Events | ARLnow.com

Pentagon City Mall To Host Girl’s Night Out Event

Published August 23, 2013 at 1:30PM

This article was written by Maddy Berner

The Fashion Centre at Pentagon City will host a “Girl’s Night Out” event next month.

On Thursday, Sept. 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., the mall will offer several activities geared toward women, including makeovers and food tastings. The event is free and attendees are encouraged to bring friends “to relax, unwind, socialize, shop be pampered and get reacquainted.”

Among the activities offered at the event are makeup tutorials and advice from professionals; food samplings; special one-night-only deals from retailers; a swag bag with free samples and coupons for the first 100 registrants; two raffles at 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., with prizes including $500 in mall gift cards.

The event is co-sponsored by Diet Coke and the British Virgin Islands.

Sports Junkies to Host Summer Dress Party

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 23, 2013 at 12:00PM | Updated August 23, 2013 at 2:49PM

Clarendon Ballroom will again be the site of the annual Summer Dress Party tonight.

The Sports Junkies — the four hosts of 106.7 The Fan’s morning sports talk show — will host the event at the Clarendon bar, 3185 Wilson Blvd, Friday night, starting at 7:00 p.m. There will be no cover charge at the door until 10:00 p.m.

The party is being held on the rooftop, and women, encouraged to dress in “summer’s finest,” will be eligible to win prizes from retailers like Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom’s and MAC Cosmetics.

This is the sixth year of the Summer Dress Party, and the second time Clarendon Ballroom has hosted.

Photo via CBS Local

Charity Hockey Tournament Returns to Kettler

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 23, 2013 at 10:30AM

The annual Charity Hockey Classic will be held at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston next month.

The event is held yearly to benefit Inova Blood Donor Services. A team of Washington Capitals alumni will take on corporate teams from Booz Allen Hamilton and Deloitte, as well as a group of youth hockey coaches from around Northern Virginia, called the Virginia Coaching Cardinals.

The event is scheduled for Sept. 7 at 7:00 p.m. Admission $10 but children wearing hockey jerseys are admitted free. The event features a round-robin format of 15-minute games, and is expected to run until 10:30 p.m.

Among those expected to participate are former Washington Capitals defenseman Gord Lane, this year’s honorary captain. There will also be appearances by Elliot Segal of DC101’s Elliot in the Morning, Capitals’ mascot Slapshot, and the Capitals’ spirit team, the Red Rockers.

Organizers hope to raise more than $70,000 to refurbish one of Inova’s older bloodmobiles.

Events Planned for Vintage Crystal Festival

By Katie Pyzyk

Published August 20, 2013 at 9:45AM

Wine and beer aficionados will have a number events to quench their thirst for adult beverages next month thanks to the annual Vintage Crystal wine festival.

The Crystal City Business Improvement District teamed up with the Washington Wine Academy for the month-long wine and beer celebration, which kicks off with Wine in the Water Park on Friday, September 6. Wine in the Water Park runs every Friday in September from 6:00-10:00 p.m. at the Crystal City Water Park across from 1750 Crystal Drive. Visitors can take in live music while getting help with finding the perfect wine. Admission is free, and there is a $5 charge for beer and wine.

The celebration continues on Sunday, September 15 with Sip and Salsa, the Vintage Crystal signature event. Wines from Spain, Portugal and South America will take center stage, along with tapas from local restaurants. Attendees can participate in free salsa lessons and wine tasting classes. Sip and Salsa runs from 2:00-6:00 p.m. Tickets are $20 for food and wine or $10 for just food, and can be purchased online or at the event.

Pups and Pilsners will cater to the beer loving crowd on Sunday, September 22. The dog-friendly festival will have a beer garden with ten stations featuring different beers, including fall brews like Devil’s Backbone Ichabod Crandall Pumpkin and Weihenstephaner Festbier. Crystal City restaurants will be on hand to serve food during the event, which runs from 2:00-6:00 p.m at 1405 Crystal Drive. Tickets are available online for $20, and will be available at the door for $25 until they sell out. The admission covers six tasting tickets and one full beer.

Additional information about the events can be found online.

Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser

Arlington Agenda (Aug. 19-25)

By ARLnow.com

Published August 19, 2013 at 3:30PM

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

Author Event: “Hollywood on the Potomac”
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Author Mike Canning discusses his book on how movies view our nation’s capital. He’ll also discuss the misrepresentation of the area’s geography.

