Arlington Central LibraryA new event, “Late Night Recess,” will give Arlington residents in their 20s and 30s a free opportunity to romp around Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street) in “play clothes” after closing time later this month.

The event will take place on Thursday, July 31, starting at 9:00 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to “bring their friends and inner child” to the event, which will include Nerf tag, capture the flag, Twister and homemade cookies and milk from gourmet cookie bakery Noshy.

Following the event, participants can continue to O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub in Clarendon, where Late Night Recess ticket-holders will get a free appetizer with a $10 purchase. The event is intended to help the library engage with the young professional set.

“The library in the 21st century goes well beyond a stack of books on the shelves,” said library spokesman Peter Golkin. “If people are looking for something that’s built around a social gathering as opposed to a book-centered gathering, then that’s what we do.”

As one of the events in the Arlington Public Library’s “Lit Up” series, Late Night Recess is aimed at young adults who want to socialize and have fun in a unique setting. However, there is no age limit for the event. Attendees should use “common sense,” and respect the library in this unique after-hours setting, Golkin said.

Current, ongoing events in the Lit Up series include the Commuter Book Club, a book club for short books that make “Metro stops or miles fly by,” and Shut Up and Write, a discussion series with a panel of authors.

Registration for Late Night Recess is currently open, and the first 50 registrants will receive a “special prize.”


Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Monday

Bright HorizonsPreschool Open House
Bright Horizons (1300 Wilson Blvd, Suite 100)
Time: 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. (continues daily until Friday)

Bright Horizons is hosting an all-week open house to allow parents to tour their new, “state of the art” early education and preschool center.

Arlington-County-Chronicles-CoverArlington County Chronicles Book Talk
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

“Our Man in Arlington” Charlie Clark gives a reading and discussion of his recently-published collection of columns. The event is free and open to the public.

Friday

How are you doing today artArt Exhibit Opening
Gallery Underground (2100 Crystal Drive)
Time: 5:00-8:00 p.m.

The opening reception for Gallery Underground’s “How Are You Doing Today?” exhibit, featuring “paintings on emotion in color” by artist Anne Chandra. Reception is free and open to the public.

Shocked and Amazed flyer“Shocked and Amazed” Carnival Show
Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 9:00 p.m. (Second showing Saturday at same time)

A show of “deception-free amazement” comes to Artisphere’s Black Box Theatre. Featuring a burlesque show and a sword- and fire-eater, among other. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door.

Saturday

Calloway Music Fest Logo 2014Youth Music Festival
Calloway United Methodist Church (5000 Lee Highway)
Time: 4:00-6:45 p.m.

A free youth music festival to kick off Calloway UMC’s “Community Kickball Nights.” Local gospel choir Ministry Mindset, Robert Stocks and Kelsie Janel will perform.

Iliza ShlesingerLive Comedy: Iliza Shlesinger
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Former Last Night Standing winner Iliza Shlesinger, whose comedy album “War Paint” was the No. 1 comedy album on iTunes in 2013, performs at the Drafthouse. Tickets are $22.


Fourth of July fireworks, as seen from the Air Force Memorial (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)

Several roads in Arlington, including some major arteries, will be closed to drivers for Independence Day celebrations tomorrow.

Memorial Bridge and Memorial Circle will be closed all day, from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. From 1:00 to 11:00 p.m., Marshall Drive will be closed from Route 110 to N. Meade Street, and Meade Street will be closed from Marshall Drive to 14th Street N.

The following closures are also planned in Arlington.

From 3:00 to 11:00 p.m.:

  • N. Meade Street from Marshall Drive to Route 50
  • Eastbound N. Fairfax Drive from N. Pierce Street to N. Fort Myer Drive
  • The exit ramps from Route 50 to N. Lynn and Meade Streets in Rosslyn
  • Long Bridge Drive from Boundary Channel Drive to 10th Street S.

From 8:30 to 11:00 p.m.:

  • Eastbound Route 50 at N. Pershing Drive, with a detour at N. Barton Street or Washington Boulevard
  • Columbia Pike between S. Orme Street and S. Joyce Street
  •  S. Joyce Street between Army Navy Drive and Columbia Pike

Sites in Arlington to view the National Mall fireworks include Long Bridge Park, the Air Force Memorial, Gateway Park, Gravelly Point, the Key Bridge, the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, the Pentagon Reservation and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Whipple Field.

