Good morning, Alexandria! Today is Sunday, Aug. 17, the 229th day of 2025. There are 136 days left in the year.
⛈️ Today’s weather: Sunny, with a high near 94 degrees. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House will commemorate the close of Marquis de Lafayette’s 1824-1825 farewell tour of America with a daylong event Sept. 7.
“Farewell to Lafayette: A Bicentennial Tribute,” organized in collaboration with the American Friends of Lafayette, will take place during the final weekend of bicentennial celebrations honoring Lafayette’s historic visit to the United States.
Game, set, Gala! On Saturday, Nov. 14, the USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation’s annual Tennis Creates Gala, presented by QTS, comes to The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, celebrating the transformative power of tennis.
The evening raises critical funds to make the sport accessible to all across Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and eastern/southern West Virginia.
Every dollar goes back into local communities through programs like Girls Rule the Court™, which has served more than 2,000 girls, along with Junior Player Scholarships and Tennis in Schools. Gala funds also help restore public courts. Over the last three years, the Foundation has invested $505,000 across 17 public facilities.
Emceeing the evening is Emmy Award-winning ESPN journalist Malika Andrews, host of NBA Today and NBA Countdown, who joined ESPN’s tennis coverage this year for the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Andrews has pointed to the electric moment American tennis is having, with stars like the DMV’s own Frances Tiafoe reaching the 2026 US Open men’s semifinals, and says she’s grateful for the chance to support the sport at the local level.
Joining the celebration is new USTA CEO Craig Tiley, who took the helm of the national governing body in July after over 20 years at Tennis Australia. As he leads the USTA toward its goal of 35 million players by 2035, the USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation drives the grassroots work to grow the sport right here in the region.
The Foundation will present its Tennis Creates Impact Award to Vice Admiral Sean S. Buck, U.S. Navy (ret.), 63rd Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy, recognizing his leadership in fostering character, community, and well-being through tennis.
The heart of the night is the 2026 Tennis Creates Awards, honoring local changemakers. Alexandria’s Leigh Ann Jackson receives the Adult Leader Award for coaching Girls Rule the Court at Groveton Elementary, where she has served 130 students over five seasons and championed the program’s expansion to Hybla Valley.
Arlington’s Gabrielle Berg earns the Youth Leader Award for founding a Northern Virginia chapter of Tennis For Fun, which runs free year-round clinics for people with special needs in partnership with the Arlington YMCA. Burke’s Khoi Truong, head coach at Lake Braddock Secondary School, is the 2026 Coach of the Year.
They’ll be joined by fellow honorees Dr. Ellen Markowitz (Community Champion), James Skinner (Provider Champion), and Janelle Nichols (Tennis in the Classroom Awardee).
Tickets and tables are now available. Can’t make it? Make a gift to USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation or bid in the silent auction to help put a racquet in the hands of the next generation of players.
The Tennis Creates Gala takes place Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, from 6:00 – 11:00 p.m. at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Blvd., McLean, VA 22102.
For more information, visit TennisCreatesGala.com.
Get your tickets now, because the Alexandria Choral Society just announced its 2025-26 season.
It’s the 55th season for the ACS, and the five performances in this year’s program are being held at venues across the city. Season tickets cost $125, and individual event tickets are suggested $30 apiece.
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Good Saturday morning, Alexandria!
⛈️ Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 88 degrees. Southeast wind 3 to 5 mph.
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Join us for our second annual CatRad Halloween Eve! A night of ghoulish fun, spooky treats, and a wicked good time!
It's time for CatRads 2nd Annual Halloween Eve! Join us at St. Elmo's Old Town North for an evening of Halloween fun. Join us for:
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Editor’s note: This story has been updated with information from Alexandria Police provided at 3:59 p.m. Saturday. Following a Sunday, Aug. 17 press conference, we have a follow up story here – Alexandria Police Chief provides preliminary details on in-custody death, emphasizes ongoing investigations.
Allan F. Tucker II, 32, of Woodbridge died in police custody at the Alexandria Adult Detention Center on Friday evening, hours after officers arrested him for public intoxication following reports of a disturbance at an apartment complex.
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Code Rising gave dozens of Alexandria students a nice surprise with the end of their second annual summer camp this month — new laptops.
The Alexandria nonprofit was founded two years ago to help underprivileged kids learn about science, technology, engineering, arts, and math. The summer program provided elementary, middle and high school students with an introduction to STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) through the summer months, with students learning coding, making short movies and video games. They also went on weekly field trips, including to Continues Arcade in Old Town and more.
Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s our recap of the most-read stories.
Our top story this week is on two Alexandria business owners charged with possession of an illegal gambling device for operating skill games. The news marks the first indictments against Alexandria business owners for the devices. Dozens of skill game machines operate at multiple convenience and grocery stores in the West End and Arlandria neighborhoods, despite police hand-delivering warning letters to more than a dozen offending businesses. Skill games were outlawed as illegal gaming by the Virginia legislature in 2020, and Commonwealth’s Attorney Bryan Porter told ALXnow that his office is assessing “all potential investigative leads.”
The Washington Wizards helped tip off the 2025-26 school year with a backpack and supplies giveaway today (Aug. 15) at William Ramsay Recreation Center.
Wizards forward Anthony Gill made a surprise appearance and joined rookies Tre Johnson, Will Riley, and Jamir Watkins at the event. The players, along with mascot G-Wiz and the Wizards Dancers, gave 700 backpacks to the students at William Ramsay Elementary School (5700 Sanger Avenue), which is located next to the recreation center and officially opens for the first day on Monday, Aug. 18.
Alexandria Restaurant Week, one of the city’s biggest summer events, will return Aug. 22-31 with dozens of participating restaurants offering special prix fixe menus across the city’s diverse neighborhoods.
The 10-day culinary event, hosted twice yearly by Visit Alexandria since 2009, will feature multi-course prix fixe dinner menus at $30, $40 or $50 per person. Select fast-casual restaurants throughout Alexandria will also offer additional special offers, making it easy to sample a wide range of cuisines at every budget.