Flash Mob Surprises Farmers Market Crowd

They met in secret since early August, in living rooms and parking lots around Reston. They needed to practice, but the goal remained a guarded secret.

Saturday at the the clandestine plan paid off. About 30 participants performed a flash mob.

A flash mob is a group of people who seemingly randomly gather together in a public place to perform a cheer, dance or other stunt. It has become a phenomenon as social media and email connections has been able to organize events quickly.

Saturday's flash mob had Reston spirit. The Saturday Farmers Market - the place to stock up on organic produce, handmade beaded jewelry and fresh free-range chicken eggs - is also the place to hear the bluegrass house band.

When the house band went into Johnny Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues," that was signal to get in place. When the band played the first notes of The Band's "The Weight," it was time to really move.

The flash mob included the young (schoolchildren) and the old (but young in spirit, such as Camile Hemsley, a member of the jazz dance troupe at Leesburg's Leisure World).

The event was organized by Teri Westbrook, a Lake Anne resident.

"I have been a dancer all my life," Westbrook said. "I participated in a flash mob in Washington, DC, in early spring, and it was so much fun. We practiced on and off for about four weeks. We had to do a lot of different rehearsals to accommodate people's schedules.

"We had to move the practices to my living room for a while because it was 100 degrees out," she said. "What were we thinking?"

After the dance portion, the mob sang the song "Red Rover," with the lyrics changed to be a tribute to the farmers market.