The Summer Hummer*
Shirlington Theatre (4200 Campbell Avenue)
Time: 7:00 – 8:30 p.m. and 9:00 – 10:30 p.m.

Two performances of the annual all-star burlesque show, which benefits an emergency fund to Washington-area theatre artists. Expect “R-rated” nudity.

Thursday

Live Music: The Black Cadillacs
Iota Club & Cafe (2832 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 8:00 – 11:00 p.m.

Southern blues-rock band Black Cadillacs performs with The Dirty Names, Star FK Radium and David Newbould. Tickets are $10.

Friday

Live Comedy: Craig Shoemaker
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.

Craig shoemaker, of Comedy Central and HBO fame, performs standup comedy. Craig’s film credits include Scream 2 and Safe House.

Saturday

Arlington Bat Festival
Gulf Branch Nature Center (3608 N. Military Road)
Time: 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

The annual festival will include habitat walks, games, crafts, a festival lantern parade and live bat shows. Admission is $7.

Live Music: Burnt Sienna
Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland Street)
Time: 10:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.

Popular cover band Burnt Sienna returns from gigs on the Jersey shore to perform at Clarendon Grill.

Sunday

Charity Event: A Day at the Races
O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub (3207 Washington Blvd)
Time: 3:00 – 7:00 p.m.

Put on your best derby hat and join Doorways for Women and Families for a special horse racing fundraiser, sponsored by O’Sullivan’s.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event

#Arlington Agenda

McAuliffe, Cuccinelli to Appear at Energy Forum in Arlington

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 19, 2013 at 1:00PM | Updated August 19, 2013 at 1:25PM

Virginia gubernatorial candidates Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli will appear at George Mason University’s Arlington campus next week to discuss the future of energy policy in the Commonwealth.

The event, called the Virginia Energy and Opportunity Forum, will be held Thursday, Aug. 29 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. at Founders Hall (3351 N. Fairfax Drive) and is free and open to the public, as long as audience members reserve a seat. From a press release:

From the debate over offshore drilling, to the future of coal and the opportunities presented by renewable energy, Virginia’s next Governor will have a lot of important decisions to make when it comes to energy policy.

The public is invited to attend Virginia Energy & Opportunity Forum... for the chance to to hear directly from both of their gubernatorial candidates — Ken Cuccinelli (R) and Terry McAuliffe (D) — as they lay out their respective visions for Virginia’s energy future.

This forum is sponsored by Consumer Energy Alliance. Welcome and candidate introduction by David Hart, George Mason University Acting Senior Associate Dean, School of Public Policy.

According to GMU spokeswoman Toni Andrews, the candidates will be taking questions from two different panels and will appear separately.

Olympic Hockey Public Day Tickets Now Available

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 19, 2013 at 9:30AM | Updated August 19, 2013 at 10:30AM

(Updated at 10:30 a.m.) The U.S. Men’s Olympic hockey team will be in Arlington briefly next week, and tickets to catch a glimpse of the 40 players vying for a spot to represent their country in the Sochi Olympics in February are on sale now.

Doors open for the event, at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Ballston Aug. 27, at 7:00 a.m. and player autograph sessions begin at 9:00 a.m. There will also be open skate sessions at the Iceplex. Tickets may only be purchased in advance.

Those who purchase tickets won’t get the chance to see any hockey action, however — USA Hockey and the NHL couldn’t come to an agreement to allow the players to participate in hockey activities. Instead attendees will receive, according to USA Hockey, player autographs, a collectible puck, a limited-edition scarf, an American flag and pre-order access to the 2014 USA Hockey replica jerseys.

“This is a unique opportunity for fans to be part of an event that happens once every four years,” Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, said in a press release. “It’s the first time we’ve conducted this camp in the nation’s capital region and what a great place to gather our top American players in preparation for Sochi.”

At 11:30 a.m., the official jerseys for the 2014 Olympics will be revealed, the players will be formally introduced — along with modeling their future jerseys — and there will be some crowd giveaways. Tickets are $40 for adults and $30 for youth 14 and under.

Photo via USA Hockey

Olympic Weightlifters to Host Training Camp

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 16, 2013 at 11:05AM

Former Olympic weightlifter Cara Heads Slaugher will host an “Olympic Weightlifting Training Camp” in Arlington over Labor Day weekend.

Heads Slaughter will partner with her former Olympic teammate, Kendrick Farris, to host the two-day event at her personal training studio, CH Fitness and Performance. The business is based out of the Crossfit South Arlington space at 607 S. Ball Street, just north of Crystal City.

