This weekend allows you to tour historic homes in Old Town (81st Annual Historic Alexandria Homes Tour), celebrate German style beers at Port City Brewing Company (Wunderfest), and much more. Here’s a look at what’s happening for events, live music, and entertainment, enjoy!
Are you organizing an event? Submit events to ALXnow.
Alexandria is pretty indisputably the champion of Halloween in the region, and every year, the city’s museums get in on the action.
Two museums around Alexandria are offering special tours in October exploring poisons and death in the City of Alexandria.
Before the pandemic, I ran a Reddit forum that brought people together for local happy hours. It became a great outlet for an in-person social life: you could get out, get to know people nearby, and have a familiar group to spend time with. I enjoyed being the person who helped make that happen.
Getting people together became harder after the pandemic. Friends moved away, had kids, or settled into different routines, and organizing a night out took more effort. I still wanted that camaraderie, but having people to invite didn’t necessarily mean we could get something on the calendar.
I’m in my late 30s and live in Old Town. About a year ago, I joined Choros, a local membership community that helps guys build friendships through small-group activities. Since then, I’ve been to close to 50 hangouts, and it’s given me a regular group of guys to do things with around Alexandria and beyond.
I host board game nights and help host a monthly happy hour at the Commodore in Old Town. I’ve done escape rooms on King Street, trivia, food festivals in Del Ray, movie discussions, and Dungeons & Dragons (which can be especially tricky to get going as an adult with a busy schedule). Having that variety means I can find something that fits my mood and schedule, and there are usually familiar faces when I get there.
One of my favorite things, though, is getting on my bike, picking a destination, and making a day of it. Through Choros, I’ve found a consistent crew to ride with almost every month. That’s the kind of thing I wanted more of: people who enjoy the same stuff and make time to get out and do it together.
I still like hosting and bringing people together. What makes Choros useful is having a community to draw from, so every plan doesn’t depend on the same few friends being available. Other guys suggest and host things too, which gives me plenty of opportunities to join something without organizing it myself.
Over time, seeing the same guys at different activities builds familiarity. You have conversations to pick back up and another reason to make plans together. That’s how it’s become a circle of friends for me.
If you’re in Alexandria, check out Choros and come to one of our monthly happy hours at the Commodore. I’d be happy to meet a few more neighbors, whether you’re into board games, bike rides, or just getting out for a drink. There’s plenty happening here, along with activities throughout the rest of the D.C. area.
Anyone driving along Duke Street tonight should be warned that traffic might be heavier than usual.
Intermittent traffic stoppages are scheduled along westbound Duke Street between South Walker Street and the bridge over I-395, along with the westbound Duke Street off- and on-ramps.
Good Thursday morning, Alexandria!
🌤️ Today’s weather: The weather forecast for Thursday predicts a mostly sunny day with a high temperature near 80°F, accompanied by a gentle northeast wind around 6 mph. However, the night will become mostly cloudy, with lows around 60°F and a steady northeast breeze at 6 mph.
Event location
Duvall House
305 Cameron Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Join George Washington at the beautiful, historic Duvall House—the site of his “coming home” celebration after the Revolutionary War! Libations and hearty hors d’oeuvres will be served. Tickets are $150 per person, with proceeds benefiting the 2027 George Washington Birthday Parade in Alexandria. Reserve your space at the event website, or email us at [email protected] if you prefer to pay at the door.
Ting Internet started providing some long-awaited competition to Comcast in parts of Alexandria earlier this year, now the company says it’s expanding to central Alexandria soon.
Catharine Rice, community engagement and public affairs manager, told ALXnow in an email that the company has finished microtrenching in work zone 1, the first area Ting Internet was implemented in Alexandria. Rice said Ting Internet is starting work in neighborhoods west of Braddock Road soon, but without any exact dates announced.
Alexandria Police Department Captain Courtney Ballantine just spent 10 weeks at the FBI National Academy, and spoke with ALXnow about his experience.
Over the summer, Ballantine lived in a dorm with a roommate at Marine Corps Base Quantico, worked out four times a week and studied the psychology of leadership, managing change, leading at-risk employees and strategies for community partnerships. There were about 200 other law enforcement officers who participated in the academy’s 287th session.
Arlington calls for aid, and Alexandria will answer.
Alexandria’s City Council is scheduled to vote at a meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26, to support neighboring Arlington’s funding application for an expanded Shirlington Transit Center.
Ideally, the Four Mile Run Park Trail would connect the two sides of the Arlandria park. Since 2021 the bridge at the center of that trail has been shut down, but work is starting this month to change that.
An inspection in summer 2021 found a hole in the bridge and the city determined the bridge was not suitable for use. The bridge was closed in August 2021. A daytime detour runs just north of the bridge along the Four Mile Run Wetland Trail. The nighttime detour runs down to Reed Avenue
The Chamber ALX has released the finalists for the Best in Business Awards, and the top businesses will be announced at a gala in Old Town next month.
It’s no secret that Don Simpson, Jr. is the chamber’s 2023 business leader of the year, since that cat was let out of the bag last month. Just who will receive the other highly coveted awards, however, is still secret. This year’s nominees are listed below, and winners are determined by a panel of previous awardees.
