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HERNDON, VA — With Christmas in the rearview mirror, many people in Herndon are making plans and reservations for where and when they will be celebrating New Year's Eve on Sunday.

Looking to enjoy a night of glittering lights, funky beats, retro-inspired cocktails, and dance floor magic? Then the Carpool Herndon's 2024 New Years Eve Disco may be for your. The event takes place Sunday, Dec. 31 from 9 p.m. to Monday, Jan. 1, 2 a.m., at 208 Elden St. in Herndon.

Why not welcome 2024 in by joining a long-time Herndon tradition? Jimmy's Old Town Tavern is hosting its 27th New Year's Eve Gala on Sunday, Dec. 31, at 697 Elden St., in Herndon. Two seatings available at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Reservations recommended.

Those who prefer to start the year off on the right foot have a couple of options. They can run in the New Years Day 5k, which starts at 10 a.m., on Jan. 1, at 11900 Market St. in Reston Town Center. They can also participate in the Fairfax County Park Authority's First Hike Fairfax Photo Contest, by hiking a park authority trail and taking a memorable photo.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in and around Herndon:

If you have any New Year's celebrations you'd like to be added to this list, email all the details to herndon@patch.com.

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Other U.S. cities have adopted iterations of the ball drop — the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho, for example.

Northern Virginia’s twist on the ball drop is First Night in Old Town Alexandria, featuring family-friendly activities and events starting a 2 p.m. and ending with fireworks over the Potomac River at 12 a.m.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves.

The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse — for gaining weight, for example — and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.

VIRGINIA — Gas is not expected to cost as much next year in Northern Virginia, according to a 2024 fuel price outlook that looks at current market conditions and speculates on how they may affect fuel prices in the future.

In the Commonwealth, the average per gallon price is currently $2.98, according to AAA. GasBuddy, an app that helps users find cheap fuel in their area, forecasts prices will average between $3.14 and 3.46 a gallon in 2024.

The average daily cost of gasoline in the Washington, D.C., region could go as high as $3.90 to $4.30, Gas Buddy said.

AAA said the highest average price Virginia drivers paid for a gallon of regular unleaded gas was $4.86 on June 14, 2022.

The national average for a gallon of gas fell below last year’s low just in time for Christmas travel, AAA Mid-Atlantic said. "Tepid demand and a low cost for oil, which is hovering around $70 per barrel are factors in the low prices."

Drivers can find current gas prices along their route using the AAA TripTik Travel planner.

Here’s what Gas Buddy forecasts for national gas prices by month in 2024:

U.S. fuel prices reached record highs in 2022 due to COVID-19 supply issues, near-record inflation, and Russia’s war in Ukraine. The forecast author, Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, said he expects prices will normalize next year, with prices averaging $3.38 a gallon, compared to $3.51 in 2023.

“As 2023 fades away, I’m hopeful those $5 and $6 prices for gasoline and diesel will also fade into memory,” De Haan said in a statement. “The global refining picture continues to improve, providing more capacity and peace of mind that record-setting prices will stay away from the pump this year. 2024 will feature some volatility, unexpected outages and disruptions, and potentially weather-related issues, but I do not expect it to feature record prices — anywhere.”

If the forecast is correct, 2024 prices will be around the level of 2014 price of $3.34 a gallon. The forecast makes allowances for seasonal peaks around Memorial Day when prices could go over $4 a gallon.

During other major holidays, gas prices are expected to remain well below that level, with per gallon prices ranging from $2.83-$3.16 possible by next Christmas.

Drivers nationwide are expected to spend about $446.9 billion to fuel their vehicles in 2024, compared to $479.2 billion in 2023. Both are well below $526.3 billion spent in 2022.By household, gasoline spending is expected to be about $2,407 in 2024, compared with $2,460 in 2023 and $2,715 in 2022.

Maybe you have seen some of these. Or maybe not. As you walk through Herndon, you may have noticed some hidden – and sometimes not so hidden – interesting historic “gems,” which harken back to Herndon’s past. For instance …

On the west side of the Herndon Centennial Golf Course are a couple of turn-of-the-century stone spring houses that can be seen from the Washington and Old Dominion (W&OD) trail. One has been renovated. These represent the days before the Town had its own water system, when residents had their own cisterns, wells, and spring houses. These spring houses were formerly associated with homes that were once located along a gravel road (Old Heights Road) that runs parallel to the W&OD Trail, near the Folly Lick stream branch, which is now part of the golf course.

Next to the Herndon caboose on Lynn Street is a tall iron whistle post, painted white with black dashes and dots. The sign is next to the W&OD Trail which, and dates to when the Southern Railway ran the railroad, from 1894 to 1912. The black marks signify how many times a locomotive engineer was to blow the train whistle, and whether the duration of the whistle should be long or short. The two long and two short whistles warned that the train was approaching a crossroad.

A cemetery caretaker’s shed was once located on the property of the Herndon’s Chestnut Grove Cemetery. The cemetery is located at the intersection of Dranesville Road and Herndon Parkway and was formally established sometime between 1872 and 1874. The caretaker’s shed is believed to date from that same time period. The shed was in danger of being lost due to development near Herndon Parkway. Herndon residents, Harlon and Midge Reece, who formerly lived in a historic home at 905 Elden St., made arrangements to have the old shed relocated to their back yard, in c. 1989-1990. The carpenter gothic style shed remains in that yard today.

