1st Round Draft Pick, 'Reclining Liberty', $1M Winner: NoVA Good News

VIRGINIA — This week's good news stories in Northern Virginia include a local high school student getting picked in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, a statue depicting a lounging Lady Liberty will be on display in Arlington starting in August, and five area students design a walking cane with the help of visually impaired people from Herndon.

Plus, three local teens are each awarded $36,000 by the Helen Diller Family Foundation as part of its annual recognition of Jewish teen leaders, two local restaurants are honored at the 2023 RAMMY Awards Ceremony, and a Vienna man wins $1 million playing a Virginia Lottery game.

Here are some of this week's good news headlines:

'Reclining Liberty' To Make Yearlong Rest Stop At Arlington Art Museum

"Reclining Liberty," a 25-foot-long statue depicting the Statue of Liberty in a lounging pose by artist Zaq Landsberg, will be on display on the lawn in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington starting in August. The public artwork was previously on display at Liberty State Park in New Jersey and in other parts of the New York City area. An opening celebration will be held on Saturday, Aug. 5 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The work will remain on display until July 28, 2024.

3 NoVA Teens Awarded $36K For Dedication To Building A Better World

Three teens from Northern Virginia were each awarded $36,000 by the Helen Diller Family Foundation as part of its annual recognition of Jewish teen leaders. Anabelle Lombard, 18, of Arlington and Benjamin Joel, 18, and Max Blacksten, 17, both of McLean, were among the Jewish teen leaders who won the Helen Diller Family Foundation’s Diller Teen Tikkun Olam Awards.

High Schoolers Develop Winning Project With Help Of Herndon Seniors

Five students from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria were named finalists in the Conrad Innovation Challenge for the walking cane they designed with the help of visually impaired people from the Herndon Senior Center. TJ students Rohith Yelisetty, Arnav Bhalla, Anirudh Mantha, Adithiya Balaguru, and Tanush Kallem worked on the project.

Madison High School Grad Chosen In First Round Of MLB Draft

Madison High School's graduating class can now claim an athlete with a future in Major League Baseball. Madison High School graduate Bryce Eldridge was drafted 16th overall by the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft Sunday. Eldridge has been a pitcher and first baseman. MLB.com indicates he could be a two-way player, who can pitch without being counted on the team's active pitcher roster and can hit.

• MLB Draft Pick Among Madison Baseball Players Honored By County Board

A Good Change of Fortune

• Bare Skin Waxing Expands From Alexandria To Vienna's Church Street
• Business Owner Helps Crooked Beat Records Find New Del Ray Location
• 31 VA Companies Named Among America’s Greatest Workplaces 2023

Dinners and Dessert

• 2 Fairfax Restaurants Honored At 2023 RAMMY Awards Ceremony
• Arlington Chef To Open Full-Service Restaurant In McLean In Early 2024
• Water's End Brewery Comes To The Dell Food Hall In Leesburg
• Fredericksburg's Best Ice Cream, As Chosen By Patch Readers

Lottery Winners

• Loudoun Man Wins $215K From VA Lottery's VIP Ultra Game
• Routine Stop Before Work Leads To Top Lottery Prize For Vienna Man

NoVA Scholarship Winners

• 3 Ashburn Students Win College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships
• Leesburg Student Wins College-Sponsored Merit Scholarship
• McLean, Great Falls Students Win College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships
• Burke Student Wins College-Sponsored Merit Scholarships

Good Times in Alexandria

• Alexandria Makes Travel + Leisure’s Best Cities in the U.S. List Again
• Alexandria Bier Garden Rebrands To Village Brauhaus
• Tax-Free Days Set For Alexandria Stores Amid No VA Sales Tax Holiday

Summer Activities for Kids

• Things To Do With Children In Summer 2023 Around Vienna
• Things To Do With Children In Summer 2023 Around Falls Church

More Good News Stories

• Courtney LeBlanc Selected As Arlington's New Poet Laureate
• Sheriff Kincaid Awards Scholarships To 5 Criminal Justice Majors
• 5 Hunters Woods at Trails Edge Residents Honored For Civic Leadership
• TSA PreCheck Enrollment Pop-Ups Planned In Seven Corners, Tysons