News

City Council to consider waiver allowing big events on consecutive summer weekends

By James Cullum
The Old Town Alexandria Art Festival on Sunday, September 18, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

It’s going to be a busy summer in Alexandria.

On Tuesday, City Council will consider a waiver to Alexandria’s special event policy to allow for events with more than 500 people to occur on consecutive weekends throughout the summer.

The policy currently allows such events every other weekend.

“Currently, the City has received applications for community events on consecutive weekends in June that would occur at Waterfront Park, Oronoco Park, and Market Square,” City staff wrote in a memo to Council. “Old Town venues such as Waterfront Park and Market Square continue to be desirable locations for public events.”

City staff are also working on permanently removing restrictions for events scheduled on consecutive weekends, according to the memo. Regardless, special event applications still have to go through the city’s Special Events Committee for approval.

Incidentally, this weekend will be packed at Waterfront Park (1 Prince Street), starting Friday with the Alexandria Jazz Fest, and followed by the Portside In Old Town festival on Saturday.

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.