There is an old gas generating station that is located across the street from the Herndon Municipal Center at 777 Lynn St. It dates to about 1900. It was part of the Herndon Gas Company that was formed to provide gas for the streetlights in downtown Herndon, and for the lights in a few of the town’s more affluent homes. The black marks on the outside are remnants from Herndon’s 1917 Big Fire. Next to the gas house is the foundation of Moffett’s Blacksmith shop (built in 1906) which was moved to Frying Pan Park in the 1970s.

The Herndon Fortnightly Club, which formed in 1889, started Fairfax County’s first lending library. The club members stored their books in various buildings around town, but lost many of them in the 1917 Big Fire. With insurance money from the fire, they were able to build their own library building in 1927. The club ran their library out of this little cream-colored building at 660 Spring St. until the 1970s when it was absorbed into the Fairfax County Public Library system. The building is now a Quaker Friends Meeting House.

Two large cement sculptures of whimsical trolls can be found in a small patch of trees between the W&OD Trail and the Herndon Harbor House. They can best be seen from the parking lot of 871 Grace St. The sculptor was Mary Larue Wells who was hired in the 1980s by the Fairfax County Housing Authority to create some art work for the play area of a subsidized housing project in Reston. The molds for her sculptures were later reused at the Harbor House. Wells used the likenesses of two county officials for the faces of the two trolls: Walter Webdale and Jack Herrity.

Parked in the rear parking lot of the Elden Street Service Center at 602 Elden St., is a rusty antique car sitting upon cinderblocks. The car is a former Model-A sedan from c. 1928-1931. The car is believed to have been there since that building housed the Herndon Motor Company in the 1960s. What is the significance of the car? You will have to ask the business owner.

Some sections of old sidewalk in a few of Herndon’s older neighborhoods have a dimpled pattern on them. This design was made with a hand-held roller and represents some of the older sidewalks in town. One of these rollers is located in the Herndon Historical Society’s Depot Museum. Some sections of dimpled sidewalks can still be seen on Grace Street and Oak Street.

The Alexandria, Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad (later named the W&OD Railroad) was being built through what is now the Town of Herndon in the late 1850s. A stone railroad bridge was built over the Sugarland Run Stream in c. 1857. This stone bridge can still be seen underneath the W&OD Trail, where it intersects with Herndon Parkway on the east side of Herndon.

A tall granite obelisk is on Herndon’s town green, located behind the Municipal Center at 777 Lynn St. This is Herndon’s veteran’s memorial and is a half-size replica of the 21-foot Herndon Monument located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. The original obelisk was erected in Annapolis in 1860 in honor of Navy Commander William Lewis Herndon, the namesake of the Town of Herndon. The town’s obelisk was a project of the Wayne M. Kidwell American Legion Post 184 and was dedicated in 2002.

The oldest house still standing in Herndon is at 744 Dranesville Road. It was built in c. 1783 and originally belonged to George Payne. It includes a chicken coop and root cellar. It was originally a rectangularly shaped house, but an addition was constructed during the Civil War period, making it a T-shaped house.

There are two fully stone homes remaining in Herndon. One is the Carroll House, built c. 1909 and located in Runnymede Park, Herndon’s 58-acre natural park on the east side of Herndon Parkway. The other is Mayor Isaiah Bready’s home near St. Joseph Catholic Church, at the intersection of Ferndale Avenue and Vine Street. The Bready family moved to Herndon in the 1850s and lived in a wood frame house on their property. In 1876, Isaiah Bready built this stone home. He was elected as Herndon’s first mayor in 1879.

Herndon’s old Town Hall, located at the intersection of Elden and Lynn streets, was a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project, built in 1939. The WPA was one of President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs to help put people back to worked during the Depression. When it first opened, it housed the mayor’s office, the Herndon Post Office, and the town’s jail.

About this column: “Remembering Herndon’s History” is a regular Herndon Patch feature offering stories and anecdotes about Herndon’s past. The articles are written by members of the Herndon Historical Society. Barbara Glakas is a member. A complete list of “Remembering Herndon’s History” columns is available on the Historical Society website at www.herndonhistoricalsociety.org.

The Herndon Historical Society operates a small museum that focuses on local history. It is housed in the Herndon Depot in downtown Herndon on Lynn Street and is open every Sunday from noon until 3:00. Visit the Society’s website at www.herndonhistoricalsociety.org, and the Historical Society’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HerndonHistory for more information.

HERNDON, VA — Various closings and schedule changes will be in place for the Thanksgiving holiday in the Herndon area.

Town of Herndon governmental offices are closed on Thanksgiving, Nov. 23, as well as Friday, Nov. 24.

County government, schools and other services will be closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 23 as well as Friday, Nov. 24. Services like transit and trash collection will be open with modified schedules.

Although not on Thanksgiving Day, Skye Ballet Center will be presenting performances of "The Nutcracker!" on Saturday, Nov. 25, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., in the South Lakes High School theatre. The school is located at 11400 South Lakes Drive in Reston. More information about the production is available online.

