Around Town

Long Dark House, a bookstore dedicated to horror, science fiction and other dark titles, will open its doors at the start of September.

The independent bookstore will open at 1510 King Street at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1. A grand opening from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5 will include special activities all day. Author Lisa Jones Gentry will be at the opening to sign copies of “A Dead Man Speaks,” which can be preordered through Long Dark House. The grand opening will also have specially themed matcha drinks from Whisked Away Cafe, chocolates and gifts from Madame Coco’s Emporium, raffle prizes, music and more.


News

Some exterior changes could be coming to Carlyle House in Old Town.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority is asking the city to approve a plan to replace the wood shingles with a standing seam metal roof on the nearly 275-year-old mansion at 121 N. Fairfax Street. The first mansion ever constructed in Alexandria was built by city founder and merchant John Carlyle in 1751.


Sports

Alexandria’s Amanda Congialdi wants to taste a championship win one last time before she retires.

The 34-year-old starting quarterback of the D.C. Divas was named the Women’s Football Alliance‘s most valuable player of the year in July, but says no accolade can compare to winning a national title. Her first year on the team, back in 2016, the Divas took the national crown, and since then she says the team has worked back to get itself into championship shape.


Around Town

A new wellness studio featuring saunas, cold plunges and fitness classes is opening Saturday, Aug. 15 in Alexandria’s Braddock neighborhood.

Kalm Studio is currently taking reservations at 800 N. Henry Street. The building has undergone significant renovations over the last several months, and features three private saunas and a communal sauna. For a $300 monthly fee, members can get contrast and movement therapies, like cold plunges and saunas, as well as Pilates and yoga classes.


News

A 20-year-old Maryland man has been sentenced to serve nearly six months in jail for making hidden camera recordings inside the bathroom of his former workplace, a popular Del Ray restaurant.

Joshua Hombrebueno, of Oxon Hill, Md., was sentenced to serve 179 days in jail after being found guilty of making hidden camera recordings inside the employee restroom of Gustave Boulangerie & Brasserie (2213 Mount Vernon Avenue) in September 2025. Five years of his sentence had been suspended, and he must undergo five years of probation.


Around Town

The Del Ray Montessori School, earlier this month, won approval from the city to change ownership and reopen a decades-old daycare that closed in Old Town last year.

The city’s planning and zoning director, on Aug. 5, approved change of ownership paperwork, allowing Del Ray Montessori School to reopen at 721 N. Columbus Street. That is the former home of the Flagstone School, a licensed daycare for young children (18 months to five years old) that closed last fall after more than 30 years in business.


Around Town

For those pursuing hoppiness this weekend, look no further than the Port City Brewing Company’s third annual Port to Port Beer Festival on Saturday (Aug. 8).

From noon to 4 p.m., more than 20 breweries from across the country are bringing their best brews for the festival at Port City (3950 Wheeler Avenue). Tickets cost $60 and get you a bottomless five-ounce glass for unlimited pours, access to outdoor yard games and music from a DJ.


News

 

Alexandria’s Rep. Don Beyer handily won his party’s nomination Tuesday night to run for his seventh term representing Virginia’s 8th Congressional District, and retired Army Maj. Gen. Bert Mizusawa won the Republican nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Mark Warner in the Nov. 3 general election.


Around Town

The owner of the Del Ray Farmhouse Market and Garden (1913 Mount Vernon Avenue) is asking the city for permission to use a small entertainment stage for live music or a DJ.

Jay Portlance is asking the city for permission to use the small stage at the corner of Mount Vernon Avenue and E. Howell Avenue for groups of musicians no larger than two pieces.


News

Alexandria Library is partnering with the Office of Historic Alexandria and D.C.-based think tank New America to create an immersive digital exhibit commemorating the historic 1939 civil rights sit-in at the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library.

New America was awarded a two-year $250,000 grant for the project and plans to launch the exhibit in 2027.


News

With just hours left until polls close, participation in the Democratic primary for Virginia’s 8th Congressional district is far outpacing turnout in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

As of 4 p.m., 10,772 ballots were cast citywide in the five-candidate Democratic primary, about 10.7% of the city’s 99,811 registered voters, according to figures released by the city’s general registrar. The numbers include 6,346 early and mail-in ballots, leaving the total number of in-person votes cast at just 4,426.


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