Tomorrow at noon, at Whipple Field, members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment Presidential Salute Battery will fire its ceremonial 50-gun salute in honor of the country’s independence. The salute will involve a cannon firing every five seconds for five minutes.

Arlington County officials urge attendees to use public transportation. The Orange Line’s Rosslyn Metro stop is approximately 5 blocks north of the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, and the Pentagon City Metro station is near the Air Force Memorial.  Shuttle buses to Long Bridge Park from the Crystal City and Pentagon City Metro stations will be available.

ART buses 41 and 51 will run on Sunday schedules, but all other ART buses will not be running. The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office, courts, community centers and libraries will be closed Friday. Trash and recycling collection will occur as scheduled, but parking across the county will not be enforced.

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman


ARLive Startup Smackdown logoUnleash your inner venture capitalist by “investing” in Arlington-based startups while sipping drinks and networking with local business, tech and government leaders.

Crystal City BID, in association with ARLnow.com, ClickDisruption Corp, The Falcon Lab and Grade A Marketing, will be hosting the ARLive Startup Smackdown on Tuesday, July 22 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Held at the Crystal Tech Fund (2231 Crystal Drive) space in Crystal City, the event will arm attendees with Monopoly money and invite them to check out more than a dozen local startups. Attendees can invest the faux funds in their favorite startups, and the company with the most fake money at the end wins lunch with venture capitalist and Crystal Tech Fund founder Paul Singh.

For those attending, there’s no need to bring real cash — we’ll provide all the food and drink you need. Just bring business cards and network as much or as little as you want.

Tickets for the event are just $15 through July 11 and $20 thereafter.

Local startups interested in participating should contact Meghan McMahon at [email protected].


Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Tuesday

U.S. Soccer fans gather at Summer's Restaurant 06/26/14U.S. Soccer Watch Party
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 4:00 p.m.

The Arlington Drafthouse shows all U.S. Soccer game on its HD screen, and attendance is free. The U.S. side takes on Belgium in the Round of 16.

Wednesday

Money HandsMoney Talk for Women
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 6:30-8:30 p.m.

The first meeting of a five-week educational series directed at personal finance education for women. Course comes with free online access to the textbook. Register here.

Thursday

Ballston Mega Market
Welburn Sqaure (901 N. Taylor Street)
Time: 3:00-7:00 p.m.

The first Thursday in the month means an installment of Ballston’s new “mega market,” which takes its normal farmers market and adds live music, a beer and wine pavilion and food tastings.

Market Common at twilightOutdoor Movie: The Karate Kid
Market Common Clarendon (2700 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Market Common Clarendon presents its first free outdoor movie of the summer, and it’s the 1984 classic film the Karate Kid. Movies run on the first Thursday of the month throughout summer.

Friday

Fourth of July fireworks, as seen from the Air Force Memorial (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)July 4th Celebration
Long Bridge Park (475 Long Bridge Drive)
Time: 4:00-10:00 p.m.

Arlington’s annual July 4th event, with free kickball and other games, food trucks, face painting, and a view of the fireworks, set to start at 9:10 p.m.

Saturday

The RoadLive Music: The Road
IOTA Club & Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 8:30 p.m.

“Jam band” and classic rock outfit The Road hits the stage at IOTA the day after the Fourth of July. They’re joined by Feel Free. Tickets are $12.


Fourth of July fireworks, as seen from the Air Force Memorial (Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman)(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) The Fourth of July is a week away, meaning it’s seven days until Arlington’s annual festivities at Long Bridge Park (475 Long Bridge Drive).

The event will run from 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. and it includes more than just a great view across the Potomac River for the fireworks on the National Mall.

From 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., there will be free drop-in kickball, where players can jump in a game and play, and there will be a kickball home run derby at 7:00 p.m., all on Field 1. Other activities include face painting, balloon art, a moon bounce, cornhole, bocce ball, ring toss, ladder golf and duckpin bowling.

There will also be food trucks that should be familiar to Arlington diners, like Willie’s Po’Boy, The Big Cheese, DC Slices, Lemongrass and a Chick-Fil-A truck.

Three bands will provide music throughout the festival, starting with pianist and singer Andrea Pais at 4:30 p.m., the Cherry People at 6:00, and ’90s cover band White Ford Bronco at 7:30.

The fireworks will begin at 9:10 p.m., according to the National Park Service, and last for 17 minutes.

