An opening date is on the horizon for a queer-owned, family-oriented café hoping to establish itself near Alexandria.
Friends of Dorothy Cafe founder Dorothy Edwards has raised about $25,000 for the café’s creation since launching a crowdfunding campaign last June. As the campaign’s first anniversary and Pride Month approach this June, Edwards told ALXnow the new business is aiming to open sometime next year.
The Alexandria Police Department has adopted a new hate crime policy following a Christmas Day incident in which a suspect reportedly threw groceries and shouted homophobic statements at a man in a store on Christmas Day.
Police Chief Tarrick McGuire announced the department’s first-ever policy for bias incidents and hate crimes, developed over the past year, at a press conference this morning (Monday).
Alexandria was home to the reality TV show “Queer Eye” last summer as the Fab Five filmed their tenth and final season in the D.C. area.
The Netflix show held its production headquarters in a warehouse at Van Dorn Station during a five-week shoot from late June to August 2025, Visit Alexandria spokesperson Allison O’Keefe told ALXnow. The location was coordinated through a partnership between the city of Alexandria, Visit Alexandria and the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership.
For the sixth year in a row, Alexandria has received a “perfect score” from an annual evaluation of United States cities by a national LGBTQ+ rights nonprofit.
Alexandria earned a maximum score of 100 points on its Municipal Equality Index scorecard from the Human Rights Campaign, the city announced yesterday (Wednesday). The score accounts for factors like non-discrimination laws, protections for LGBTQ+ employees and fair enforcement of the law.
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.
Are you a friend of Dorothy?
Since World War II, the coded question has been used to determine whether someone is queer. Now, Dorothy Edwards is using the phrase as the name for the first-ever LGBTQ+ focused cafe in Alexandria. For the last several months, Edwards has been raising money to cover six months of operating expenses at a yet-to-be-determined space, build-out of the space, and equipment. She says that once the cafe is up and running, it’s all she wants to do for the rest of her life.
Alexandria’s Market Square was covered in rainbows Saturday for the City’s 8th Annual Pride Fair.
The event included dozens of vendors from businesses, nonprofits and the city. Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley read a city proclamation to the audience that exemplified the city’s support of the LGBTQ+ community. Inside City Hall, young children and their families listened to drag queen story hour with queen Lemon X Fluiditea.
City Council formally recognized June as LGBTQ+ Pride month in Alexandria on Tuesday night (June 10).
“It’s very real that there are people in this country, and even in this city, who, because of who they are, don’t know if they’re going to be welcomed or not,” City Council Member R. Kirk McPike said before reading a city proclamation. “This is a difficult time for many people in our community, LGBTQ+ communities across the country.”
By OLIVIA DIAZ Associated Press/Report for America
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The Virginia House of Delegates passed resolutions on Tuesday enshrining rights to abortion, voting and marriage equality in a critical step for Democrats hoping to amend the state’s constitution next year.
Alexandria is now a safe haven for the LGBTQ+ community.
City Council, on Tuesday night, unanimously approved Council Member Kirk McPike’s resolution directing the city attorney and city manager to take legal and other measures to curtail discriminatory efforts on the national, state and local levels from Republican politicians against LGBTQ+ residents.
Alexandria’s City Council will vote next Tuesday night on making the city a safe haven for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning community.
The all-Democrat City Council will vote on a resolution to protect the LGBTQ+ community’s equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