Below are the openings and closures to know for the Thanksgiving holiday in the Herndon area:

Fairfax County government offices: Closed on Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.

Fairfax County Public Schools: Closed Wednesday, Nov. 22 through Friday, Nov. 24.

Herndon Community Center: The center is open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, and closed Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.

Tennis Center: Closed Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.

Herndon Centennial Golf Course: Open Thursday, Nov. 23, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., weather permitting. Open Friday, Nov. 24, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weather permitting.

Courts: Fairfax County courts close at noon on Wednesday, Nov. 22 and will be closed Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.

Department of Motor Vehicles: All DMV customer service centers are typically closed on Thanksgiving.

Metrorail: On Thanksgiving Day, will operate on a Sunday Holiday schedule, with trains running from 7 a.m. to midnight. On Friday, Nov. 24, trains will run from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. For more details, go to https://www.wmata.com/schedules/timetables/index.cfm.

Metrobus: Will operate on a Sunday schedule on Thanksgiving Day. Will operate on regular Friday schedule on Nov. 24. More details at https://www.wmata.com/service/bus/metrobus-saturday-supplemental.cfm.

Fairfax Connector: Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, Fairfax Connector will operate Sunday Service on Thursday, Nov. 23. All Fairfax Connector stores, and the Customer Service Call Center will be closed on Thanksgiving. On Friday, Nov. 24, Fairfax Connector will operate Holiday Weekday Service. The Fairfax Connector stores, and the Customer Service Call Center will be open and operating regular service hours.

Libraries: All Fairfax County Public Library locations will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 23 and Friday, Nov. 24.

Virginia Railway Express: There is no VRE service on Thursday, Nov. 23. VRE will operate on an "S" schedule on Friday, Nov. 24. For more information, visit www.vre.org.

Post offices: Closed on Thursday, Nov. 23.

Recreation centers: Fairfax County recreation centers are closed on Thursday, Nov. 23 and open on Friday, Nov. 24.

Trash and recycling (Herndon): For residents of the Town of Herndon, trash normally collected on Thursday will be collected on Friday. Friday service will remain the same. No yard waste will be collected during the week of Thanksgiving. This includes bagged leaves, but does not affect curbside loose leaf collection.

Trash and recycling: Fairfax County collection customers will have collection services on Thursday, Nov. 23. Private collection customers should check with their hauler for any changes.

Trash and recycling centers: The Recycling and Disposal Centers at the I-66 Transfer Station and the I-95 Landfill Complex will both be closed on Thursday, Nov. 23

VIRGINIA — A pair of storms moving in from the north will knock temperatures down 20 degrees and bring a soggy start to one of the busiest weeks of the year as many DC and Virginia residents travel for the Thanksgiving holiday.

"Heavy rain, gusty winds and even snow are expected as a pair of storms is forecast to join forces in the eastern half of the country next week. This could wreak havoc for millions during some of the traditionally busiest hours of pre-Thanksgiving travel," according to Accuweather.

Possibly impacting travels, a pair of storm systems coming from the Canadian border will make their way east and could bring a variety of impacts to the mid-Atlantic region.

By Wednesday, the storms were expected to merge in the eastern Great Lakes, Appalachians and Eastern Seaboard, spreading heavy rain and gusty winds all the way to the coast, according to Accuweather.

Before the storms arrive, residents in Northern Virginia and D.C. will continue to enjoy abnormally warm weather on Thursday and Friday.

"A bit less cloud cover today & slightly warmer temps as high pressure pushes offshore. After morning temps in the 30s expect highs to climb into the upper 60s this afternoon. Mild temps continue into Friday with rain chances later in the day. Cooler this weekend," wrote the U.S. National Weather Service office for Baltimore-Washington.

Temperatures will top out in the low 70s on Thursday and Friday before beginning to drop into the 50s for highs this weekend.

While next week will start with plenty of sunshine and dry weather on Monday, rainy weather will move in on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, a soaking storm can track from the central U.S. toward the East, complicating travel plans," AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Glenny said.

More people are expected to travel this Thanksgiving than the previous year, according to AAA, who said 55.4 million travelers will be venturing at least 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving, which would be an increase of 2.3 percent over last year.

The busiest travel days are predicted to be Wednesday, Nov. 22, and the three days after Thanksgiving, according to AAA.

The heaviest rain from the newly-formed storm could be soaking a portion of the East Coast, especially in parts of New England which may coincide with the busiest times to travel between 2 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 22.

However, the exact times for heavy rain are too early to target, says Glenny. She said the speed of the storm will be key in determining when and where the downpours erupt.

"A main factor to monitor with this storm will be how quickly it can exit New England," she said.

Here's the latest National Weather Service forecast for the DC region:

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 70. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44. South wind 5 to 7 mph.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 69. South wind 7 to 11 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.

Friday Night: A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. South wind 5 to 9 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 56. Breezy, with a northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 34.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 57.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 33.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 50.

Monday Night: A chance of showers after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday: Showers. High near 56. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Tuesday Night: Showers. Low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 54.