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman


popslogo-final_print-227x300To celebrate its 70th anniversary, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington has partnered with the Arlington Philharmonic to stage “Pops for Pets,”  a free concert for people and dogs alike.

The inaugural event will be held at Lubber Run Amphitheater this Sunday, June 29, starting at 6:00 p.m.

Attendees can bring their dogs and a picnic meal, or buy boxed dinners from La Cote d’Or onsite. The AWLA will also hold a raffle for a birdhouse replica of the Lincoln-era White House. The philharmonic will play “marches and animal-related classics” from pieces by Aaron Copland, John Philip Sousa and Johann Sebastian Bach, according to an AWLA press release.

“Both of our organizations are really quite enthused about this, so we’ll see what the public response is,” John Ratigan, board chair of the philharmonic, said. The philharmonic and the AWLA hope “Pops for Pets” will become an annual event.

A combination of the open amphitheater and “accessible” music selection, Ratigan said, makes this event more of a crowd-pleaser than a typical orchestral performance.

Arlington County Board Chair Jay Fisette’s 13-year-old Border Collie-mix, Cassie, will serve as honorary co-chair of the event.

“She is like a little Buddah,” Fisette said of his dog, which he found on the street while visiting family in Texas.

Concert-goers’ donations will go toward funding the event and “the missions of both organizations,” AWLA Board Chair Pat Ragan said. “It’ll be a great community event.”

Following its 7oth Anniversary Summer Soiree, “Pops for Pets” will continue to celebrate both AWLA’s anniversary and their on-going efforts to find homes and provide care for over 3,000 animals.

AWLA was founded during World War II, and the foresight of the founders is not lost on AWLA President and CEO Neil Trent.

“Back in the ’40s they thought of this in a coffee shop with a war going on,” Trent said. “They said hey, let’s help animals… and they weren’t sitting at the corner Starbucks either.”

Retractable leashes will not be allowed at the event. In the event of inclement weather, “Pops for Pets” will be rescheduled for Tuesday, July 1 at 6:00 p.m.


Freedom Four Miler posterA new four-mile race will be held this Sunday morning from Courthouse down through Rosslyn and on Route 110.

The Freedom Four Miler is being organized by Pacers in partnership with Ireland’s Four Courts (2051 Wilson Blvd), which also serves as the race’s start and finish line. The race will begin at 8:00 a.m. and registration is $40.

It’s the inaugural running of the race, and it replaces the former Let Freedom Run 5K held in Fairfax County as the Fourth of July race in Pacers’ race offerings, according to Pacers Race Director Lisa Reeves.

The race now becomes the second four-miler Pacers holds in Arlington with Four Courts, pairing with the annual Four Courts Four-Miler held on St. Patrick’s Day weekend.

Both four milers have the same basic course — a straight-line, turnaround course, traveling down Wilson Blvd and continuing on Route 110 before turning back in between Rosslyn and the Pentagon. The Arlington County Police Department has yet to announced the official street closures and times, but Reeves said roads will be closed on a rolling basis following the course. All roads should be fully open by 9:00 a.m., Reeves said, and closures will begin to go into effect at around 7:45 a.m.

“It’s a celebration-type race, that’s really what it’s all about,” Reeves said. “Having a good time with your friends and everything. We always encourage people to wear costumes, and we’ll have a photo booth with props like an Uncle Sam hat for runners and spectators to pose with.”


Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Tuesday

Fracking in VirginiaWorkshop: Fracking in Virginia*
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Another in the library’s Environmental Series, attendees are encouraged to participate in a free workshop and movie viewing on “fracking” for natural gas and how it affects Virginia.

Thursday

Craft Activity: ‘Stepping Stones’
Barstons Child’s Play Store (4510 Lee Highway)
Time: 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

This weekly activity begins this Friday, where Barstons invites parents and children to make “stepping stones” out of stone mixture, design, play with them and bring them home. Cost is $5

On/Off Event at ArtisphereLive Music: Christine Sun Kim
Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 7:00 p.m.

A three-artist show centered on experimentations with sound comes to Artisphere’s Black Box Theatre. Tickets, available online, are $12.

Friday

Fashion Truck FridaysFashion Truck Fridays
N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn
Time: 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.

“Fashion Trucks,” which are like food trucks but sell clothing and accessories instead of sandwiches, descend on Rosslyn during the lunch hour. Trucks include The Thread Truck and The Street Boutique.

