Good Sunday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Scattered showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. High near 72 degrees. Breezy, with a south wind 14 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
🚨 You need to know
Metro is gearing up for cherry blossom season when more than 1.5 million people are expected to visit the region.
Metro is joining in on the festivities with the return of the cherry blossom-wrapped train and buses, a new commemorative SmarTrip card, and five consecutive weeks of no significant track work.
To accommodate the crowds, Metro says that will have additional trains strategically placed throughout the system to add capacity, and additional buses on key routes to provide additional service if needed. They’ll also have extra staff at key stations to help customers.
Metro says in a press release that it will be chasing a major ridership milestone during the cherry blossom season: the first combined one million-trip day since March 2020.
“Cherry blossom season kicks off one of the busiest times of year for Metro,” said Metro Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Brian Dwyer. “We are proud to get visitors from the airports to hotels and down to the Tidal Basin to be a part of the festivities. Locals already know Metro is the best way to get around, so we look forward to getting them to the celebration, too.”
Metro is also partnering with the National Cherry Blossom Festival for its annual keepsake SmarTrip card. The artwork, titled “Bloom, ” is by Anna August. It features cherry blossoms and the Jefferson and Washington monument, prominent landmarks near the Tidal Basin. Twenty thousand of these limited-edition cards went on sale on Saturday, March 15 at select stations – Metro Center, Navy Yard, L’Enfant Plaza, and Smithsonian – and will be available while supplies last. Look for specially marked fare vending machines.
Read more on Metro’s Cherry Blossom festivities here.
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📈 Saturday’s most read
The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for March 15, 2025.
- Notes: VDOT extends South Van Dorn Street survey
- FAA acts on NTSB safety recommendations for DCA
- Polk Elementary students step into joy with 770 pairs of free sneakers
📅 Upcoming events
Here is what’s going on today in Alexandria;
Organizing an event? Submit your event to ALXnow’s Event Calendar.
Things To Do
- 8:30 a.m: West End Farmers Market at 4800 Brenman Park
- 9 a.m.: Four Mile Run Farmers’ Market at Four Mile Run Park
- 9 a.m.: Old Town North Farmers Market at Montgomery Park
- 12 p.m.: St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Celebration at Alexandria Bier Garden
- 12 p.m.: 5th Annual Mount Purrnon St. Catrick’s Day at Mount Purrnon Cat Cafe & Wine Bar
- 1 p.m.: Writers Group at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 4 p.m.: Alexandria’s Best St. Patrick’s Day Weekend Bar Crawl throughout Alexandria
- 5 p.m.: Hip ‘O Hop Yoga at Port City Brewing Company
- 5:30 p.m.: St. Patrick’s 5k & 10K at Port City Brewing Company
Live Music & Entertainment
- 219 Restaurant: Kev Powe Thang at 9 p.m.
- Blackwall Hitch: Jazz Brunch with Black Coffee at 10:30 a.m.
- Daniel O’Connell’s: Franklin Music Duo at 7 p.m.
- Galactic Panther Art Gallery: Open Mic at 7:30 p.m.
- Laporta’s Restaurant: Steve Zubrick at 11:30 a.m., Walt Johnson Trio at 6 p.m.
- Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub: Rook Richards at 8:30 p.m.
- O’Shaughnessy’s Pub: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
- Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.
- The Birchmere: The Stylistics at 7:30 p.m.
City of Alexandria
- No events or meetings are scheduled.
