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Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: Patchy fog before 8 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 79 degrees. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Scattered showers and thunderstorms tonight before 2 a.m., then isolated showers after 5 a.m. Patchy fog after 3 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 65 degrees. Light south wind. The chance of precipitation is 40%.
Visit Alexandria’s President & CEO Todd O’Leary leads with the belief that travel is a force for good, inspiring visitors to deepen their travel experiences by connecting with Alexandria’s myriad stories. That’s why 2026 National Travel and Tourism Week (May 3-9, 2026) isn’t just any week. It’s a time to reflect and celebrate the important role that tourism plays in bringing people together across cultures and geographies, creating shared understandings and memories that last a lifetime. This year’s theme, “Postmarked: Essential,” takes on special significance as Alexandria prepares to host several major events this summer, bringing the stories of our local community onto the world stage.
“This year’s National Travel and Tourism Week celebrations seem particularly fitting, given all the momentum we’re seeing in Alexandria’s hospitality industry,” said Visit Alexandria’s President & CEO Todd O’Leary. “As tourism grows in importance here, the dividends from visitor spending support our small business owners and ultimately our residents. Visit Alexandria is proud of the work done by our local industry to keep this city top of mind for domestic and international travelers.”
Last fall, Visit Alexandria announced that Alexandria’s tourism spending from travelers residing more than 50 miles away grew to $1 billion for the first time in history during calendar year 2024. Additionally, Fiscal Year 2025 city consumption tax revenues reached a record $88 million—supporting core city services, saving the average Alexandria household $832 annually, and sustaining more than 5,700 local jobs.
In conjunction with this year’s America 250th commemorations, Alexandria will host programs, exhibitions, historic tours and signature events, including the three-day Sails on the Potomac festival—all of which showcase Alexandria’s renowned historic character and ever-evolving progressive nature. As Alexandria continues to make waves on the world stage, especially as a destination for sports tourism, the city will serve as the official Team Base Camp for the Croatian National Football Team, a FIFA top ten ranked team, during the World Cup. With state-of-the-art facilities, a wide range of accommodations, a wealth of visitor experiences and incredible transportation access, Alexandria’s prominence in sports tourism is growing. (more…)
Virginia Tech is setting up a new Institute for Advanced Computing in Alexandria. The university-wide institute will be based in Academic Building One, focusing on cutting-edge research and education in computing and technology.
Graduate programs in computer science and computer engineering will be offered at the institute. It’s also aiming to build strong partnerships with industry leaders and government organizations.
A Coastal Flood Advisory is in effect until midnight tonight (May 28) for the shoreline of Alexandria and Arlington County.
The National Weather Service issued the Coastal Flood Advisory at 6:08 p.m.
oin us for our free movie night @ AlexRenew Terrace!
Join us Saturday, May 16th for the Eisenhower Partnership Movie Night, presented by Burke and Herbert Mortgage! We will be showing the Emperors New Groove!
The owner of a popular local home improvement business is getting into the restaurant game.
The Birchmere, “America’s legendary music hall”, has an impressive June 2025 calendar scheduled, featuring a mix of iconic performers spanning multiple genres and generations.
The month kicks off with Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Steve Earle performing a special solo acoustic show on June 3. Billed as “50 Years of Songs & Stories,” Earle will be joined by Zandi Holup for the 7:30 p.m. performance. Tickets are priced at $69.50 and $39.50.
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It wasn’t just raining outside today. Tears of happiness streamed from students, parents, educators, and city leaders as 984 Alexandria City High School seniors graduated at George Mason University’s EagleBank Arena. That’s the largest graduating class in ACHS history.
Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt told the students that now is the time for them to harness their potential, creativity, brilliance, and resilience.
For the third consecutive week, the City of Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities has been forced to cancel a community cookout due to inclement weather.
The city announced on Wednesday (May 28) that their next cookout, scheduled for Thursday (May 29) at Mason at Van Dorn (140 South Van Dorn Street) has been cancelled.
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Alexandria residents have spoken, and The Dairy Godmother is their top pick for ice cream in the city. The results are from a recent ALXnow reader poll, which concluded on May 27, 2025, with 1,475 local food lovers casting their votes.
The Dairy Godmother (2310 Mt. Vernon Ave.) picked up 23.73% of the votes, while Casa Rosada Artisan Gelato (111 S. Payne St.) received 15.05% of the votes, and Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream (109 King St.) rounded out the top three with 14.44% of the votes.