After a flurry of activity, the Del Ray Christmas tree is finally at home at Pat Miller Neighborhood Square.
The 32-foot-tall Fraser fir was lifted by a crane and installed on Tuesday afternoon. It’s the 13th straight year that Bill Blackburn of the Homegrown Restaurant Group selected and cut down the tree at the Naughty Pines Nursery in Maryland.
Joy on the Avenue is officially open to the public in Del Ray.
The Christmas-themed pop-up bar at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue softly opened on Tuesday night, just in time for the long holiday weekend.
Before everyone jumps on AARP, the group acknowledged in a listing of best “small towns” in America to enjoy the holidays that Alexandria is a city.
With that out of the way: AARP said Alexandria is one of the top five “small towns that will bring your Hallmark Christmas movie dreams to life.”
An annual holiday program kicking off next month at the Fort Ward Museum (4301 W. Braddock Road) will combine the fun and holiday spirit of the Christmas season with education about a conflict that left an estimated 1.5 million casualties.
Civil War Christmas in Camp is a popular annual program the Fort Ward Museum, featuring reenactors in a winter camp setting and period decorations. This year, the program is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 9, from noon to 4 p.m.
Veterans Day is this upcoming Saturday, but the holiday is also observed on Friday, so the mix of what’s open and closed around Alexandria is a little more muddled than it usually is on a holiday.
For Alexandria City Public Schools, for example, it’s a school day as usual.
The Nightmare on the Avenue is over, so to speak.
The seasonal pop-up bar Nightmare on the Avenue closed after nearly two months of serving Halloween-inspired cocktails and food. Now the team from the Homegrown Restaurant Group will spend the next few weeks transforming the space into the Christmas-themed “Joy On The Avenue.”
The upcoming Monday is Labor Day, so those sticking around town for the weekend should be aware of some closures ahead.
Most city services are impacted by the holiday, from the local animal shelter to courts.
Yesterday, around the region, residents of Arlington and Fairfax lit off fireworks to celebrate the Fourth of July. Meanwhile, in Alexandria, fireworks remain illegal.
The Alexandria Fire Department cited safety as a major factor, noting a 25% increase in fireworks injuries in the U.S. between 2006 and 2021. Currently, fireworks are only allowed at city-led events like the birthday celebration on July 8.
This upcoming Independence Day, the Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) is bringing back the SoberRide program.
The program runs from 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 4th, to 4 a.m. on Wednesday, July 5.
This upcoming Monday is Juneteenth, a federal holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the United States. Around Alexandria, that means some services will be reduced or fully unavailable.
Yesterday, the City of Alexandria released a list of affected local services.
The Office of Historic Alexandria is going all out for Juneteenth this year with four events, a storytelling event, and more around the city.
Juneteenth, celebrated June 19, marks the end of slavery in the United States.
