Khun Yai Thai has opened in the former Ghin Na Ree Thai space (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Khun Yai Thai has opened in the former Ghin Na Ree Thai space (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A new Thai restaurant has opened in the space formerly occupied by Ghin Na Ree Thai at the Lee Harrison Shopping Center.
Khun Yai Thai opened last week at 2509 N. Harrison Street, next to Duck Donuts. It’s taking the place of Ghin Na Ree Thai, which announced last month it was closing after more than two decades and being sold to another family.
“Arlington is a special place with a great community, we knew we wanted to be part of,” a Khun Yai Thai rep wrote ARLnow in an email. “After meeting the family of Ghin Na Ree, they were very open and accommodating. It felt right, as they wanted to transition into retirement.”
The changeover from one restaurant to the next took less than a month.
The owners of Khun Yai Thai are local veterans in the restaurant business, having previously owned eateries in Tysons, Rehoboth Beach, and Falls Church.
Khun Yai Thai means “Thai grandma,” per the owners. The restaurant is owned by three sisters, including at least two who are grandmothers.
“[The name] signifies the journey of the family that immigrated to the US over 40 years ago, achieved the American dream of opening a business, and now continuing to pursue the American dream generations later,” the restaurant rep wrote. “Thai grandma is someone who wants to share their story and heart through their recipes. At Khun Yai Thai, we want to achieve a sense of comfort, like dining with family.”
The menu is traditional Thai, with dishes like panang curry, kao pad, pad gra pow, tom kha gai soup, and pad thai. All are family recipes, we’re told.
The new restaurant owners have some big shoes to fill given that Ghin Na Ree Thai was generally well reviewed during its more than two decades in business.
A tennis court at Glebe Road Park was restriped for pickleball (staff photo by Matt Blitz)
(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) A local civic association says a lawsuit may be imminent over the infamous pickleball pop.
In a recent community newsletter, Old Glebe Civic Association leaders detailed their displeasure with the county ending a pilot program that closed a popular standalone pickleball court at Glebe Road Park earlier this year.
The program was initially enacted as a means to mitigate the noise of the loud pop sound produced by a pickleball hitting a paddle that was bothering some close-by neighbors, primarily those who live on a dead-end block near the courts.
The OGCA called that pilot program a “compromise” since it also looked to appease players by restriping a nearby tennis court for pickleball so there were now four courts, as opposed to the previous three. But with the program now being “abandoned,” the newsletter says, “the noise issue has become more contentious.”
The county has since proposed another pilot program that would reopen the standalone pickleball court but with limited hours and surrounded by a “noise reducing fence,” a spokesperson with the Department of Parks and Recreation tells ARLnow.
However, the OGCA opposes any reopening of the pickleball court and wrote that if the county doesn’t find a better way to mitigate the noise, legal action might be taken.
“We hope that a new compromise can be reached before affected parties turn to law courts for resolution of the issue, as has happened repeatedly in other cities throughout the country,” the newsletter reads.
The impact of the sport’s rise has not sat well with everyone, though. The crowds and noise — particularly the loud pickleball pop — at certain local courts have bothered some surrounding neighbors. This includes those who live near Glebe Road Park.
“The noise from pickleball has become a major problem for residents of nearby houses — particularly those living on the section of Tazewell Street off of 38th Street,” reads the OGCA newsletter. “Some of the houses are only 135 feet from a ‘stand alone’ pickleball court; the noise from the court reverberates across the amphitheater-like terrain downhill to Tazewell Street and can be heard distinctly (and constantly) inside the houses.”
These concerns are not unique to Arlington, with the county looking to other jurisdictions to figure out how best to broker a pickleball peace. The initial pilot program, which ran from April to early September, closed down the pickleball court closest to the houses, but also added two more courts to the park by restriping a tennis court.
While the county “learned a lot” from the pilot, it didn’t paint a “full picture” about the best way forward, a county official told ARLnow.
