After a busy Halloween season, Alexandria will have a quieter weekend of events before holiday happenings ramp up.
The first full weekend of November brings a closing celebration for the Waterfront Park art installation, Veterans Day Run, Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum’s 20th anniversary open house and an evening with George Washington.
The United States Maritime Foundation is poised to take over operation of the Tall Ship Providence and its floating pier at Waterfront Park in Old Town Alexandria next month, allowing waterfront tours and educational programming to resume.
Marion Smith, president of the foundation, told ALXnow that his organization will officially sign paperwork taking over responsibility for the pier and ship in early November.
Alexandria is set to unveil big plans along the waterfront and King Street in Old Town.
On Wednesday (Oct. 7), the city will seek approval from the Board of Architectural Review on major aesthetic and structural changes that would see red bricks replacing asphalt along the unit and 100 blocks of King Street, a 20-foot-wide walkway with a riverside railing running from Robinson Terminal South to the base of King Street, new promenades at Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park and more.
After news broke this week that the Tall Ship Providence was suspending operations, a nonprofit aimed at creating a national maritime museum along the Alexandria waterfront has gone public.
Marion Smith, president of the United States Maritime Foundation, told ALXnow the organization has entered into a legal agreement with the property owner at 1 Prince Street and is currently fundraising and looking for a second location for additional programming nearby. He also said the foundation is working to acquire the Tall Ship Providence Foundation’s floating pier, the Tall Ship Providence itself and take over its entire operation at Waterfront Park after signing a memorandum of understanding to do so by 2028.
The Alexandria-based Tall Ship Providence Foundation is suspending its educational and tour programs on the Potomac River, effective Friday, June 26, the organization announced today (Monday).
The decision, which was recently made by the nonprofit’s board, means Tall Ship Providence will be sold if significant funding is not found, the organization’s Executive Director Kathy Seifert told ALXnow. As it stands, the bar at the floating pier at Waterfront Park will stay open to pay for upkeep of the ship, which Seifert says will stay docked in Alexandria until the end of the summer.
With minimal discussion on Saturday (June 13), Alexandria City Council voted to move forward with an “enhanced gravity storm sewer system” to combat flooding along the waterfront in Old Town.
The City Council action was taken four months after the National Park Service denied the city’s plan to build a pump station at Waterfront Park (1 Prince Street). The city’s previously approved proposal would have closed Waterfront Park and Point Lumley Park from the fall of 2026 until the fall of 2028 to rebuild segments of the sea wall and to install the pump station to recirculate water in flood-prone areas back to the Potomac River. The denial by NPS forced the city to make “significant modifications” to the plan, project manager Matt Landis told Council.
Cameras will be rolling on Sunday, June 21 at Alexandria’s “Now or Never” installation at Waterfront Park in Old Town.
That’s the day of the summer solstice — the longest day of the year — and artist Alicia Eggert designed the installation at 1 Prince Street to align with the sun’s path from sunrise to sunset.
The City of Alexandria will celebrate the Croatian National Team’s use of the city as a home base during the World Cup with a welcome event next month.
The city will host “Flavors & Sounds of Croatia – Alexandria” from 5-8 p.m. Saturday, June 6 at Waterfront Park (1 Prince Street) to celebrate Croatian heritage. The event is free to attend. The Croatian National Football Team will not be in attendance.
Volunteers will gather this weekend to clean up Waterfront Park, a popular gathering spot for Old Town visitors along the Potomac River.
The Alexandria Beautification Commission and NOVA Cleanups are hosting the volunteer cleanup from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday (April 12). Volunteers will pick up litter and debris throughout the park, covering walking paths, green spaces and the waterfront.
The Alexandria Clerk’s Office is expanding its wedding offerings yet again.
After a successful run last fall with its costumed “Halloweddings,” Clerk of Court Greg Parks will officiate 18 weddings aboard the Tall Ship Providence on Friday, May 15, at Waterfront Park in Old Town.
Alexandria City Council directed staff on Tuesday to pursue a new preferred option to combat flooding along the Alexandria waterfront — one that does not involve a pump station.
City staff presented the council with a number of options in the wake of the National Park Service’s denial last month of the city’s plan to build a pump station at Waterfront Park. The city’s preferred option, Option 3, is an enhanced gravity storm sewer system, with “automated back flow prevention devices.” Option 3 also means that infrastructure improvements to Point Lumley Park and the bulkhead would be deferred.
