By Bob Tagert

As I write this the day before Thanksgiving, it is 57 degrees outside and the sun is shining. I hope this weather holds for a few more weeks so I can sail one more time. Speaking of sailing, if you get this early enough check out the Scottish Christmas Walk and the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights during the first weekend in December in Old Town. While the tree lighting the day after the Thanksgiving might be the “official” kick off to the season, this is the weekend that seriously kicks it off. Check out the calendar of events for details.

This is what is in store for you as you peruse this issue…we are bringing it “Home for the Holidays” in Road Trip and decided that it was time to highlight my favorite hometown dining establishment, Landini Brothers, in Dining Out. I have been frequenting Landini’s since the day it opened in 1979. As you begin your holiday shopping you might want to consider Carol Supplee’s Imagine Artwear – featured in this month’s Business Profile. Check out Aladdin the Christmas Camel in the Personality Profile. For those of us who toured Mount Vernon too many years ago, this is a reason to make a return trip. Lori Welch Brown offers some holiday tips to get through the season in Open Space and Jeff McCord updates us on St. John and writes about other storms that bashed the islands over the centuries in Caribbean Connection. Nancy Bauer writes about Christmas shopping for Virginia wine presents in Grapevine. You might want to pick up some bottles for yourself and sample your prospective gift before you buy.

We bid a fond farewell to our High Notes contributor, Chris Anderson, with this issue. He has been a big asset for many years and will be missed. We wish him well in his own musical endeavors. He is a talented guy. Picking up the column is Ron Powers, who has a totally different style, who we hope our music lovers will like.

With this issue we will complete 30 years of publishing the Old Town Crier every month. It has been both a delightful and rocky ride over those years. We haven’t made much money but we have made a big foot print in the Northern Virginia area and more importantly, a lot of great friends – and that has a ton of value. Our readership has grown exponentially over the years as well. At the end of each month we pick up maybe .02% of the previous issue on average and that includes our outlying distribution where the percentage is lower. For this I thank those who read us. Equally as important – wouldn’t be in business at all without those who advertise with us…and I want you to know that I think about that every day…THANK YOU!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa and happy whatever –else-you-may-celebrate during the season! We are looking forward to a very happy holiday and hope you all are as well!

Note: We have had several fantastic covers since January of 1988. 2017 was the “Year of the Animal” and we think most of them were spectacular. We have decided that we will dedicate our 2018 covers to photos submitted by local photographers. No need to be a professional. The subject matter has to be relative to the season and/or to our distribution area – “From the Bay to the Blue Ridge”. More details will come in the January issue