“Over the last several months tennis and pickleball players, despite some inherent conflicts, have adjusted to sharing the two multi-use courts at Glebe Park. The courts have been very busy,” DPR spokesperson Martha Holland said. “Throughout the duration of this pilot, we have heard from park users and neighbors alike about the need to reopen the stand-alone court and to allow for pickleball plus other recreational options (soccer, fitness workouts, etc.).”
So, in response, the county is instituting a “Phase 2” pilot program that will keep the striping on the park’s tennis courts and install a “noise reducing fence” on three sides of the standalone court.
“The side of the court that touches the basketball court will not be wrapped, for safety reasons. Once the fence is up, DPR will reopen the court and monitor its use,” said Holland.
In addition, the court will be available via a reservation system and the court lights will be turned off at 10 p.m.
A “Love” sign in Rosslyn (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)
An event in Rosslyn this week is hoping to help local singles prepare for “cuffing season,” the time of the year when some are looking to settle down with a partner to pass the cold months.
On Wednesday (Nov. 16) at 5:30 p.m., the Rosslyn Business Improvement District is hosting its first-ever Cuffing Season Tips & Sips at Assembly food hall at 1700 N. Moore Street.
The event will feature a chance to mingle with other singles, an onsite photographer to take that “perfect profile photo,” and advice from online dating coach Erika Ettin.
Registration is required with the event costing $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Attendees will get one drink per admission plus a happy hour menu will be available.
Cuffing season, per Merriam-Webster, “refers to a period of time where single people begin looking for short-term partnerships to pass the colder months of the year.” It starts in October and lasts until after Valentine’s Day.
Due to the pandemic, the last two cuffing seasons have been rough for singles looking to cozy down for the winter. This year’s rendition appears to be approaching normalcy, with other local events looking to encourage the ritual.
Besides mingling and freshening up that online dating photo, Rosslyn BID is bringing in a well-regarded local online dating coach to provide advice. Erika Ettin is the founder of “A Little Nudge,” a service that helps singles manage online profile creation and date planning as well as coaching.
Ettin will be at the event “to give you the best tips on how to improve your dating profile to help you find the perfect match,” reads the event page.
The newly restored Ord and Weitzel Gate (photo courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery)
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly restored Ord and Weitzel Gate (photo courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery)
The ribbon cutting ceremony for the newly restored Ord and Weitzel Gate (photo courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery)
Arlington National Cemetery’s restored Ord and Weitzel Gate was unveiled to the public earlier this week, after more than four decades in storage.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, the historic gate was officially reopened at the north entrance of the cemetery’s hallowed ground.
The iron gate dates to 1879 when it was first designed by Montgomery Meigs, also known for his work on the U.S. Capitol dome and what’s today the National Building Museum. The columns on top, decorated with “elaborately sculpted urns,” are two centuries old and were originally part of the War Department building prior to its demolition.
In 1902, the names of Civil War officers Gen. Edward Ord and Gen. Godfrey Weitzel were inscribed on the columns, thus giving the gate its name.
As the years went on, though, the cemetery expanded and the gate became weathered. It was also too small for modern vehicles to fit through. So, in 1979, it was disassembled and put into storage.
Forty-three years later, it’s back in its original location, restored, and reopened to the public. Now, though, it’s a pedestrian-only gate.
“The opening of the restored Ord and Weitzel Gate marks an important milestone in Arlington National Cemetery’s long-range plan to preserve our priceless monumental and architectural history,” Karen Durham-Aguilera, Executive Director of the Office of Army Cemeteries, said in a press release. “Our historic gates are among the cemetery’s most unique and meaningful cultural resources, yet their stories often remain untold.”
The restored gate also came with a number of improvements to the Custis walking path, including updating the sidewalk, security features, and making other visitor-friendly infrastructure changes.
