2010 has arrived and Main Street continues to slump (well, in this case Mill Street). The Great Recession has not relinquished its icy grip on the world and small towns far and wide continue to struggle, including Occoquan.

Now word comes that two fine restaurants, The Garden Kitchen and Belgique Gourmande, are both up for sale. Apparently, each restaurant has been listed on craigslist (although, I was unable to find either listing).

That’s not all. The well-known local shop Country Morning is also for sale. Sadly, Irish Collection has become the latest business to announce that it will be closing.

What can you do? Shop and eat locally! If you have other ideas on how to help, sound off in the comments or drop me a line. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

The season of giving is upon us and once again the Town of Occoquan is counting on local generosity to help the homeless. To get involved, you can buy a $5 ornament, sign it and hang it on the tree at Occoquan Town Hall.

Ornaments will be available for purchase until Dec. 31 for a minimum donation of $5 at Simply Country, located at 311 Mill Street.

In the past 10 years, the Tree of Hope has raised over $8,500 to help the homeless. Proceeds from the Tree of Hope go to the Resident Rent Fund at the Hilda Barg Homeless Prevention Center.

Wedged along the side of Occoquan Road, Bistro L’Hermitage is the apex of fine dining in Occoquan. The low-slung, cozy French restaurant serves up flavorful dishes in memorable style. The menu is constantly changing but the simple flavors are always delicious.

Bistro L’Hermitage is the closest you’ll come to Top Chef without traveling 20 miles north to DC and you don’t have to take my word for it. Nowadays, even veteran restauranteur Tom Sietsema from the Washington Post ventures into Prince William to dine. Mr. Sietsema labeled Bistro L’Hermitage an Editor’s Pick in his October 18th review.

If you find yourself lucky enough to dine at Bistro L’Hermitage, remember to say hi to Youssef!

Summer is officially over but the spirit must live on. This weekend features a classic battle between two events along the Potomac river. One is old, one is new. Both will probably be a good time. The conditions on the ground will be a little bit sloppy with rain on Saturday afternoon.

The 2009 Occoquan Fall Arts & Crafts Show begins on Saturday, September 26 at 10AM and runs through Sunday at 5PM. This is an all-ages event held twice per year in the streets of Occoquan. The fair of craftsmen and merchants is usually entertaining and crowded. Carnival food abounds. You can buy fried Oreos and shoelace french fries and then finish it off with a banana split. The craft show website has details.

Das Best Oktoberfest also takes place on Saturday 28 nautical miles north at National Harbor. The events runs from 2PM – 8PM on Saturday. The main attraction is “beer, brats & bands”. Tickets are $30 at the door and they include a souvenir tasting mug and 6 beer tokens. There is a beer belly competition and classic local band Love Seed Mama Jump will rock out on stage at 2PM.

This is a tough call but personally, I think Das Best Oktoberfest is the way to go. There are a couple of reasons why. First, shopping in the rain is a drag whereas drinking six german beers in the rain sounds like it could be fun. Also, National Harbor has excellent marina services. Its fairly easy to make a reservation and the staff is on point. One the other hand, there really is no way to reach the craft fair by boat. Perhaps the town should consider an effort to monetize the fallow Gas Light docks on craft fair weekends. Have a fun and safe weekend!

Its been awhile since the hum of bulldozers has accompanied the morning song of local osprey but it seems that is about to change.

When the housing bubble burst, new home construction in Occoquan came screeching to a halt. The brick townhouses on Center Lane sit right next to a string of cement foundations, the Gaslight Landing complex on Mill Street is only half-built (and mostly unoccupied) and WCI stopped halfway through building Occoquan Reach.

As part of WCI’s recent emergence from bankruptcy, the remaining undeveloped parcels in Occoquan Reach have been old to Stanley Martin Homes. Just last week, Stanley Martin announced that construction on slightly modified Occoquan Reach townhouses around September 8th. Time to break out the earplugs!

Aquapalooza 2009 was pretty crazy. The sun was out and the bands rocked until about 8pm when a nasty thunder storm rolled through. According to NOAA, the wind kicked up to 39 mph and although there wasn’t much rain, it was enough to put an end to most of the celebrating.

When the storm came through people where screaming and yelling and trying to stop other boats from hitting them. On the way out, I saw lots of dinged up boats and one that was sinking. It was a big mess and a sobering experience.

If you have some pics to share or stories to tell, drop us a note or sound off in the comments below.