Tom Shupe is looking for a new home in Alexandria for a chess school.
Shupe describes himself as a U.S. chess expert and was previously an examiner with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for 12 years until 2023. That’s when he gave it all up to write for Chess.com and founded MVP Chess Center. Shupe currently teaches dozens of kids and adults and hosts weekly events and monthly tournaments at The Link co-working office (215 N. Payne Street) in Old Town.
The Alexandria Police Department is investigating the theft of copper and security wire from the Inova Alexandria Hospital at Landmark construction site.
No arrests have been made, but around 4:15 p.m. on Aug. 30, the senior superintendent of Clark Construction reported a burglary to APD. Just 10 minutes before, at 4:05 p.m., surveillance footage showed a white U-Haul cargo van drive into the construction site and two male suspects enter one of the hospital buildings under construction, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The Little Theatre of Alexandria’s 2026–27 season continues with She Loves Me, the beloved romantic musical, running October 17 – November 7, 2026.
Thursday through Saturday evening performances at 8:00 PM. Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Get tickets $36
In a charming 1930s European perfumery, shop clerks Georg and Amalia can’t stand each other. They bicker across the counter by day, never suspecting that each is the anonymous pen pal the other has been falling for by letter. As the holidays approach and the mystery unravels, two unlikely sweethearts discover that love may have been right in front of them all along. Set to a lush, witty score, it’s the same timeless story that inspired the film You’ve Got Mail.
Book by Joe Masteroff
Music by Jerry Bock
Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick
Based on the play Parfumerie by Miklós László
Directed and choreographed by Mitchell Aiello, with music direction by Isabel Hernandez-Cata. Produced by Eleanore Tapscott and assistant producer Cassie Cope.
The cast features Shelby Young as Amalia Balash and Antony Galace as Georg Nowack, with Maura Lacy as Ilona Ritter, Brandon Schenk as Steven Kodaly, Michael McGovern as Ladislav Sipos, Phil Krzywicki as Mr. Maraczek and Mylo Cluff as Arpad Laszlo. The ensemble includes Stephen Yednock, Evan Arellano, Dale Dwyer, Lori Bonnette, Alicia Braxton, Rachael Fine, Gavin Hubbard, Jordan Lohmeyer, Jennifer Thomas and Brett Womack.
The Little Theatre of Alexandria is located at 600 Wolfe Street in Old Town Alexandria. Street parking.
Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 PM and Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $36 (plus $4 service charge). All sales final; limited exchanges available. Box Office: 703-683-0496. Get Tickets
The Ethiopian community in Alexandria will share its food and culture at a returning fall festival this weekend.
The Ethiopian Community Support and Advocacy Center will host the sixth annual Ethiopian Fall Festival from 1-7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, at Chinquapin Park (3210 King Street). Ethiopian families and local residents alike are invited to the festival to celebrate Ethiopian heritage and share culture, traditions, food, music, dance and art with the community.
Michigan-based Acorp Services recently closed on a 1.3-acre office building in Old Town North, buying a property assessed at nearly $21 million in value for $9.05 million.
The sale of the 1970s-era Class A office building at 11 Canal Center Plaza marks Acorp’s first building acquisition in Northern Virginia.
Wine tasting, food, revelry. Jane Lopes & Jonathan Ross, Founders/Owners of Legend Imports, will be pouring some fantastic Aussie selections to pair with passed apps from Revel's kitchen for an epic Sunday Funday!
Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognized on the federal Columbus Day holiday, will bring an array of closures and schedule changes to Alexandria.
The holiday falls on Monday, Oct. 12, which will mean a three-day weekend for some employees and students. The City of Alexandria has recognized the holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day since 2019 and has shared the history of Indigenous peoples in the city on its website.
Alexandria’s recently reported unemployment rate was down from a year before and on the lower end of what has been seen citywide during the past year.
But like much of the rest of Northern Virginia, there also has been an exodus in the total number of city residents with jobs.
On This Day in Alexandria History — “On October 8, 1943 U.S. Marine Corps Major General Charles Dodson Barrett, who had grown up in Alexandria, died in World War II in the South Pacific. Barrett was the first Commanding General of the 3d Marine Division. A new elementary school in Parkfairfax was name in Barrett’s honor not long after his death.” [Historic Alexandria]
Metro Adjusts Yellow and Blue Line Service Today — “From 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., trains will single track on the Yellow and Blue lines between Pentagon City and National Airport. All Yellow Line trains will run between Huntington and Greenbelt only.” [Metro/Bluesky]
A 34-year-old Alexandria man is being held without bond after allegedly drugging a woman at an Old Town bar and raping her on an outdoor patio of a nearby hotel.
The victim told police that on the night of Sept. 15, she had dinner and drinks with a friend in Old Town. Afterward, she and her friend walked to a popular bar near the waterfront, where she had another drink and waited with her friend for two men to join them, according to a recently released search warrant affidavit.
The Virginia Board of Historic Resources last month approved a new historical marker recognizing the lynchings of Joseph McCoy and Benjamin Thomas in Alexandria.
The 19-year-old McCoy was arrested without a warrant and then lynched by a mob on April 23, 1897, according to the city government. A mob of white residents stormed the Police House (now City Hall), where McCoy was being held after being accused of sexually assaulting three women. He was shot, stabbed and hanged from a lamppost at Cameron and Lee Streets.