The sidewalk was changed from asphalt to concrete for design and safety reasons, per a cemetery spokesperson. A new, updated guardhouse was also added, plus a water fountain, benches, trash cans, and street lamps. There’s a new pull-off location for the ANC tram as well.
This will require realigning Columbia Pike and moving it closer to I-395 so that gravesites can be placed where it currently curves around the Air Force Memorial. That portion of the project just got underway this past spring. The construction will eventually result in the closing of a portion of Columbia Pike near Pentagon City, which could happen as soon as early next year.
With the expansion, as well as the restoration of the historic Ord and Weitzel Gate, Arlington National Cemetery is looking to preserve, modernize, and grow.
“Just yesterday I was giving a briefing on our Southern Expansion Project, and I discussed how we were building history, a project that will last as long as there is a United States of America,” ANC’s Director of Engineering Col. Thomas Austin said at Tuesday’s ceremony. “Now, here at Ord and Weitzel, we have the honor of rebuilding history, reviving a structure with elements that go back nearly 200 years. What an honor it is and how lucky we all are to be a part of it.”
Union member Sam Dukore in front of the Starbucks at Courthouse Plaza (photo courtesy of Richard Bensinger)
Workers gathered in front of the Starbucks at Courthouse Plaza (photo courtesy of Richard Bensinger)
(Updated, 5:30 p.m.) Yesterday was an election day as well for employees at the Starbucks in Courthouse Plaza, who voted to become the second D.C.-area location of the coffee giant to unionize.
Workers at a local Starbucks won their election to form a union, as first reported by Washington Post reporter Lauren Kaori Gurley. The employees are organizing with and joining Starbucks Workers United.
BREAKING: @SBWorkersUnited workers just won their 260th union election 8-to-2.
All of these victories have occurred in less than a year.
The Arlington, VA store is the 2nd DC-area location to unionize.
Arlington Democrats congratulated employees at the Starbucks in Courthouse at 2200 Clarendon Blvd for winning their union election.
Congrats to the works at Courthouse Starbucks for winning their @SBWorkersUnited union election today!
Thanks to everyone who came out to grab a #UnionStrong cup of coffee. We must continue to support union workers for a strong America and strong economy https://t.co/E8iZk9LSVl
Samuel Dukore, a member of the union and a shift supervisor at the Courthouse Starbucks, told ARLnow that he and his colleagues unionized for better pay, more consistent hours, and uniformly enforced rules and regulations.
This marks the 260th Starbucks nationwide to unionize but only the second one in the D.C. area. The other unionized Starbucks is on P Street in the District, which just voted to form its union last month.
As for what’s next, Dukore he would like to see Starbucks come to the bargaining table to “negotiate in good faith” with the union for a contract.
Over the summer, employees at Union Kitchen in Ballston also voted to form a union joining others at Union Kitchen locations across the region. The National Labor Board determined that Union Kitchen management violated a number of labor laws and engaged in illegal union-busting tactics while workers sought to unionize, as DCist first reported earlier today.
Liz Lord, founder of Cold Capital Fund, wearing a cold cap on her last day of chemotherapy in 2017 (photo courtesy of Liz Lord)
When Donaldson Run resident Liz Lord learned that she had breast cancer in late 2016 and needed to receive chemotherapy, she had lots to worry about.
One thing that might not be a matter of life and death, but is a common concern: her hair.
“At the time, because I had a seven and a nine-year-old, I was really concerned about how [losing my hair] would affect their state of minds, knowing that I was now seriously ill,” Lord told ARLnow.
She reached out to one of her son’s teachers, who had gone through a similar experience and had managed to retain a lot of their hair. That teacher told her about cold caps.
Cold caps are freezing-cold, helmet-like gel caps worn on the head. They narrow blood vessels in the scalp, which helps reduce the amount of chemotherapy medicine that can reach the hair follicles.
While it’s proven to work and is FDA-approved, there are logistical challenges associated with the treatment. This includes needing help to put it on the patient’s head and the relatively high cost. If worn for every round of chemo, prices can soar to thousands of dollars.
