Virginia has launched a new interactive fall travel Web site to help visitors plan trips and keep up with fall foliage.

Fast food may be cheap, but it almost always comes at a hefty dietary price.

I've been thrilled meeting many of you at the farmers market in Manassas during my little cooking gig on Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. It's a great opportunity to share ideas, exchange recipes and experience new ones.

Chris Pearmund had a new idea of how to run winery so he's going to make a go of it.

Labor Day weekend is a special time of year. School is back in session and the fall foliage display is just around the corner. For local classic Volkswagen owners, it signifies a time to pilgrimage to the semi-annual BugOut VW car show in Manassas.

I have a confession to make. To all my friends, co-workers, and family who are cheering me on, checking my progress, and no longer sounding surprised: when I tell you that I’m swimming every other day, when I share my growing number of laps … um, I’m kickboarding more than I’m swimming. Way, way more kickboarding than swimming.

Ronald (RJ) and Mary Ellen Burns (Borst) celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Aug. 29, 2009. The couple met while attending Portland High School in Portland, Maine. The phrase “stampede” has a special and happy meaning for them. They were married on Aug. 29, 1959, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception soon after graduating.

I know it’s hard to believe but fall is right around the corner and those super folks at Historic Manassas are very busy gearing up for the 27th Annual Fall Jubilee on Oct. 3.

Cooking at the Manassas Farmers Market with seasonal produce has afforded me a new venue for creating and testing recipes.

Talk about family friendly. Jo Jo’s Original Softserve ice cream stand on South Main in Dumfries even caters to the family pet.

For many of its patrons, the Philadelphia Tavern in Old Town Manassas is a one-of-a-kind icon.

Good Morning Prince William. Well, I thought we had escaped the usual D.C. area summer heat and high humidity but I was wrong! It is mid-August though, so I think we lucked-out for the most part.

“OK, everybody! We leave for the fair in 15 minutes! Get ready!” I give it a good yell, trying to reach the son watching TV, the dad at the computer, and the daughter … well, wherever she is. Probably upstairs, in her room.

Try this shredded beef casserole made with inexpensive beef chuck for a hearty answer to family style burritos.

A new restaurant offering Asian, American and Italian food has opened in Manassas and is celebrating its grand opening.

Since opening its doors this past November, Pho 234 Vietnamese Noodle Soup and Grilled Restaurant has been impressing diners from Manassas and beyond with its harmonious combinations of Vietnam’s best cuisine.

Inside the home arts buildings at the Prince William County Fair this week, crafters are hard at work demonstrating quilting, knitting and ... animation?

Hold on to your hats because “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” is coming to the Washington market! Yes, here’s your opportunity to work on a house or a community center during the last week of August. I’m sorry that our own community wasn’t picked but these projects are within easy driving distance.

The Prince William American Red Cross and Buckhall Volunteer Fire Department are hosting a Super CPR Sunday event where people can learn lifesaving Adult CPR in just one afternoon so they can be prepared to save a life.

On Aug. 8, Dorette Irene McDuff Turgeon and Jean-Claude Turgeon celebrated 50 years of marriage.

The text message beeps in at 4:09 p.m., just as I slide into my car and lower the windows to blow out the day’s heat. “On the ground,” my husband alerts me. What?! I yank the minivan into drive and take off.

All Saints Anglican Church member Amanda Bennett was hoping to help out at the Prince William County Animal Shelter as part of her church’s week-long community project called Saints in Action.
The animal shelter needed volunteers to clean up the stalls at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in preparation for the 60th annual county fair.

The 60th annual Prince William County Fair opens today..

Movie lovers received a double blow late last week with the deaths of writer/director/producer John Hughes at age 59 and controversial screenwriter and novelist Budd Schulberg at age 95.

The following is the schedule for the 60th annual Prince William County Fair:

» District 9: A large colony of malnourished, ill-treated refugees arrive suddenly on a nation’s doorstep. They are in need of care and shelter.

On Tuesday, a Louisiana jury found Corey “C-Murder” Miller guilty of 2nd degree murder in the 2002 shooting death of then 16-year-old Steve Thomas.

For the News & messengerWhat to do coming up.

Zucchini is the summer vegetable that keeps on giving. Anyone with a summer garden usually harvests more zucchini than they know what to do with.

In my kitchen, dry lentils get about the same treatment as dry beans.