Neighborhood news: New Year's Day fitness bash

Start the new year with Sharron Baucom Dale City Recreation Center's annual Jumpstart fitness bash on Jan. 1. Jumpstart will feature a whirlwind of the center's group fitness offerings.

In the gym, participants can join an hour and a half mashup of strength-training, step, Zumba, cycling and yoga. Each mini-class will last about 15 minutes and be taught by a specialized instructor. In the pool, an aqua aerobics class will blend high-and-low-impact techniques.

The workout starts at 10 a.m. Aqua aerobics ends at 11 a.m. and the land class ends at 11:30 a.m.

Jumpstart costs $15 in advance or $20 at the door and includes an event T-shirt. For more information, please contact Fitness Manager Beverly McIntyre at bmcintyre@pwcparks.org or 703-590-7685. The Center is located at 14300 Minnieville Road in Dale City.

Chess tournament

The Porter Traditional School and C. D. Hylton High School Chess Clubs will sponsor a scholastic chess tournament Jan. 9 at the Porter School, 15311 Forest Grove Drive, Woodbridge. The tournament is open to students attending Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park schools. Homeschooled students are also eligible.

The tournament will be organized in four sections: primary (K-3), elementary (4-5), middle school (6-8), and high school (9-12). No one is eliminated. Each participant will play four games. Trophies and medals will be awarded to the top players and all other participants will receive certificates.

There are no entry fees. Registration must be done via e-mail with name, grade level and school to: prince-williamchess@gmail.com. Deadline for registration is Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. Chess sets will be provided and a concession stand will be available. For additional information, please contact Dick Stableford at 703-670-5887 or e-mail o6usmc@comcast.net.

Extended hours at NVCC

Northern Virginia Community College will be closed until Jan. 3 but online and telephone registration will be available during the break. Students can visit www.nvcc.edu or call 703-323-3770 to register for the spring semester while the college is closed.

NVCC will be open extra hours in January to give students additional time to complete registration transac-tions in person. Offices will stay open until 7:30 p.m. from Jan. 4 to 7 and Jan. 11 to 14.

Offices will also be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 9. The college will observe normal business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 8 and 15.

Prospective students can take advantage of thousands of classes in more than 100 programs during the spring semester that begins Jan. 11. Additional classes start March 15. Day, evening and weekend classes are available at NVCC's six campuses in Alexandria, Annandale, Loudoun, Manassas, Springfield and Woodbridge and two centers in Arlington and Reston.

Coloring contest for tots

Central Community Library offers a preschool coloring contest, titled "Warm Hands," for children ages 2 to 5 from Jan. 1 to 31. Pickup a coloring sheet from the information desk. One winner will be chosen by random drawing from all entries submitted. For more information, please visit Central Com-munity Library located at 8601 Mathis Ave. in Manassas or call 703-361-8211 (voice), 703-361-7572 (TTY).

Needles and hooks

If you like to make crafts with a needle or a hook, visit Chinn Park Regional Library on Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. and have fun sharing your craft and meeting others who also enjoy needlework. For more information about this free adult program, please visit the library at 13065 Chinn Park Drive in Woodbridge or call 703-792-4800 (voice), 703-792-4876 (TTY) or on the Web.

Best wishes

I wish you all the joy and blessings of this very special day.

Until next week ...

Fay Wallace reports your neighborhood news from the mid-county area every Friday in the News & Mes-senger. If you have news about birthdays, your family, your club or your HOA activities, please send it to Fay at faymary@aol.com.