While Lord was able to afford the treatment and her husband (communications professional and ARLnow cartoonist Mike Mount) was able to assist, not everyone has those privileges. Plus, cold caps are often not covered by health insurance.
That’s why, in 2018, Lord help start Cold Capital Fund, a local non-profit that helps patients secure and afford cold caps.
Losing one’s hair from chemo can be a traumatic experience, not just physically but mentally as well.
“The primary driver for most patients… is privacy, normalcy, and dignity,” said Lord.”There’s some research… that when you look like yourself and feel like yourself, you have better outcomes relative to treatment.”
The way Cold Capital Fund works is that patients apply for either $500 or $1,000 of assistance. Lord encourages everyone in need to apply. Cancer and treatments are very expensive, she said, plus adding in a number of ancillary costs can make patients think they can’t afford cold cap treatment.
While $500 or $1,000 doesn’t always cover the entire cost of the treatment, it can put a significant dent in it. Plus, Cold Capital Fund has a relationship with two cold cap manufacturers and notifies the companies when a patient is approved for assistance. In turn, the companies apply a 25% discount.
When all is said and done, many patients end up getting about half of their cold cap treatments paid for.
Over the last four years, Cold Capital Fund has provided approximately $105,000 of financial assistance to about 125 patients across the region. Mostly, they are breast cancer patients like Lord was.
Recently, the organization has seen a marked rise in applications.
Marymount University’s men’s soccer team won their conference title for the first time in the program’s history (photo courtesy of Marymount University)
Marymount University’s women’s volleyball team won their conference tournament (photo courtesy of Marymount University)
Watching the NCAA Division III tournament selection (photo via @DrIrmaBecerra/Twitter)
For the first time in three decades, two Marymount University teams won their conference titles on the same day with both earning a trip to their respective NCAA tournaments.
On Saturday, Nov. 5, Marymount’s women’s volleyball team and the men’s soccer team each won the NCAA Division III Atlantic East Conference championship.
It was a bit of sports history for the small Catholic university on N. Glebe Road, marking the first time since 1992 that two Marymount teams won such big matches on the same day. Both are now headed to their NCAA tournaments to vie for a national championship.
For the volleyball team, this is the third time in five seasons and the first such trip since 2019. The program has been around since 1981, with head coach Beth Ann Wilson at the helm for the last 30 of those years.
The team will head about an hour away to play the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg on Thursday in the opening round of the national tournament, the program learned on Monday afternoon.
This season has been a true turnaround for the Marymount men’s soccer team. It’s the first time in its 33-year history that it won more games than it lost in a season, wrapped up a conference championship, and made the NCAA tournament.
The men’s soccer team will also make their way to Mary Washington and Fredericksburg for their tournament game, set to play Eastern University on Saturday in the first round.
“We’re so proud of our men’s soccer and women’s volleyball team for winning the Atlantic East Conference and earning automatic bids into the NCAA Tournament on Saturday,” Marymount Director of Athletics Jill McCabe tells ARLnow. “For men’s soccer to win the first conference title in program history in front of an amazing home crowd, it was truly a special moment for Marymount University. Our women’s volleyball team went on the road to beat a team they had lost to just over two weeks ago to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.”
Marymount University has 22 varsity-level sports teams, including men’s and women’s wrestling, which was just added this past spring. They all compete in NCAA Division III, which typically includes smaller schools and provides no athletic scholarships — though student athletes are eligible for other types of scholarships.
The university, meanwhile, is developing plans to build a new sports facility on a piece of county-owned land near campus. Before anything is built, however, it will need to go through a formal review process. Marymount is planning to hold an informational meeting on Nov. 29 to discuss the plan with the community.
New vintage clothing shop set to open in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
New vintage clothing shop set to open in Clarendon (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
A new vintage clothing shop owned by a Washington-Liberty grad is looking to open in Clarendon next week.
