Good Friday morning, Alexandria!
☔ Today’s weather: Rain in the morning and afternoon. High of 66 and low of 27.
🌤 Tomorrow: Clear throughout the day. High of 47 and low of 27. Sunrise at 6:57 am and sunset at 5:49 pm.
🚨 You need to know
Monday is President’s Day, which means a birthday parade for President George Washington and the closure of several services around Alexandria.
All City of Alexandria government offices, libraries, local courts, and the Department of Motor Vehicles are closed, according to a release.
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria will be open from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. with adoption meetings opening at noon.
For those feeling historically minded for the day: the good news is some museums will be open.
“Historic Alexandria: On Monday, February 20, the Freedom House Museum, Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, and Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum will be open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.” the release said. “Admission is free for City residents and $5 per person for non-residents. All other museums will be closed.”
The city’s impound facility will be closed, but the upshot is that some parking enforcement will be suspended (as it usually is on holidays).
“On Monday, February 20, the Alexandria Police Department will suspend enforcing parking restrictions at metered spaces, in residential permit parking districts, and in other areas with signed parking time limits,” the release said. “Temporary no-parking areas will still be enforced. This suspension of enforcement applies only to the restrictions at legal parking spaces and does not permit parking in any location normally prohibited (for example, no-parking zones, loading zones, or spaces for persons with disabilities).”
Alexandria City Public Schools will be fully closed. Trash collection will also be pushed back a day, as is usually the case with Monday holidays.
Some recreation centers and facilities will be open, but most will be closed.
“On Monday, February 20, Chinquapin Park Recreation Center and Aquatics Facility, Charles Houston Recreation, and Patrick Henry Recreation Centers will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” the release said. “All other City of Alexandria recreation and nature centers will be closed.”
The Torpedo Factory will be open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
DASH buses and the King Street Trolley will operate on a Saturday schedule, with some rerouting as a result of the aforementioned parade.
“On Monday, February 20, the fare-free DASH bus service and King Street Trolley will operate on a Saturday schedule with several major re-routes for routes serving the King Street Metro due to the George Washington Birthday Parade,” the release said. “Lines 30, 31, 33, and the King Street Trolley will be re-routed between Henry Street and the King Street Metro for most of the day due to parade activities. The free King Street Trolley operates regular service daily, including holidays, from King Street Metro to Alexandria City Hall, every 15 minutes from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.”
📈 Thursday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Feb 16, 2023.
- Alexandria cancels grant program for minority-owned businesses after lawsuit (1189 views)
- Suspect in last Friday’s shooting in Arlandria is under arrest (886 views)
- Notes: Hybla Valley carjacking raises other criminal justice questions (492 views)
- Dedicated bus lanes could come to parts of Duke Street (223 views)
🗞 Other local coverage
- ‘Share the Love:’ Donate Pet Supplies To Animal Welfare League of Alexandria This Sunday
Zebra (Thursday @ 8:27 pm)
- City Hall Watch with Bill Rossello: Policy by invective
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 7:01 pm)
- Your Views: Time for a Justice Black museum
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 6:46 pm)
- Your Views: Key words missing from superintendent’s column
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 6:21 pm)
- Your Views: Unconvincing arguments for keeping Confederate names
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 6:15 pm)
- Our Views: By the numbers
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 5:21 pm)
- New Townhouse In Old Town North Features Whole Home Automation
Patch (Thursday @ 5:02 pm)
- Saying ‘I Do’ to a DJ
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 5:01 pm)
- AlexRenew names new manager and CEO
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 4:39 pm)
- Suspected student overdose at ACHS
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 4:34 pm)
- Arrest made in recent shooting
