Alexandria is marking Bastille Day with a week of French-themed celebrations, featuring fine dining, family activities, and an evening 5K race.
Bastille Day commemorates July 14, 1789, when French revolutionaries stormed the Bastille fortress, a symbol of royal oppression. France celebrates with parades and fireworks, while U.S. celebrations typically feature French cuisine and cultural events.
Veteran School Board Members Michelle Rief and Christopher Harris were unanimously chosen Thursday night (July 10) to lead the Alexandria School Board for the 2025-2026 school year.
The unanimous vote at the Board’s organizational meeting means a third one-year term for Rief as chair, and a first term in leadership for Harris. Rief and Harris thanked their colleagues for their support and said that the upcoming year will be challenging.
Enjoy the return of jazz at Metropolitan Park with a free concert series co-presented by the DC Jazz Festival and National Landing BID. Listen to live stylings from Go-Go to bossa nova across the four-part series, from 5-7PM on select Thursdays: May 7, May 21, June 4, and June 18.
Refresh with onsite vendors including Toby’s Homemade Ice Cream and Taqueria Xochi, plus free samples from Mocktail Club—non-alcoholic beverages inspired by travel destinations. Take part in artist-led Studio Sessions curated by Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington while enjoying the music. Visit businesses around Met Park to pack a picnic or sit down for a meal after the show.
Music kicks off at 5PM and concludes at 7PM, with a set break in the middle.
Featured Performers and MoCA Studio Sessions
May 7: The JoGo Project (Jazz Meets Go-Go)
Art Activity: “Even Colors Dance (Synesthetic Watercolor)” | Led by David Ignacio, current Resident Artist at Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington’s main museum
May 21: Joe Brotherton (New Orleans)
Art Activity: “Paper Garden” | Led by Jaqui Falkenheim of Arlington Collage Collective
June 4: Eric Byrd Trio (Acoustic Jazz Piano/Vocals)
Art Activity: “Stitching Systems: Mapping Home” | Led by Lauren Crawford, current Resident Artist at MoCA Arlington’s main museum.
June 18: José Luiz Martins (Brazilian Jazz)
Art Activity: “Day Inking with JD” | Led by JD Deardourff, recent Resident Artist at MoCA Innovation Studio.
For transportation and Met Park information, visit nationallanding.org/met-park/faqs. Met Park is a five-minute walk from the Pentagon City Metro.
Jazz @ Met is presented by DC Jazz Festival and National Landing BID, sponsored by Amazon. Additional support for performances is provided by The Galena-Yorktown Foundation and The Leonard and Elaine Silverstein Family Foundation.
Note: Performance schedule is subject to change.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner held a media availability Thursday afternoon (July 10) to condemn what he called “one of the worst pieces of legislation” he has seen in his career, referring to a recently passed Republican bill that he says will devastate healthcare access and veteran services across Virginia.
The Virginia Democrat told reporters the legislation will strip healthcare coverage from 17 million Americans, including at least 300,000 Virginians, while providing tax cuts for wealthy Americans and adding $3.5 trillion to the national debt.
New renderings for the proposed 31-story tower in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood are in, and the developer will soon present them to a local review board for discussion.
So far, the mixed-use development at 2425 Mill Road includes 767 residential units and 40,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. The Aldie-based Red Fox Development Co. project could result in the tallest at-grade building in the city, and new development plans will be discussed next Thursday, July 17, at a public hearing with the Carlyle/Eisenhower East Design Review Board (DRB).
Join us for a delightful Sunday afternoon at the BlackRock Center for the Arts as Cruise Planners Beth & Rod present a special travel-inspired matinee featuring the beloved film Under the Tuscan Sun.
Date & Time: Sunday, May 31 | 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM
For the last several years, Tony Suggs has helped others in Alexandria unleash “Da Beast” within. In a good way.
The 59-year-old doesn’t make it easy. In a recent boxercise class at the Charles Houston Recreation Center, more than a dozen students, ranging from their mid-20s to late 70s, got an intense hour-long workout. It started with pushups, leg lifts, scissor kicks, jumping jacks, and then moved to jump rope, followed by a half hour of throwing gloved hands against pads and heavy bags.
With the need for food assistance on the rise, a local charity is aiming to collect 25,000 pounds of food every month this summer.
The Catholic Charities St. Lucy Food Project gathers food year-round from many of the diocesan schools in the area. On Thursday (July 10), kids participating in summer camp at Bishop Ireton High School filled a box truck with canned fruit, vegetables, rice, and more. More than 1,200 pounds of food were collected at Bishop Ireton.
Last month, Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins was interviewed by the New York Times about the challenges of running a city under the Trump administration.
After a little more than six months in office, Gaskins was one of 16 mayors interviewed by The Times at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Tampa, Florida. She said that the biggest challenges the city faces is uncertainty of federal funding, that recent political violence in Minnesota forced her to change her habits, and more.
The Alexandria Library will unveil an upgraded online catalog system on August 19, which will require all library branches to close for the day as staff migrate to the new platform.
The new integrated library system, provided by Innovative Clarivate, promises to enhance the user experience for both patrons and staff while making the library’s collection of books, audiobooks, DVDs, and other materials easier to discover and access.
If you’re looking for a place to eat, a number of Alexandria restaurants have been named 2025 RAMMY Honors finalists by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington.
Nominations were announced in April, and the winners will be declared at the RAMMYS Awards & Gala on August 3 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Nominees were only eligible if they were in business throughout 2024.
