Notes: Del Ray’s free GardenFest and Earth Day celebration is this Sunday

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

🌧️ Today’s weather: Showers are possible after 2pm, accompanied by cloudy skies and a high near 65°F. The southeast wind will be around 7 mph, and there’s a 30% chance of precipitation. Moving into Friday night, showers remain a possibility, with mostly cloudy conditions and a low around 54°F. The southeast wind will slow down to 6 mph before becoming light and variable, and the chance of precipitation increases to 50%.

🚨 You need to know

Del Ray’s annual GardenFest celebration is on on Sunday. The event will be held from noon to 5 p.m. at the Nicholas A. Colasanto Baseball Field (next to 2700 Mount Vernon Ave).

The free outdoor event is hosted by the Del Ray Citizens Association (DRCA), and will have free native tree seedlings and vegetable and herb seed packets to give away, in addition to booths, seminars, and interactive demonstrations about all things gardening. The event will also host the city’s Ellen Pickering Award in Environmental Excellence.

According to DRCA, this year’s booths include:

• The Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia plant clinic
• Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, who will bring seed cleaning equipment and give a talk introducing basic seed-saving techniques, the organic seed-saving movement, and the importance of seed-saving in the urban setting
• The Wildlife Rescue League, with a wildlife match game for kids and pinecone bird feeder kits
• The Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association
• Love & Carrots, a company that provides assistance to people who would like to grow healthy food in their yard, porch, patio, eatery, balcony, or rooftop
• Tree Stewards of Arlington & Alexandria, volunteers who take the lead to enhance a sustainable urban forest through volunteer activities and public education programs
• Organic Edible Gardens, a sustainable garden design, build and maintenance company specializing in creating edible and ecologically-sustainable  landscapes that sustain and regenerate local ecosystems while providing material and aesthetic benefits to people
• The Alexandria Beautification Commission, announcing the Alexandria Beautification Awards and providing sustainability tips
• The Genius Genus, a local business offering a wide selection of houseplants, vacation plant care services, and tips and resources to help you create a thriving indoor jungle
• The Warwick Village Citizens Association, which will highlight the five City parks and many gardens in their neighborhood and the seed and seedling exchanges that they host each year, and will share information about their “No Bite Summer Initiative,” offering demos on how to build non-toxic mosquito traps and how to sign-up to participate in their initiative this year
• Friends of Duncan Library, who will host garden story-time for kids
• The Del Ray Farmers Market
• Several City of Alexandria divisions, including Alexandria’s Office of Climate Action, Resource Recovery Division, Stormwater Management Program, and the Office of Environmental Quality / Sanitation

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📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

• 1:00 pm Friday: Character Building Workshop
• 10:00 am Saturday: Old Town Alexandria Historic Home and Garden Tour Kicks Off Spring Tradition
• 👉 10:00 am Saturday: Del Ray Kitchen Confidential Design Tour
• 11:00 am Saturday: Garden Day Tours
• 1:00 pm Saturday: Miracle League Games
• 5:00 pm Saturday: ReFashion Show
• 👉 7:00 pm Saturday: Pro Coro Alexandria – To the Sea