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 4:30 pm)
- Conviction in Cunningham trial
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 4:25 pm)
- Man accused of killing brother pleads guilty
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 4:18 pm)
- The age of love
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 3:12 pm)
- ‘The Last of Us’ hits mark
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 3:08 pm)
- Little shop of history
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 3:02 pm)
- George Washington Birthday Parade 2023: Where To View In Alexandria
Patch (Thursday @ 2:57 pm)
- Tying the knot: Simmer to boil
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 2:51 pm)
- Property assessments presented to council
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 2:35 pm)
- City to hold George Washington Birthday Parade
Alexandria Times (Thursday @ 1:09 pm)
- Alexandria’s Westminster Presbyterian Church Offers $5K Grant to Aid Nonprofits
Zebra (Thursday @ 12:08 pm)
- Minority-Owned Business Grant Program Withdrawn After Lawsuit
Patch (Thursday @ 10:56 am)
🐦 Tweets of note
Giant Annual Book Sale
Beth El Hebrew Congregation
3830 Seminary Road, Alexandria, Presidents’ Day Weekend, Sunday, Feb 19 9-5, Monday Feb- 20 9-3
Thousands of books
Also CDs, DVDs, audio books,
LPs, games, and puzzles BIG bargains after noon on Monday!— Alexandria Gazette (@AlexGazette) February 15, 2023
NEW: I will hold my first town hall of 2023 on the evening of Monday, March 13, at Poe Middle School in Annandale. Hope you can join us, and I look forward to answering your questions! RSVP here (it's free): https://t.co/e6l1CKYG0L pic.twitter.com/MQFQSqSmcP
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) February 15, 2023
We're listening… to your thoughts on the Draft Regional Fair Housing Plan! We want to hear from you in person on Wed Feb 22 6:30-8pm at Patrick Henry Rec Center and Thurs Feb 23 6:30-8pm at Chick Armstrong Rec Center.
Learn more about the Plan: https://t.co/sM09JcFRwi pic.twitter.com/xT0iQJhICh
— AlexandriaVA Housing (@HousingAlexVA) February 15, 2023
Join @HousingAlexVA for Fair Housing Listening Sessions!
Feb 22 at 6:30pm at Patrick Henry Rec Center w/ translation into Spanish and Amharic.
Feb 23 at 6:30pm at Leonard Armstrong Rec Center. The meeting will be in Spanish with English interpretation. https://t.co/blOqRIEAGU pic.twitter.com/Yrhfn66w72— ALIVE! (@ALIVE4AlexVA) February 16, 2023
Operations at the new home of the Permit Center is set to begin at the end of this week. The Permit Center is now located on the 2nd floor of the Redella S. “Dell” Pepper Community Center and will consist of Code Administration, T&ES, and Planning and Zoning permit teams. pic.twitter.com/1FbrcGUrDF
— Alexandria Transportation & Environmental Services (@AlexandriaVATES) February 16, 2023
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.
- 10:00 am Saturday: Liquidation sale
Recent Stories

If you had a chance to enhance a child’s future with a time commitment of less than 2 hours a week, how would you respond? You have that opportunity right now to join over 200 Alexandrians as a reading tutor volunteer with the Alexandria Tutoring Consortium (ATC).
ATC tutors work with one child in kindergarten, first, or second grade in Alexandria public schools who need extra help with reading. Tutors meet with their Book Buddy 1-2 times each week for 30 minutes October-May at school, during school hours. Many struggling readers only receive one-on-one instruction through this program, and it makes all the difference. Last year, ATC served 195 children, of whom 82% ended the year reading on grade level and 96% made substantial reading gains. But the need is great, and we are still seeing learning lags from the pandemic.
This year, ATC plans to significantly increase the size of the program to reach over 250 students and to serve every elementary school in Alexandria. This is very exciting news, but we will only succeed if we can recruit more tutors. ATC trains you, matches you with a child, and provides ongoing lesson materials and support.

If you have been thinking about buying your first home or haven’t owned one in the last three years, THIS IS FOR YOU!
In the DMV area, it can be difficult to save the downpayment necessary for you to get into your own home. We have a solution. The Funder’s Summit!
We have assembled a summit with different municipalities to tell you how to access their funds for your home purchase.
2023 Alexandria Fall Festival
Food trucks, bounce houses, pony rides, magic shows and more at the 2023 Alexandria Fall Festival, an Alexandria Living event presented by The Patterson Group. Join us at River Farm on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.