Attention exotic car lovers: the seventh annual Old Town Festival of Speed & Style is right around the corner.
The festival returns from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, May 17, showcasing rare vehicles along the 400–600 blocks of King Street and the 100 blocks of North and South St. Asaph Street and North and South Pitt Street. Organizers expect attendance to top 40,000 people.
Former Alexandria City Councilman Frank Fannon is hosting his 18th annual Alexandrians Have Heart food and clothes drive in Old Town on Saturday, Feb. 14.
Fannon started the drive after getting elected to City Council in 2008, and says that he’s hoping this year to deliver a record six Ford F-150-sized truck beds full of food and clothes to ALIVE!, Carpenter’s Shelter and Christ House.
The annual Empty Bowls Alexandria event is returning next month as host ALIVE! says demands for food, housing and emergency financial assistance are on the rise.
In its ninth year, the historically sold-out event brings local restaurants and artisans together to fundraise for the nonprofit’s efforts to address food and housing insecurity. The event comes as ALIVE! has weathered the region’s economic losses over the past year, with requests for support up roughly 30% since the fall, spokesperson Grace Terlinden told ALXnow.
Alexandria’s largest food bank is seeking more donations and volunteers as it experiences increasing demand amid the government shutdown.
Nonprofit ALIVE!, which provides food and financial assistance to about 20,000 people each month, says local needs are rising significantly as more residents find themselves out of work due to federal layoffs and the ongoing shutdown.
Hundreds of Alexandria residents gathered Sunday at George Washington Middle School for ALIVE!’s 44th annual StepALIVE! Walkathon, raising $125,000 to support families facing food insecurity and housing instability.
The event marked a milestone for the fundraiser, which moved to a new site for the first time since its inception. A total of 352 walkers participated, choosing between 5K and 5-mile routes through Del Ray and Old Town.
ALIVE! will host its 44th Annual StepALIVE! Walkathon on Sunday at George Washington Middle School, 1005 Mount Vernon Ave. The event aims to raise $100,000 for families facing food and housing insecurity.
Registration opens at 12:30 p.m., with the walk starting at 2 p.m. A celebration with music, prizes, and frozen custard from Goodies will follow.
The Old Town Festival of Speed & Style has donated more than $35,000 to three local nonprofits, organizers announced Friday.
The funds, raised through the festival’s May 18 event and related activities, will be split among ALIVE!, Community Lodgings, and the National Breast Center Foundation. Burke & Herbert Bank served as the presenting sponsor.
Volunteer Alexandria collected 36,000 pounds of nonperishable food in its 2025 Food4ALX campaign, the nonprofit announced on social media.
While falling short of the 40,000-pound goal, Volunteer Alexandria says that the food will help feed thousands of Alexandrians. The third annual campaign was conducted throughout the month of July, and the results were announced today (Friday, Aug. 22). The food will be donated to Hunger Free Alexandria’s food pantries and ALIVE!.
ALIVE! is giving away free food to needy residents at multiple locations this month, and volunteers are needed to help.
The nonprofit issued a call for volunteers this week on social media, and the free food distributions are specifically for city residents. Attendees are asked to bring reusable grocery bags and proof of city residency. The locations and hours of the distributions are below.
ALIVE! is hosting two free food distributions this week in Alexandria.
The nonprofit gives away free food to approximately 20,000 families in the city every month. No registration is needed, although proof of city residency may be requested. The walk-up distributions will be on Saturday (July 26) from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center (25 West Reed Avenue) and William Ramsay Recreation Center (5650 Sanger Avenue).
Alexandria residents who get free meals from ALIVE!’s West End Food Hub will have to seek other accommodations.
Last week, ALIVE! announced that the food hub at 510 S. Van Dorn Street will be “closed until further notice” due to an ongoing HVAC replacement. Still, there are plenty of ways to get free food this month in Alexandria.
