(Updated at 4 p.m.) Old Town’s cobwebs are strung and Del Ray’s carved pumpkins are out, which means it’s Halloween time for Alexandria.
The city is playing host to an ample amount of spooky events this year, including family-friendly parades to a tour of mystery and murder.
Del Ray Pizzeria (2218 Mount Vernon Avenue) is celebrating its nine-year anniversary with a pizza party this weekend.
The restaurant, which has previously hosted the Obamas and courted controversy with its “Grab Her By the Pizza” pie a couple years ago, is celebrating this Sunday (Oct. 20) from 2-8 p.m. in the lot behind the restaurant.
A candlelight vigil and memorial service will be held outside of Market Square next week (301 King Street) to honor those who have died, or are still suffering from, acts of domestic violence.
The event, on Thursday, Oct. 24 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., is hosted by the City of Alexandria’s Domestic Violence Intervention Project (DVIP) to raise awareness of the issue and its prevalence in the city. City officials such as Mayor Justin Wilson and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter will be present.
Getting your nails done can be a time-consuming experience, so the newly opened Cavalry Nail Bar at 4104 Mount Vernon Avenue lets you sip wine as you’re getting your nails done.
Technically, manager Aivy Ho said you could also order beer, but so far the orders have been exclusively for wine. Customers seem to be responding positively to the new business.
Update 3 p.m. — For the second week in a row, the correct answer is lighthouse related. The Mirror Mirror project is inspired by the Fresnel lens of Alexandria’s Jones Point Lighthouse, according to the City of Alexandria website.
We’re back with Friday trivia!
Man Pleads Guilty in Rape Case — “An Alexandria nurse pleaded guilty Thursday to a 2016 rape solved using a genealogical database. Jesse Bjerke, 38, followed a 24-year-old lifeguard to the local pool where she worked one day that September, pointed a gun at her head and assaulted her. He confessed Thursday in Alexandria Circuit Court to rape, abduction and gun crimes.” [Washington Post, WTOP]
Vigil for Homicide Victim — “A candlelight vigil is planned to honor an Alexandria homicide victim. The vigil for De’shon Jenkins, 21, will happen Friday, Oct. 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the 300 block of South Reynolds Street, where the crime occurred.” [Patch]
After 33 years, birding and nature store One Good Tern (1710 Fern Street) near Fairlington is closing as longtime owner Charles Studholme faces a grim kidney failure diagnosis.
“It’s doctor’s orders,” Studholme explained, then with a chuckle. “Well, the doctor’s orders were to stop three years ago.”
(Updated at 2:25 p.m.) Amid a Wind Advisory for the D.C. area, more than 2,600 Dominion customers are currently without power in Alexandria.
As of 1:30 p.m. Dominion reported 2,654 households and businesses without electricity in the city.
A fire in an apartment prompted a large emergency response in Old Town, near City Hall, early Thursday afternoon.
The fire broke out shortly after noon, at a building on the 400 block of N. Cameron Street. Initial reports suggest it was a fire in the kitchen of a third floor apartment, with the flames visible from the street.
(Updated at 1:20 p.m.) Alexandria firefighters responded to T.C. Williams High School around lunchtime today (Thursday) after a fire alarm sounded.
School staff members reported a smell of electrical something burning in the school around the time the alarm sounded. The school was evacuated, with many students bringing their lunches outside to eat on the lawn.
Local kids and adults will fan out across Alexandria this weekend to place stickers on packs of beer and other alcoholic beverages, as part of an anti-underage drinking campaign.
The operation, dubbed “Sticker Shock,” involves teams “shocking” would-be alcohol purchasers with stickers that warn of the consequences of buying booze for kids. Teams will be placing the stickers at Giant, Safeway, 7-Eleven, CVS and other grocery and convenience stores across the city on Saturday.
