Indigenous Peoples’ Day, recognized on the federal Columbus Day holiday, will bring an array of closures and schedule changes to Alexandria.
The holiday falls on Monday, Oct. 12, which will mean a three-day weekend for some employees and students. The City of Alexandria has recognized the holiday as Indigenous Peoples’ Day since 2019 and has shared the history of Indigenous peoples in the city on its website.
Five homes, two community and commercial properties and one public art project at an apartment community earned 2026 Beautification Awards from the Alexandria Beautification Commission.
The commission annually recognizes Alexandria properties “for thoughtful design, sustainability, and contributions to the beauty of the community.” Award winners were selected from more than 40 nominations.
The long-awaited Del Ray Gateway/Colasanto Interactive Fountain opened today (Sept. 10) at 2700 Mount Vernon Avenue, according to the city.
“The Colasanto Spray Park project is complete and is open for community enjoyment,” the city said on the project webpage. “The final utility connections were completed in late August.”
In a developed city like Alexandria, residents may soon be surprised to find four-legged landscapers wandering a West End park.
Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities is launching a pilot program to bring 35 to 40 goats to All Veterans Park (4725 Duke Street). Starting Sept. 8, the herd of goats will be brought to graze on invasive plants on the slopes of the park. The invasive plants being targeted in the pilot program are kudzu, garlic mustard and multiflora rose.
The floating kayak launch at Four Mile Run Park washed away from its moorings after heavy rainstorms over the weekend.
On Sunday afternoon (Aug. 2), a stabilizing cable that kept the kayak launch in place snapped after too much pressure during high tide from trees and other floating debris. City staff were at the park on Tuesday afternoon to close the walkway leading down to the vacant space. The launch is now resting underneath the Route 1 bridge, and caution tape and a construction sign have been erected to bar anyone from using the walkway.
Joseph Hensley Park has completely reopened in the Eisenhower West neighborhood after years of renovations, the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities said.
The renovated park (4200 Eisenhower Avenue) includes a new synthetic turf upper diamond field, a full-size natural turf softball field on the lower level, a replacement picnic pavilion and bathhouse and new playground. The athletic fields have new LED field lighting, scoreboards, safety netting, dugouts, spectator seating and batting cages. A flexible court and event space also provides a setting for community and recreational programming.
Cameras will be rolling on Sunday, June 21 at Alexandria’s “Now or Never” installation at Waterfront Park in Old Town.
That’s the day of the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — and artist Alicia Eggert designed the installation at 1 Prince Street to align with the sun’s path from sunrise to sunset.
Alexandria’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities (RPCA) has proposed the conversion of parking spaces to a pocket park in the Del Ray neighborhood.
The proposed pocket park would be located on a current parking island at 3000 Fulton Street at the Clifford and Commonwealth Avenues intersection. The parking island provides space for about five to six standard passenger vehicles.
A proposal to completely replace the Old Town Pool and bathhouse and make landscape improvements is heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission.
On Tuesday, May 5, the Planning Commission will weigh in on the proposal by the city’s Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities to completely renovate the pool facility, to fully renovate the pool facility, which has not had a major update since it opened in 1975. The meeting follows a unanimous recommendation from the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, which endorsed the project in a letter to City Council.
Alexandria City Council has a full docket at its upcoming meeting Saturday as final budgetary decisions approach.
City Council will conduct a number of public hearings, including setting the real estate and personal property tax rates for the next fiscal year, additions and deletions to City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposed $977 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget, an increase to the stormwater utility fee, new parking fees and the addition of paid metered parking on Sundays.
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.
