Starting on Dec. 20, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) will offer its annual Holiday SoberRide program nightly from 10 p.m.-4 a.m., until Jan. 1.
In addition to Alexandria, the program is offered to rides in D.C., Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland, and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William counties in Virginia.
The 4th annual Del Ray Candy Cane Bar Crawl will bring holiday revelers to Mount Vernon Avenue this weekend.
From 1-6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, fifteen restaurants across Del Ray will have specials on holiday cocktails and beers. Raffles, a costume contest, and a photo booth are planned for different restaurants, with trolley transportation connecting the different venues.
A sing-along celebration this weekend will feature a live band backing up you — the audience — as the chorus.
Alexandria’s 2019 Holiday Sing-Along, hosted by the Del Ray United Methodist Church at 100 Windsor Avenue, is a free holiday concert presented by the Alexandria Citizens Band.
On Wednesday, Dec. 18, Waters is scheduled to return to the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Avenue) for an event titled “A John Waters Christmas: Filthier & Merrier 2019 Tour” with the tagline “It’ll Stuff Your Turkey.”
Tickers are $55 and the show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.
The waterfront will sparkle tomorrow (Saturday) as dozens of ships decked out in Christmas lights cruise along the shoreline.
This year is the 20th annual Holiday Boat Parade of Lights. Festivities are planned throughout the afternoon and early evening, from 2-8 p.m. Planned activities include a pop-up beer garden from Port City Brewing Company, a bookmark-making station from Old Town Books and holiday music from 97.1 WASH-FM.
Next Saturday, the Old Town trolly will run from the Metro to the Waterfront by way of the North Pole.
On Saturday, Dec. 14, Santa is scheduled to make an appearance at a King Street Trolly parked outside City Hall (301 King Street). The trolly is a free, year-round shuttle along King Street operated by the DASH bus service.
If you waited, unlike the City of Alexandria, to put up your Christmas decorations after Thanksgiving, there are plenty of places to get your tree.
For one, the Alexandria Police Department is hosting its annual Christmas tree sale, a yearly fundraiser that helps cover the cost of sending over 50 children to Camp Kekoka in the summer. The program specifically aims to help Alexandria children who would otherwise be unable to afford summer camp.
Get the kilts and bagpipes ready, this weekend is the Scottish Christmas Walk.
Scotland-themed events are scheduled throughout the weekend, kicking off with Taste of Scotland, an annual Scotch tasting on Friday, Nov. 6 from 6:30-10:30 p.m. at The Atrium (277 S. Washington Street). The event also includes Scottish beer, wine and food. Individual tickets are sold out, but sponsorship tickets are still available.
Big Tree Falls Hard on Russell Road — “Tracey Cain was in Ohio visiting family when her husband Patrick McLaughlin called from their home at 2912 Russell Road this morning at 3 am. ‘The big tree in the front yard just fell down. It’s blocking the whole road. It’s pulled down a power line, and now it looks like no Thanksgiving for Russell Road,’ was the news.” [Zebra]
School Board Shrinking? — “The Alexandria City School Board is considering decreasing the number of members on the board and increasing the length of the terms they serve. A majority of school board members said they were in favor of these changes at a school board work session on Nov. 14.” [Alexandria Times]
Alexandria Keeps High Bond Rating — “S&P Global Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service have reaffirmed the City of Alexandria’s top bond ratings of ‘AAA’ and ‘Aaa,’ respectively, in advance of the City’s planned sale of $205 million in general obligation tax-exempt bonds to fund the Potomac Yard Metrorail Station and school facility capital projects.” [City of Alexandria]
More Phone Problems for City — A week after an issue with a fiber optic line knocked out incoming calls for most Alexandria non-emergency phone lines last week, the same issue with incoming calls cropped up yesterday. It was reported to be resolved later Tuesday afternoon. [Twitter/@AlexandriaVAGov]
The Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will perform its holiday concert series “Nutcracker Potpourri” next month.
On Saturday, December 14 at 7:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 15 at 2:00 p.m., ASO Music Director Maestro James Ross will lead the orchestra in a hybrid version of The Nutcracker, with excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s ballet suite and a Duke Ellington swing series.
