Reader Pick
Best Veterinarian
Cherrydale Veterinary Clinic
Treating Arlington’s four-legged finest since 1972, Cherrydale Veterinary Clinic strives to be a one-stop shop for all pet needs—offering dentistry, X-rays, boarding, telemedicine, acupuncture and even cold laser therapy, which uses light to stimulate cell regeneration and manage pain resulting from chronic injury, arthritis or other forms of trauma. “We try to maximize the number of services we can do in-house,” says clinic director Farid Boughanem. “Our clients are busy people, professionally and from a family standpoint.” The clinic’s eight vets see 350 to 400 patients per week—mostly cats and dogs, although one vet is specially trained in treating exotic critters such as hamsters, rabbits and lizards. –Stephanie Kanowitz
Other top vote-getters:
Arlington Animal Hospital, Ballston Animal Hospital, Caring Hands Animal Hospital, Clarendon Animal Care, McLean Animal Hospital, Northside Veterinary Clinic, Suburban Animal Hospital
Reader Pick
Best Overnight Summer Camp
Sandy Hill Camp & Retreat Center
Greg and Kathy Ann Joseph founded Sandy Hill Camp in 1995 and went on to add an air-conditioned gym, equestrian arenas and a ropes course with a double zip line to the 211-acre property, located in North East, Maryland, at the headwaters of the Chesapeake Bay. This year, they acquired Eagle Point, an adjacent 432-acre parcel whose forests and beaches offer even more space for recreational fun. In the summertime, about 450 campers stay for one- or two-week sessions, choosing among instructional activities such as horseback riding, archery, fishing, sailing, survival skills, performing arts and waterskiing. “We think what sets us apart the most is our staff,” the Josephs wrote in an email during the off-season. “We work hard to recruit, train and mentor these enthusiastic and caring young people [as counselors] from across the USA and around the world.” –Stephanie Kanowitz
Other top vote-getters:
Camp Horizons, Camp Rim Rock, Camp Tockwogh, Camp Varsity
Editor Pick
Best Cooking Classes
Cookology Ballston
Whether it’s a sushi-making date night you crave, a baking boot camp for the kiddos, or the chance to roll up your sleeves and play with dough, Cookology can broaden your family’s culinary repertoire. The recreational cooking school Maria Kopsidas founded in 2009 in Dulles Town Center—and expanded to Ballston Quarter in 2019—offers classes and workshops almost daily, from lessons in handmade pasta, holiday finger foods and myriad fillings for tacos, to meatless Monday menus that taste great and check the healthy box. Courses are taught by trained chefs, and participants leave with full bellies and skills for life. –Jenny Sullivan
Reader Pick
Best Tutoring Service
Tutoring Club of McLean/N. Arlington/Falls Church
Michelle Scott’s love of tutoring began in middle school when she started helping peers who were struggling with their assignments. That passion stayed with her into adulthood, through a career in marketing. So she returned to it in January 2010 when she opened the area’s first Tutoring Club franchise. Today, the center’s 12 tutors and academic coaches work with about 125 students (pre-K through grade 12) per week, focusing on each child’s individual needs—whether it’s learning to read, brushing up on algebra, improving study habits, preparing for tests (including the SAT and ACT) or filling in the gaps left by pandemic-related school shutdowns. Scott stresses that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Every person’s brain works differently, and tailoring learning strategies accordingly is what sets the center apart. “It’s really that true vested interest in our students,” she says, “helping them become confident, independent learners.” –Stephanie Kanowitz
Other top vote-getters:
Linder Educational Coaching, Mathnasium, MLS Educational Consultants, Prepped Learning
Reader Pick
SAT/ACT Prep
Tutoring Club of McLean/N. Arlington/Falls Church
Other top vote-getters:
MLS Educational Consultants, Zee Tutoring
Editor Pick
Best Family Outing
The Perch at Capital One Center
“Fun for the whole family” is too often a promise unfulfilled, but The Perch, which occupies the rooftop of the new Capital One Hall performing arts venue in Tysons, may just have figured it out. Spanning 2.5 acres, the 11th-floor sky park includes bocce courts, a dog run, a life-size chess game, an open-air biergarten with more than a dozen brews on tap from Virginia’s Starr Hill Brewery, and an amphitheater that stages live concerts and streams professional sporting events on a massive screen. Come spring, the sky-high village green is expected to add mini golf, food trucks (to be hoisted by crane) and a sculpture garden. It’s all part of Fairfax County’s larger plan to make Tysons its “downtown” by 2050. –Eliza Tebo Berkon
Reader Pick
Family Photographer
Marion Meakem Photography
Other top vote-getters:
Donna Owens Photography, Matt Mendelsohn Creative, Oxana Ware Photography, Rachel E.H. Photography, Tell Chronicles
Reader Pick
Swim Club
Overlee Community Association
Other top vote-getters:
Arlington Forest Club, Chesterbrook Swim & Tennis Club, Dominion Hills Area Recreation, Highlands Swim and Tennis Club, Knights of Columbus
Reader Pick
Private High School
Bishop O’Connell
Other top vote-getters:
Flint Hill School, Gonzaga College High School, Landon School, The Potomac School, St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School, The Sycamore School
Reader Pick
Summer Day Camp
Congressional (Congo) Camp
Other top vote-getters:
Boolean Girl, Camp Kids Place, Encore Stage & Studio, ETC Educational Theatre Co., EverWonder Camps, Knights of Columbus, Summer@Potomac, TIC Summer Camp, YMCA Arlington