People’s Place Blvd is opening up at 3179 Wilson Blvd, a prime spot near Clarendon Ballroom and Spider Kelly’s. The plan is to open on Saturday, Nov. 12, co-owner Fabricio Gamarra tells ARLnow. The store will specialize in buying, selling, and trading vintage clothing.
Gamarra is a 2018 graduate of Washington-Liberty High School and grew up in Arlington. He was previously the manager of the People’s Place location in Manassas but is partnering with that store’s ownership to open his own shop closer to home. It will feature his brand Forbiiidden Vintage.
He’s also the founder of the Barcroft-based pop-up flea market Euphoria, which was so popular two years ago that it went viral on TikTok and resulted in traffic jams in the neighborhood after people flocked to the market from miles around.
Gamarra soon realized the popularity of what he was doing and wanted to expand to a brick and mortar storefront. He found one in the hole-in-the-wall, office and retail space above Spider Kelly’s.
Clarendon is a great place to open his new vintage shop, he said, because of the clientele.
“The area is a popular scene for a lot of kids who are into fashion,” Gamarra said. “Obviously, there’s a lot more income [here]… than in Manassas.”
While he was previously doing plenty of business online and at other local markets, the pull of opening a brick-and-mortar location was too much.
“Having a flea market once or twice a year is cool, but I wanted to open up more opportunities… I like to have that face-to-face connection with other people,” Gamarra said.
There are relatively few vintage clothing shops in Arlington. There’s Current Boutique, which advertises itself as a consignment shop and is located about a half mile away from where People’s Place Blvd is opening. There’s also Amalgamated Costume and Design on Langston Blvd, which is both a store and a rental provider for film, TV and stage productions.
Gamarra said that with more customers turning to small businesses and the “fast fashion” trend waning, people are looking for vintage clothing shops where they can buy and trade back clothes when they are done wearing them.
“People will be able to stop by and recycle their clothing or trade it in for other clothing that they are buying,” he said. “I think buy, sell, trade [shops] are vital.”
Advanced Towing truck parked in front of a fire hydrant near N. Quincy Street (photo courtesy of Matthew Young/@matthewyoung31)
Citing an “ongoing issue,” Arlington County has ticketed Advanced Towing multiple times in recent weeks for blocking “the most famous fire hydrant in Arlington County.”
Trucks from the Ballston-based towing company have received multiple tickets, including one as recently as last week, for parking and blocking a fire hydrant near the corner of 5th Road N. and N. Quincy Street, a county official has confirmed to ARLnow. They were not able to provide the exact number of tickets, however.
That particular hydrant, dubbed “the most famous fire hydrant in Arlington County” by former local news reporter Dave Statter, is in the alleyway next to the company’s lot. A Twitter account is devoted to documenting illegal parking in front of the hydrant.
The county says that they have “received social media complaints and emails from an anonymous account holder” about the issue.
On Saturday afternoon, the fire marshal was sent to talk with Advanced Towing about the “ongoing issue,” per scanner audio posted on social media by Statter.
The result of the ensuing conversation between the fire marshal and Advanced Towing appears to have rectified the problem for now. A spokesperson for Advanced Towing tells ARLnow via email that they’ve stopped parking in front of that hydrant.
However, the company also argued that the fire hydrant is inactive, on their property, and other cars are parking illegally in the alleyway but are not being ticketed.
“I feel the tow trucks are the only ones with attention, tickets and complaints when the entire area is constantly full of illegally parked vehicles because there’s is no parking,” the spokesperson said, while also providing photos of supposedly illegally parked cars. “No tickets have been issued.”
County spokesperson Ben Aiken did confirm that the specific hydrant is “redundant for fire purposes” with another hydrant only a few feet away, but did say it is operational and maintained “for other reasons as part of the water system.” There are also no plans to remove it.