Saturday

All American Bar CrawlAll-American Bar Crawl*
Restaurants in Clarendon and Courthouse
Time: 2:00-9:00 p.m.

Another bar crawl comes to the streets of Clarendon, this one to celebrate Independence Day. This edition features specials at 15 businesses. Registration is $15 online or $20 at Velocity 5, Mad Rose Tavern or Clarendon Ballroom.

Hal SparksLive Comedy: Hal Sparks
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7:30 and 10:00 p.m.

Comedian Hal Sparks, former host of E!’s Talk Soup and Michael on “Queer as Folk” takes the Drafthouse stage for three shows this weekend. Tickets are $20.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event


Columbia Pike outdoor movie (photo via CPRO)(Updated at 1:00 p.m.) Starting tonight, neighborhoods along Columbia Pike are getting in on the summer outdoor movie scene.

The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) is bringing back outdoor movies in Penrose Square every Saturday from this week (June 21) through August 30. This year, CPRO also will offer movies every other Thursday in the plaza of the new Arlington Mill Community Center, starting tonight and running through September 11.

CPRO is trying out something different at Arlington Mill by offering a couple of Spanish movies subtitled in English, and vice versa. The push for diversity in the movie selection isn’t just for Spanish-speaking cultures. CPRO Executive Director Takis Karantonis notes the movie “The Visitor” deals with issue of immigrating to the United States from Africa and the Middle East.

“We really are very interested in bringing movies from the many cultures we have along Columbia Pike,” said Karantonis. “We will test to see how it works. We realize not everybody is happy with subtitles all of the time, so we will collect feedback and adapt according. Our goal is to make the movies as linguistically accessible as possible.”

Movies begin around 8:30 p.m., or when it becomes dark enough. In case of inclement weather, event changes will be posted on the CPRO websiteFacebook page and Twitter feed.

The Arlington Mill movie schedule follows:

  • June 19 — La Misma Luna (Spanish subtitles)
  • July 3 — Life of Pi
  • July 17 —  No se Aceptan Devoluciones (English subtitles)
  • July 31 — The Visitor
  • August 14 — Sofia y el Terco (Spanish subtitles)
  • August 28 — El Estudiante (English subtitles)
  • September 11 — Avatar

Below is the schedule for movies at Penrose Square:

  • June 21 — Mama Mia!
  • June 28 — The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
  • July 5 — Sideways
  • July 12 — Inception
  • July 19 — Notting Hill
  • July 26 — Little Miss Sunshine
  • August 2 — Slumdog Millionaire
  • August 9 — Before Sunset
  • August 23 — The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
  • August 30 — Gravity

(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County.

If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form. Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Wednesday

AYD networking eventPolitical Networking Event
Ireland’s Four Courts (2051 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.

The Arlington Young Democrats host this networking event with drink specials and a career advice Q&A with Political Communications Director for the Atlas Project Carolyn Fiddler.

Friday

Chris KattanLive Comedy: Chris Kattan
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7:30 and 10:00 p.m. (same times on Saturday)

Saturday Night Live alumnus Chris Kattan, famous for his recurring characters Mango and one half of the Night at the Roxbury brothers, performs stand-up. Tickets are $25.

Mother FalconLive Music: Mother Falcon
Artisphere Ballroom (1101 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 8:00 p.m.

Mother Falcon performs a fusion of jazz, hip-hop and rock rhythms with classically trained artists on horns, strings, piano, banjo and bassoon. Tickets are $15.

Saturday

Relay for LifeRelay for Life*
George Mason High School (7124 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church)
Time: 6:00 p.m.-6:00 a.m. Sunday

The annual race to fight cancer and raise money for the American Cancer Society takes place on Saturday. Registration is still open for teams who want to walk throughout the night.

Clarendon BallroomFun, Fashion and ‘Fabulous’
Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 5:00-9:00 p.m.

A fundraiser and memorial to the life of Erica Paul, who died of colon cancer in 2011, promises cocktails, appetizers and a “fashion dress-up bar” with the Tailored Man and Current Boutique. Tickets are $30, or $40 at the door.

Sunday

World Cup Viewing Party
Summer’s Grill and Sports Bar (1520 N. Courthouse Road)
Time: 6:00 p.m.

Summer’s is an official U.S. Soccer destination restaurant, and at 6:00 p.m. they will host a watch party for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s second World Cup game, against Portugal.


View More Stories