Around Town

Alexandria’s 277th birthday ended with a bang and a fizzle on Saturday (July 11), as the evening of entertainment at Oronoco Bay Park was capped with a dazzling fireworks show and a brief rainstorm.

Raindrops started to fall just before 9:30 p.m. as the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra started to play Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture, sending hundreds of people under cover of tents and umbrellas at the very start of the fireworks. The evening was otherwise overcast and cool, and city leaders, the town crier and poet laureate rang in the annual celebration onstage and handed out birthday cupcakes from Wegmans.


News

Visit Alexandria‘s newest marketing campaign is tapping into the stories behind businesses, tourist attractions and unique personalities.

From now until June, the Unlock Your Story campaign will tell stories all over Alexandria, focusing on the city’s history, small attractions, and unique small businesses, artists and entrepreneurs. The promotion follows Visit Alexandria’s Best Kept Shh! campaign, which launched three years ago and positioned Alexandria as the region’s best kept secret.


Around Town

Hundreds of Alexandria residents gathered on Saturday to celebrate Alexandria’s annual Christmas tree lighting in Market Square.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins announced the magical arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus, who got into town on a Christmas-themed King Street Trolley. They helped city leaders count down the lighting of the 40-foot-tall plastic tree, which is adorned with some 38,000 lights.