The 19th annual Alexandria Community Cookout series launches today (Thursday), bringing weekly events with free food, activities and giveaways across the city.
More than 50 city agencies and nonprofits are participating in the weekly cookouts, which are expected to reach thousands of Alexandria residents this spring and summer. The first cookout, delayed by yesterday’s weather, will take place on its rain date today at the Mount Vernon Recreation Center from 6-7:30 p.m.
First responders transported a nine-year-old girl to the hospital as a precaution after a driver struck her in Del Ray early Friday evening (May 1).
The child did not sustain serious injuries, and the driver, who had a learner’s permit and was accompanied by a licensed driver, received a citation for failing to yield at a crosswalk, APD told ALXnow in an email.
After spending months recovering from flooding, Crooked Beat Records is closing its Del Ray basement location for the last time this Sunday (May 3).
Store owner Bill Daly and his staff were forced to close the store after catastrophic flooding in the building at 2417 Mount Vernon Avenue on Jan. 11. The business closed briefly after losing an estimated $60,000 of merchandise, of which $23,500 was recovered through a GoFundMe campaign. The store reopened at the end of February.
This will be the first year the Del Ray Business Association is not hosting First Thursday block parties since it founded the event nearly 30 years ago.
Del Ray’s First Thursdays have been turned over to the Del Ray Citizens Association, which runs other neighborhood events such as last weekend’s Del Ray GardenFest and the upcoming Del Ray House and Garden Tour on Saturday, May 9.
A new Traffic and Parking Board member appointed by Alexandria City Council had testified on behalf of a citizens association on the Braddock Road changes the board approved in February.
Rosemarie Spano was appointed by City Council as a citizen member of the board on April 14. Spano replaces former Chair Ann Tucker, who had served on the board for 10 years and had her last meeting in March. Spano told ALXnow her term starts in May.
After being open for a year, a vintage gift shop in Del Ray is closing at the end of June.
Amy Sills Eggers, the owner of Stardust Vintage and Gift (1904 Mount Vernon Avenue), told ALXnow that she needs to focus on her family. She said she’ll be selling all of her merchandise and fixtures at a discount.
There’s much to do in Alexandria on this last weekend of April.
Here’s a guide to what’s going on this weekend around the city:
Crooked Beat Records will officially close its Del Ray location Sunday, May 3, following the adverse effects of flooding earlier this year.
Owner Bill Daly said in a social media post he has tried to stay in Alexandria and has placed bids on several rental properties in and around the city, though there is a chance the business could move outside Alexandria.
A Del Ray eatery’s Instagram post promising free milkshakes has collected more than 4 million views.
In the March 17 post from Holy Cow Del Ray (2312 Mount Vernon Avenue), customers were told they could get free milkshakes by dancing. What followed is a compilation of adults and children dancing their ways through the burger joint’s front door to the counter. The post also got 388,000 likes, and the restaurant’s Instagram followers have since climbed from just over 4,000 to more than 10,000.
After years of planning, a splash pad along Del Ray’s Mount Vernon Avenue will soon be available for families to enjoy in the summer season.
The Colasanto Interactive Fountain, which replaced a pool that’s been closed since 2010, is being constructed behind Del Ray Artisans at the intersection of Mount Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues. The latest timeline calls for completion in late April, according to the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities.
A driver was cited with failure to pay full time attention after a pedestrian was struck and injured in Del Ray on Saturday (April 4), according to the Alexandria Police Department.
APD and the Alexandria Fire Department arrived on scene just after 4 p.m. in response to the pedestrian crash at the intersection of Mount Vernon Avenue and E. Braddock Road.