The issue of Advanced Towing trucks parking in front of that particular hydrant apparently has been ongoing since at least 2017 per Twitter user Advanced Towing Fire Hydrant.
— Advanced Towing Fire Hydrant (@AdvTowHydrant) November 3, 2022
While the company says the hydrant is on their property, the county noted that doesn’t give Advanced Towing — or any property owner — the right to park in front of a hydrant.
“The hydrant is located within 5th Rd. North right-of-way and parking is restricted within 15 feet of a fire hydrant,” Aiken wrote in an email.
Advanced Towing also complained about the lack of parking in the area, leaving their trucks often struggling to find spots near their lot, where vehicles towed for trespassing on private property are stored (and scene of a famous incident involving a television personality).
The company cited the move from free street parking to metered spots as well as the presence of the county-owned Mosaic Park as two main reasons for why parking is hard to come by in that corridor.
“This causes huge congestion on 5th Road and surrounding areas, therefore cars are parked illegally all day long. We will also be reporting every illegally parked vehicle we see,” they said via email. “This morning alone, there were 6 at one time, and not one was ticketed.”
“Sunshine and Moonlight” in Ashton Heights (photo courtesy of Jim Roberts)
“Sunshine and Moonlight” in Ashton Heights (photo courtesy of Jim Roberts)
Andrew Mallon working on “Sunshine and Moonlight” in Ashton Heights (photo courtesy of Jim Roberts)
Arlington’s own chainsaw art competitor has completed his latest carving.
Local chainsaw artist Andrew Mallon recently unveiled his newest work of art on the front lawn of a home in the Ashton Heights neighborhood.
The work, near the intersection of Pershing Drive and N. Monroe Street, is entitled “Sunshine and Moonlight — The Oak at Pershing and Monroe.” It depicts a rising sun and moon with an Art Deco motif.
“It came out to be sort of a stately, subdued representation,” Jim Roberts, who commissioned Mallon to do the piece for his home that he’s lived in for 44 years, told ARLnow. “It’s just a beautiful piece of artwork.”
Mallon can currently be seen on the Discovery reality TV competition show “A Cut Above,” going against some of the world’s best chainsaw artists. He has made it through the first five weeks and even won a wood bug carving event that aired earlier in October. The next episode airs on Sunday. The entire competition series is 12 weeks, so more than half of the episodes remain.
While Mallon is chainsawing wood every week for a national audience, this particular project was extra special for him. That’s because he grew up in the Ashton Heights neighborhood and has known the Roberts family for decades.
“We knew him when he was a seven or eight-year-old and on the [Fort Myer] swim team with our girls. At the time, he sorta viewed Andrew as family,” said Roberts. “This was our opportunity to give him a chance to show off his artwork.”
The idea came when Roberts and his wife, Marilyn, had a 12-foot oak tree in the front yard of their house that needed to be taken down due to safety reasons. While they regretted needing to take the tree down, they also saw it as an opportunity.
They contacted Mallon and collaborated with him to come up with the concept of “Sunshine and Moonlight.” For the artist, as well, this project held additional meaning.
“It’s always a pleasure doing for people I know. Any time, I get to be back in my hometown neighborhood, it’s just a blessing,” Mallon told ARLnow. “To be able to fill that neighborhood with my work where I grew up and used to run around and play, it really means a lot to me.”
“Sunshine and Moonlight” in Ashton Heights (photo courtesy of Jim Roberts)
It took him about five days of work to complete the carving and, for a lot of it, he had an audience. People came “dozens at a time,” said Roberts, to watch the artist work. Both Mallon and Roberts didn’t mind it, though. It gave the homeowner a chance to meet and catch up with neighbors, while Mallon says he’s used to it and “really enjoys” a crowd.
“It brought the neighborhood together,” said Roberts.
Roberts loved watching the artist work as well, particularly when he got into carving the sun’s and moon’s details. But he did worry about the noise and mess.
