Get your lawn chairs and picnic blankets ready for fireworks, because Alexandria’s 274th birthday celebration is happening in Old Town on Saturday, July 8.
The event at Oronoco Bay Park (100 Madison Street) draws thousands of people every year. It’s always held the first Saturday after July 4, and features performances from the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, a declaration from Town Crier Ben Fiore-Walker, a poem from Alexandria’s Poet Laureate Zeina Azzam and brief speeches by city leaders.
Good Tuesday morning, Alexandria!
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny, with a high near 80. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. At night: A slight chance of showers after 2am. Mostly clear, with a low around 60. South wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
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.
Tonight, residents can meet the two candidates for the executive principal position at Alexandria City High School.
The candidates, whose identities aren’t yet public, will meet with community stakeholders at the Minnie Howard campus and on Zoom from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The Alexandria City Council on Tuesday will consider naming a one-acre park in Old Town after a local champion of parks, Judy Guse-Noritake.
The open space, a few blocks from the Braddock Road Metro station at 600 N. Henry Street, is currently named Braddock Interim Park. After the city acquired the land in 2010, it developed the property as part of the Braddock Metro Neighborhood Plan with gathering areas, a ping pong table, a bocce ball court, horseshoe pits and seating.
Explore preschool & kindergarten options in Alexandria! Meet schools, ask questions & find the best match for your child’s early education.
Welcome to the Alexandria Preschool and Kindergarten Fair! Join us for a fun-filled event where parents can explore various preschool and kindergarten options for their little ones. Meet with representatives from different schools, ask questions, and gather information to make the best choice for your child's education. Don't miss this opportunity to discover the perfect match for your family! The fair is free to attend but advance registration is encouraged.
It’s going to be a busy summer in Alexandria.
On Tuesday, City Council will consider a waiver to Alexandria’s special event policy to allow for events with more than 500 people to occur on consecutive weekends throughout the summer.
The Alexandria Police Department swarmed an Old Town home Sunday after getting a prank call that a 15-year-old male was tired of his parents, was armed with his father’s AR-15 rifle and was going to kill them and himself.
Police received the emergency call from a private number at around 11:30 a.m., and a dispatcher reported that the voice making the call was panting, as if they were out of breath. The caller also allegedly told police that there were a total of four people in the home and that he would shoot any police that approached, according to APD dispatches.
Good Monday morning, Alexandria!
⛈️ Today’s weather: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 8am. High near 79. South wind 11 to 13 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. At night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a slight chance of showers between 11pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 60. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
The biggest news throughout the region was the smoke from the Canadian wildfires that descended on Wednesday and stayed through yesterday. Air quality reached dire levels and the City of Alexandria urged locals to stay inside as much as possible. Alexandria City Public Schools brought all outdoor activities inside and canceled outdoor field trips.
Despite the unexpected hazard, Greater Greater Washington released a report this week showing that overall air quality has improved dramatically in the region over the last ten years, thanks in part to the closure of the GenOn Power Plant in 2012.
The Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency visited Southern Towers in the West End this week, signalling to housing advocates that years of protests against rent hikes and evictions are finally paying off.
On Wednesday, FHFA Director Sandra Thompson toured the 2,261-unit Southern Towers complex at 4901 Seminary Road. The tour was hosted by the People’s Actions Homes Guarantee campaign and African Communities Together (ACT), and the groups say that affordable housing residents are at the mercy of a major private equity landlord that only cares about profit. The groups say that since buying the property at the height of the pandemic in 2020, California-based owner CIM Group has evicted more than 250 residents, and that many of them endured uninhabitable conditions and rent increases.
