Bad news for Alexandrians pining to dunk local politicians in the frigid depths of the dunking tank at the annual July 4 celebration in the city’s Rosemont neighborhood. Due to a construction project that will replace all exterior windows at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, the event has been canceled.
The celebration is traditionally held in the playground and athletic field area of the school.
Rosemont Citizens Association sent this note on Facebook:
We regret that it has become necessary to cancel the Fourth of July event for this year due to previously unpublicized plans for summer construction at Brooks Elementary. Needless to say the RCA is disappointed by this development. However we were already discussing resuming the tradition of an Oktoberfest event (which lapsed in Rosemont in the ‘90s) so the silver lining is that this provides us with an opportunity to focus our efforts on planning for that event. We will plan to have an announcement in the next couple of months. In the meantime have a happy Independence Day and summer!
Alicia Hart, chief operating officer at Alexandria City Public Schools, said that the window replacement project will start this month, and that it is publicized in the ACPS Capital Improvement Program newsletter.
According to Hart:
Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS) is completing a window replacement project at Naomi L. Brooks Elementary School, to include replacement of all exterior facility windows. The planning and design for this project is already complete, with construction commencing this month. The project is estimated to reach substantial completion by early fall 2024. All construction projects are publicized via the monthly Capital Improvement Program (CIP) newsletter. This newsletter is available to those who subscribe and also posted on the Office of Capital Programs, Planning and Design webpage.
Previous July 4 events in Rosemont included a moon bounce, a patriotic dog and bike parade, a flag ceremony with public officials and drinks and snacks. The event was previously canceled in 2020 and 2021 during the pandemic, as well as in 2018 when the athletic fields were under renovation.
