event | ALXnow

City postpones Lee Street repaving to preserve Halloween tradition

Published October 23, 2025 at 3:00PM

Beetlejuice and Lydia at Halloween on Lee Street in Old Town, Oct. 31, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Halloween will not be interrupted by repaving on S. Lee Street in Old Town.

Residents of Lee Street received a letter from the city today (Oct. 23) advising that all of S. Lee Street would be repaved from Oct. 28 to Nov. 3. Despite a plan for work crews to wrap up daily by 3 p.m., the repaving work would have coincided with the annual Halloween celebration on the roadway, which is attended by thousands of people every year. Now, the city has confirmed to ALXnow that the repaving will be rescheduled to the following week.

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Alexandria police, public safety partners to host trunk-or-treat event

By James Cullum

Published October 21, 2025 at 1:45PM

APD is hosting a "trunk-or-treat" event at police headquarters at 3600 wheeler Avenue on Wednesday, Oct. 29 (via Facebook)

The Alexandria Police Department and its public safety partners are getting into the spirit of the season.

Next Wednesday (Oct. 29), APD is hosting a trunk-or-treat event in the parking lot at police headquarters (3600 Wheeler Avenue), and residents are encouraged to wear costumes and get candy from the trunks of Alexandria public safety vehicles.

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Haunted Duncan Library returns this weekend in Del Ray

By James Cullum

Published October 21, 2025 at 10:45AM

Del Ray's James M. Duncan Branch Library is reopening its haunted house on Oct. 24 and 25 (courtesy image)

Fright and fun is returning to Del Ray, as the James M. Duncan Branch Library (2501 Commonwealth Avenue) has been transformed into a haunted house.

On Oct. 24 (Friday) and 25 (Saturday), the annual Duncan Haunted Library will feature spooky tours, spine-tingling ghost stories and more. Tickets cost $10 and proceeds go toward new books, community programs and other special library events.

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Del Ray to host free Halloween bike ride Sunday

By James Cullum

Published October 17, 2025 at 11:06AM

There's a free Halloween-themed bike ride through Del Ray on Sunday, Oct. 19, 2025 (via Facebook)

There’s a free family-friendly Halloween-themed bike ride in Del Ray on Sunday, Oct. 19.

Riders will be able to see all of the spectacularly spooky decorations throughout the neighborhood. The six-to-seven-mile ride goes from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and is hosted by the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. More details are below.

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Walk to Bust Cancer at Fort Hunt Park postponed due to government shutdown

By James Cullum

Published October 15, 2025 at 3:30PM

The Walk to Bust Cancer at Fort Hunt Park in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County has been postponed due to the government shutdown (via Instagram)

The 10th annual Walk to Bust Cancer at Fort Hunt Park in the Alexandria area of Fairfax County on Sunday, Oct. 19, has been postponed due to the government shutdown, organizers said.

“With Fort Hunt Park closed and the National Park Service scheduling system offline, organizers are currently unable to secure a backup date,” organizers said in an email. “After an extensive search to try and find an alternative non-government location, this decision rooted in safety, logistics, and respect for survivors, families, volunteers, and supporters was not taken lightly. The Walk is a deeply meaningful moment to honor loved ones and rally the surrounding community.”

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Alexandria Choral Society singing with Alexandria Children’s Chorus on Oct. 26

By James Cullum

Published October 14, 2025 at 9:30AM

The Alexandria Choral Society is singing with the Alexandria Children's Chorus on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025 (via Facebook)

The Alexandria Choral Society is collaborating with the Alexandria Children’s Chorus later this month for a concert that invites audiences to listen “with your heart, mind, and spirit.”

The “Do You Hear What I Hear” concert will explore sound and silent spaces in musical pieces such as “The Sound of Silence” and “Ain’t No Grave” at Westminster Presbyterian Church (2701 Cameron Mills Road). The concert will be held on Sunday, Oct. 26, from 3 to 5 p.m.

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Agenda: Alexandria to discuss the art of civil discourse on Oct. 27

By James Cullum

Published October 13, 2025 at 1:30PM

A packed house at the Agenda Alexandia discussion on building heights and affordable housing, October 24, 2022. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Is civil discourse a dying art? The topic will be discussed at Agenda: Alexandria‘s upcoming forum in the city’s Carlyle neighborhood on Monday, October 27.

Panelists at the event include Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kate Woodsome; JoAnn Koob, director of the Liberty and Law Center at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School; Alexandria living legend Carter Flemming; and Victor Ignacio of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office. Tickets for the hour-and-a-half-long discussion are $10. The event starts at 7 p.m. and will be held at Cowo & Creche (2034 Eisenhower Avenue).

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Del Ray Halloween Parade set for Oct. 26

By James Cullum

Published October 13, 2025 at 12:30PM

As seen at the Del Ray Halloween Parade, Oct. 27, 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Get your Halloween costumes ready, because an Alexandria tradition is returning on Sunday, Oct. 26.

Thousands of participants are expected at the 29th annual Del Ray Halloween Parade. Every year, Ghostbusters, superheroes, fairies, princesses, and many more costumed Alexandrians march along Mount Vernon Avenue at the intersection with E. Bellefonte Avenue to the fields at Mount Vernon Recreation Center (2701 Commonwealth Avenue). The festivities start at 2 p.m., and always end with the Del Ray Business Association (DRBA) awarding the winners of the best decorated house and business in Del Ray, as well as the best-dressed group, pet costume, and stroller.

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Jones text scandal, ice cream assault case lead Alexandria’s top stories

By James Cullum

Published October 10, 2025 at 3:30PM

Democrat Jay Jones speaks in Richmond during his 2024 campaign kickoff for attorney general. Jones is now facing bipartisan backlash over newly surfaced text messages containing violent remarks about a former Republican House speaker. (Photo by Markus Schmidt/Virginia Mercury)

Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories of the week.

With less than a month until the Nov. 4 general election, this week’s most-read story is on the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones. The National Review broke the news last Friday (Oct. 3) that in August 2022, Jones sent text messages to Del. Carrie Coyner (R-75), “fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children,” according to the Virginia Mercury story posted on ALXnow.

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Del Ray Psych and Wellness therapist to appear on TLC’s ‘Baylen Out Loud’

By James Cullum

Published October 10, 2025 at 3:00PM

There's a watch party Oct. 14, 2025, to see Amy Begnal, the clinical director at Del Ray Psych and Wellness, appear in the new TLC series Baylen Out Loud (via Facebook)

There’s a watch party in Alexandria on Tuesday, Oct. 14, to see Amy Begnal, the clinical director at Del Ray Psych and Wellness, appear in the new season of the TLC series Baylen Out Loud.

Begnal will appear in three episodes this season, providing pre-marital counseling to Baylen Dupree and her fiancé, Colin Dooley. The watch party will be held from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at Piece Out Del Ray (2419 Mount Vernon Avenue). The show airs at 9 p.m. Dupree, who lives in West Virginia, suffers from a severe case of Tourette’s Syndrome, and the show explores her desire for independence and the steps she takes “toward being in the world on her own,” according to TLC.

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Researchers to share findings on Alexandria’s Civil War history, LGBTQ+ community

By James Cullum

Published October 8, 2025 at 9:30AM

Alexandria during the Civil War (image via Visit Alexandria)

Three grant recipients will unveil their findings on Alexandria’s history during the Civil War, records at Douglas Cemetery and more.

The grants were awarded as part of the Alexandria Historical Society‘s 50th anniversary celebration. The “golden grantees” will present their findings at the free event at the Lyceum (201 S. Washington Street) on Wednesday, Oct. 22, starting at 6:30 p.m.