“It was extremely loud and I had to apologize to my neighbors,” he said. “But they understood and appreciated [the artwork].”
There was also a lot of sawdust and the couple had to hire a landscaper to remove “hundreds of pounds” of sawdust and wood.
But the final product came out great, according to everyone. Roberts calls the work a “masterpiece” and a “tribute to the neighborhood.” Mallon said he thought it turned out “spectacular.”
As for Mallon’s run on “A Cut Above,” he can’t share much due to the show still being in the middle of the competition series. He did say that one of the biggest challenges was quickly coming up with something unique and creative for each competition. When he’s working on an individual project, there’s often more time to work through a design and not the added pressure of needing to finish in a set period of time.
Also, being away from home was tough. He has young children and most of his work is in the region, so it’s rare he has to be away from home for long. Mallon does recommend to keep watching the show because it “has some twists to it.”
Roberts hopes that “Sunshine and Moonlight” become an Ashton Heights landmark and part of his legacy — as well as Mallon’s.
Said Roberts, “We wanted it to be something that he could be proud of and something that he would want all of his neighbors, former neighbors, and everybody to see.”
Mark Riley as Chief Turkey (photo courtesy of Arlington Turkey Trot)
Arlington Forest native Mark Riley has been managing the Arlington Turkey Trot for a decade and enjoys being called “Chief Turkey.”
“It’s fun. And if you are having fun, you can do great things,” Riley (or Chief Turkey) told ARLnow. “If you are not having fun, it’s very difficult to get people to want to do anything.”
The annual Thanksgiving 5K is set to take place on Thursday, Nov. 24 at 8 a.m. this year, starting on N. Pershing Drive in Lyon Park. The race is likely returning to the course — through the Lyon Park and Ashton Heights neighborhoods — that was run prior to the pandemic, per the event’s website.
Wherever this year’s race may trot through, Riley plans to be there donning a turkey costume as he has since 2013.
“This community loves to get together in a festive, heartening, helpful, friendly, joyous atmosphere. [The turkey trot] has become a tradition in Arlington County over the years,” Riley said. “People keep coming over, over, and over again. They bring their kids. Then, the kids who grow up bring their kids. And it just keeps going on and on.”
The Arlington Turkey Trot was first started in 2006 by Christ Church of Arlington Pastor Brian Webster and his wife Diane. That first run had about 300 joggers, runners, and walkers. This year’s race is expected to attract about 4,000 trotters and raise about $120,000 for assorted local charities, equivalent to pre-pandemic numbers.
Riley said that initially the trot only supported a few organizations, but last year they expanded the number of charities that received funds to 18. Those include Path Forward, Arlington Thrive, R.E.A.D., Phoenix Bikes, and others.
“A number of nonprofits, typically smaller budgeted non-profits, have been knocking on [our] door to say we want to be included,” said Riley. “We did not know how to say no to any of them. So, we included them all.”
For his work over the years, Riley is being presented with a “Spirit of Community” award by the Arlington Community Foundation next week. The acknowledgment had him “tearing up,” he said because it’s a reminder of how passionate the community is about helping others.
There was some gobbling that Riley may be hanging up his feathers as the Chief Turkey after this year’s race, but he said those rumors are fowl.
Yes, 2021 was particularly tough due to the lingering impact of Covid and a shortage of police officers, but this year has proven Riley still has the energy of a poult. With a bit of extra support and taking on fewer tasks, he said that the plan is to keep on gobbling as Chief Turkey “for the foreseeable future.”
Besides being able to provide for those less fortunate in the community, what Riley really loves about the trot is seeing the joy it brings so many people. On often-chilly Thanksgiving mornings, watching families run together and kids darting across the finish line fills him with warm feelings.
Adding to the good vibes, every kid that finishes gets a medal.
“The thing that really resonates for [me] when I think of the trot is… joy. I think of joy probably more than anything else,” Riley said. “People who have big, joyous smiles on their faces. They love the turkey trot.”
