Shoppers will descend upon Old Town this weekend in search of the best deals of the summer at local boutiques.
The Old Town Boutique Community will host its 17th annual Alexandria Summer Sidewalk Sale from Friday, Aug. 14 to Sunday, Aug. 16 at participating boutiques. Dozens of independent boutiques will offer merchandise displays on the sidewalk and their deepest discounts of the season, and some will have extra promotions or activities for shoppers.
Thousands will flock to Del Ray this weekend for drinks and live music at the returning Bands & Brews Bar Crawl.
The sixth annual event will take place from 12:30-6 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. Hosted by the Del Ray Business Association, the event will provide a portion of proceeds to The Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, which provides scholarships and personalized college advising to students seeking college, career and technical education.
The popular D.C.-area restaurant Founding Farmers is preparing to bring an on-site distillery to its Alexandria location.
The Founding Farmers Alexandria location at 461 Swann Avenue plans to operate a distillery, according to a license application filed with Virginia ABC. The farmer-owned restaurant group is pursuing similar plans at its Tysons and Reston locations.
The expansion of coffee shops continues as an international brand plans a location in Old Town.
Construction has started on Twosome Place, a new coffee shop and dessert cafe at 404 King Street.
The 18.5-mile Mount Vernon Trail is vying for the Rails to Trails Conservancy’s 2026 Trail Hall of Fame and needs public votes to win the accolade.
Mount Vernon Trail is one of three nominees for Rails to Trails Conservancy’s Hall of Fame, which the nonprofit has been recognizing multi-use trails on since 2007. Other nominees this year are the National Battlefield Trail in Texas and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail in Ohio. Online voting started Aug. 5 and closes Aug. 16. Mount Vernon Trail fans can vote daily.
Beer lovers and shoppers alike will find things to keep them busy this weekend in Alexandria.
If you want to sample beers from different places, Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Co. is gathering breweries from around the country for its Port to Port Beer Festival. Shoppers will have extra reason to head out on the town between Virginia’s sales tax holiday and Old Town Boutiques’ special Tax-Free Weekend promotion.
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.
Meet Chino, a sweet young dog at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria in the market for a new home.
This handsome 3-year-old is reported to have good house manners and crate training, and he loves everyone he meets. He’d like to show off his smarts with the cues for sit, paw and down.
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.
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.
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.
