Find a Little LOVE at Oak Marr

Visitors to Oak Marr Rec Center may notice a relatively new feature when driving up to the facility in the form of four, life-size letters that spell out the word: LOVE.

The sign may be hard to miss, but some may wonder exactly when (and why) this uplifting message made its debut.

“We started the LOVE sign during a time when we felt that the country could use a little love,” says Laurie Short, park and recreation employee at Oak Marr Rec Center. “It was just after the COVID lockdown, and during political unrest and increased mass shootings. We felt that as people passed our wonderful park, they would feel that there was still some good in this difficult time.”

The sign falls in line with the Virginia is for Lovers® slogan that was created by the advertising agency Martin & Woltz Inc. for the Virginia State Travel Service (now the Virginia Tourism Corporation) in 1968. The Oak Marr LOVE sign mirrors many other similar signs that have appeared across the state, which the Virginia Tourism Corporation calls LOVEworks.

“We hope to lift the spirits of our patrons, employees and the people passing by in their cars,” Short says. Oak Marr staff crafted the sign out of wood, and each month the “O” in the sign takes on a seasonal decoration. These festive decorations include a heart in February, clover in March, egg in April, pumpkin in October, turkey in November and Santa in December. Some months feature several “costume changes” for the sign, such as shifting from a flower to the Earth to a star in May for all of the events to celebrate.

Landscapers spruced up the area behind the sign with plantings forming “OM” for Oak Marr. The area also features other seasonal decorations and plantings. Head out to Oak Marr Rec Center to see what decorations are featured today and to feel the LOVE for the center.

We invite you to take a picture with the sign and share your LOVE for Fairfax County parks and recreation with everyone! (be sure to tag @Fairfax County Park Authority on Facebook or @fairfaxparks on Instagram, so we can share the LOVE too!)

What is Feldenkrais and Why You Should Be Doing It?

The Feldenkrais Method consists of gentle, safe, yet very effective movement sequences that help us to become aware of how we move and replaces old habits with more efficient movements. By engaging your brain’s neuroplasticity, you will learn to move with more ease by engaging the whole body and mind. The goal is to reduce excess effort and tension that interfere with performance. Once students adapt the Feldenkrais Method®, transitions are no longer jerky, forced or strained. Lifting weights, cycling, walking, getting into or out of a chair, working at your desk or putting on your socks become smooth, easy and won’t hurt. Smooth and easy is what the Feldenkrais Method® is all about.

The Feldenkrais method is taught in Awareness Through Movement® classes offered by the Fairfax County Park Authority. During the class, students will learn to improve posture, avoid or overcome injuries, and move with ease and grace without pain. For those concerned about Osteoporosis we offer Bones for Life® classes, also based on Feldenkrais principles, where participants learn weight bearing processes that avoid shearing stress on joints while safely and optimally regenerating bone tissue and vitality.

If you are interested in trying either class, a free introductory class will be offered at Providence Rec Center on Saturday, August 5. Awareness through Movement will take place at 11 a.m. followed by Bones for Life at 11:30 a.m.

For more information about these classes or others at the Fairfax County Park Authority, please turn to the Exercise and Physical Fitness section starting on pg. 50.

Fairfax County Park Authority Board Members

Kiel Stone....................................Chairman, Braddock

Marguerite F. Godbold..............Vice Chairman, Sully

Dr. Cynthia Jacobs Carter, Ph.D...Secretary, Franconia

Timothy B. Hackman...............Treasurer, Dranesville

William G. Bouie.......................................Hunter Mill

Linwood Gorham........................................Mt. Vernon

Dr. Abena Aidoo Hewton................Member-at-Large

Faisal Khan......................................Member-at-Large

Ronald Kendall...................................................Mason

Ken Quincy..................................................Providence

Michael Thompson, Jr.............................Springfield

James P. Zook..................................Member-at-Large

Fairfax County Park Authority Leadership

Jai Cole......................................Executive Director

Sara Baldwin.......................Deputy Director/COO

Aimee L. Vosper...................Deputy Director/CBD

Parktakes Production Staff

Cindy Fortuno.................Editor, Graphic Design & Advertising

Don Sweeney, Shirl Walley, David Moss............................................Photography

John Rodgers.....................................Graphic Design Freeport Press............................................Printing

Park Authority Board meetings are open to the public. For more information about dates and times, visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/board.

About Parktakes

Advertising: Paid advertising included in Parktakes does not imply endorsement of the advertised goods, products or services by the Fairfax County Park Authority. To place an ad in Parktakes, contact Cindy Fortuno at cindy.fortuno@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Publication and Subscriptions: Free subscriptions are available for both printed and electronic formats through our registration office 703-222-4664 or by signing up online: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/ parks/ptsubs.htm. Parktakes copies are also available at all staffed park locations, county libraries and government centers.

Postage: Periodicals postage paid at Fairfax, Va. (USPS 010-296). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to FCPA/Parktakes, P.O. Box 4606, Fairfax, Va. 220384606.

Photos: The FCPA reserves the right to photograph and videotape all its activities, events, classes, programs and facilities for promotional purposes. Vehicle safety audio/video systems may record program

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Jeffrey C. McKay.......................................Chairman

Penelope A. Gross..............Vice Chairman, Mason

James R. Walkinshaw...............................Braddock

John W. Foust........................................Dranesville

Rodney L. Lusk.........................................Franconia

Walter L. Alcorn.....................................Hunter Mill

Daniel G. Storck.....................................Mt. Vernon

Dalia A. Palchik......................................Providence

Pat Herrity.............................................Springfield

Kathy L. Smith..................................................Sully

The Winter issue of Parktakes will be available in mid-October. Registration will begin on November 1.

A Quarterly Magazine Fall 2023 • Vol. 38/No.4 participants when they are being transported in Park Authority vehicles.

Fairfax County’s programs, services and facilities are available to all citizens regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. To request reasonable accommodations under the ADA, call 703-324-8563 or TTY Va. Relay 711.