Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.  On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth.  In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, The Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future.  For people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter. 

As fall is approaching, the Events Committee is working hard on the preparations for Oktoberfest. We seem to be on track, but as always, I would like to ask for everyone's help who can make some time that day to volunteer during the event.

For those of you who have never volunteered before, the work involved is just two hours and you will have a lot of fun and will meet new people, possibly one of your neighbors you just never had a chance to introduce yourself to. School age children can use this time as part of their community service hours.

The Events Committee is also planning a new event for Halloween, a spooky party at Kids Dominion followed by a costume swap shop at the MPOA office. Children will have a chance to trade their old costumes for different ones. If you are "spookily" creative, please help us decorate the playground. You can e-mail your ideas to mangrios4montclair@hotmail.com before hand so that we can get the necessary supplies in time. Please make sure you write "spooky party" in the subject.

The Fourth of July Celebration scheduled for Wednesday July 4, 2007 will begin at 10:00 a.m. with a bike parade beginning at the MPOA building. At 5:00 p.m., the Montclair Lions will host their annual community picnic at Dolphin Beach, with July 4th Fireworks starting at 9:00 p.m. A list of food available for purchase can be found in the June and July Montclairion. From 7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., enjoy the music of Lionel Ward and the New World Band performing golden oldies and a special 'Tribute to Elvis.' To sign-up to volunteer online, click here.

The Teen Beach Party is scheduled for Saturday August 11, 2007 from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There will be a DJ, games, activities, and prizes throughout the evening, and pizza and soda will be available for a small fee. If you are a teen and would like to help plan this party, please contact Maryanne Toal at 703/670-6187, e-mail events@montclairva.com, or sign-up online by clicking here.

The Community Events Committee would like to recognize two long standing members, Nick and Karen Credgington, who recently decided to step down from the committee.  Their input for Montclair events has been invaluable, and on behalf of the entire committee, we would like to thank Karen and Nick for their countless time and effort over the four plus years they have served on the committee. 

Along with spring, Montclair's event season is in full bloom!  The Easter Egg Hunt is Saturday, April 7^th.  Thank you to all the volunteers who responded after last month's Montclairion article.  Don't forget to bring your own egg basket or bag.  Also, beach tags are mandatory and may be obtained, with proper ID, during normal business hours at the MPOA office.  
                                                                                                                                          Next on the list is Beautification Day, scheduled for May 19, 2007 at Dolphin Beach.  For more information please contact Donna McCarter at donnaburke57@comcast.net. Montclair Day is also getting up in gear, and we need as many volunteers as possible for this event.  This year we will be having more games, so hands-on help is greatly needed for the day of the event. Please contact Kati Mangrio at katica1367@hotmail.com to find out how you can help.  I look forward to seeing you at all of Montclair's upcoming events and hope you enjoy the increasing warm weather!