Around Town

Halloween weekend in Alexandria brings spooky festivities aplenty this year, with haunted parties, dog-friendly celebrations, bar crawls and more.

Discover all that’s happening in your community this weekend (Oct. 31-Nov. 2), from events and entertainment to live music.


News

The music of Amadeus Mozart, Scott Joplin, and Felix Mendelssohn is coming to Alexandria next month.

On Nov. 8 and 9, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will play its second concert of the season with special guest Michael Rusinek, principal clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, who will play Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. The concert includes Joplin’s Overture to Treemonisha and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 “Italian.”


News

Grammy winner Macy Gray is performing her greatest hits at The Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria next month, and spoke with ALXnow for a few minutes.

Gray is performing across the country this and next month on the final leg of an international tour marking the 25-year anniversary of the release of her hit album “On How Life Is”. The Nov. 4 concert is her second appearance performing in Alexandria, after she sang at The Birchmere in 2023, and she says she’ll be performing the entire album, plus a few covers and new songs.


News

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.


News

Two Alexandria-based choruses have qualified to perform in the Barbershop Harmony Society’s international competition next year in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective’s choruses, the Harmonizers and Metro Voices, recently competed at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s Mid-Atlantic District Competition in Cape May, New Jersey, qualifying to compete at the event, which will take place from June 28 to July 6.


News

Alexandria’s Del Ray neighborhood was packed with art lovers for the 30th annual Art on the Avenue festival in Del Ray on Saturday (Oct. 4).

Hundreds of juried artists sold their work, live music was performed on four stages and the event and its founder Pat Miller were recognized by Alexandria Congressman Don Beyer (D-8th), Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker (D-5th) and Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley.


News

A popular open mic night in Del Ray is celebrating its third anniversary next Wednesday (Sept. 17).

Greg Roth and Gabe Fry started the What-Have-You open mic at Evening Star Cafe (2000 Mount Vernon Avenue) in September 2022, and since then — with the exception of January — have hosted the event from 8:30 to 11 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. Next Wednesday’s event has a numbers, acronyms, and abbreviations theme, with musicians asked to perform hits from bands like R.E.M., AC/DC, INXS, and the B-52s, among others.


News

A Grammy-nominated quartet will perform this month at Virginia Theological Seminary.

The New York Polyphony will sing at a free concert at VTS’s Immanuel Chapel (3737  Seminary Road) at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 16.


News

Get your tickets now, because the Alexandria Choral Society just announced its 2025-26 season.

It’s the 55th season for the ACS, and the five performances in this year’s program are being held at venues across the city. Season tickets cost $125, and individual event tickets are suggested $30 apiece.


News

Not long ago, Bruce Anderson and a handful of his boyhood friends from Alexandria decided to give back with a free community cookout.

The event was a bigger hit than the group anticipated, with hundreds of people showing up to the Nannie J Lee Memorial Recreation Center (1108 Jefferson Street). Now in its third year, the Southside Community Fest features free food, live musical performances, a DJ, special guest speakers, and more.


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