The event sold out in two weeks back in June, according to spokeswoman Rebecca Grapsy, and will include 20 weightlifters each in two, four-hour sessions spread out over Saturday, Aug. 31 and Sunday, Sept. 1. From a press release:

The sport of Olympic weightlifting has experienced a tremendous resurgence in popularity. Competitions consist of 3 attempts at each of the two lifts of the ‘snatch’ and the ‘clean and jerk’ — top athletes will put hundreds of pounds overhead in displays of athleticism and strength. Athletes of all ages are using the lifts to enhance their fitness program, or to improve their performance in other sports.

Heads Slaughter, who competed in the 2000 Olympic games in Sydney, relocated CH Fitness and Performance from Southern California to Northern Virginia last year.

Library to Host Presentation on County’s Second-Oldest House

By ARLnow.com

Published August 16, 2013 at 10:00AM | Updated August 16, 2013 at 11:16AM

A more-than-200-year-old piece of Arlington history will be the subject of an event at the Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy St.).

The Dawson-Bailey House, believed to be the second-oldest home in Arlington, will be the focus of a visual presentation by Karl VanNewkirk, an Arlington Historical Society board member. The Sept. 12 presentation is part of a series of public programs between AHS and the library in an effort to further educate residents on the county’s history.

The Dawson-Bailey House was originally built as a one-room log cabin in the 1780s — though the actual age of the house is unknown. Both the Dawson and Bailey families occupied the house and continued to add to it for about 100 years. In 1955, after the last owner died, it was handed over to Arlington County. Today, the house is part of the Dawson Terrace Community Center (2133 N. Taft St.) and overlooks Spout Run Parkway in the North Highlands neighborhood, near Rosslyn.

The Ball-Sellers House, which is owned by AHS, is believed to be the oldest house in the county.

VanNewkirk’s presentation will include plenty about this historical landmark, including anecdotes about Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee. Both are rumored to have visited the house during the Civil War era. Lee lived just a mile or so away in the Arlington House.

The hour-long program is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 12 in the library’s main auditorium. A Q&A session with VanNewkirk will follow.

In addition to these public programs, the Arlington Historical Society welcomes visitors to their other historic Arlington locations, the Balls-Sellers House and the former Hume School, now the Arlington Historical Museum.

This article was written by Maddy Berner

Chili Cookoff Moves from D.C. to Clarendon

By ARLnow.com

Published August 15, 2013 at 4:40PM | Updated August 16, 2013 at 11:21AM

The 16th annual Clarendon Day festival, in September, will include a new addition: the official D.C. Chili Cookoff.

The cookoff is moving to Clarendon after its usual venue, the DC101 Chili Cookoff at RFK Stadium, apparently didn’t include an actual chili competition this past May. The event will now be sponsored by Hard Times Cafe.

“We wanted to carry on the D.C. Chili tradition since we’ve been involved with it for the past 33 years,” said Hard Times co-founder Jim Parker. “The cookoff is sanctioned by the International Chili Society (ICS) and we expect to host competition chili cooks from all over the East Coast.”

Parker said past chili cookoffs have consisted of about 30 cooking teams competing in three categories: red chili, chili verde and salsa. This year, however, a new category, called “homestyle,” will be added.

“This category is more like the chili your mother used to make,” Parker said.

The teams will set up on the morning of Clarendon Day and cook chili on site. A panel of judges will start tasting the chili around 1:00 p.m., and the winners will be announced around 5:00 p.m. The winners will be the final qualifiers for the World’s Championship Chili Cookoff in California in October.

Festival-goers will be able to try free samples of chili after the judges get their fill.

“Once the chilies (and salsa) are turned in to the judges the general public may taste and vote for the chili or salsa they like the best — as long as it lasts,” said Parker.

Clarendon Day will take place from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, in the area around the Clarendon Metro station. In addition to chili, the event will feature live music; food from local restaurants; beer, wine and other beverages; arts and crafts exhibitors; kids’ activities; and booths manned by local businesses and organizations.

Before the festival starts, the 5th annual Clarendon Day 10K/5K and Kids Dash will be held. Registration for the race is now open.

Matt Hussmann, Executive Director of the Clarendon Alliance, which organizes Clarendon Day, says the chili cookoff will be a welcome addition to the day’s festivities.

“We’re very excited about having the D.C. Chili Cookoff,” said Matt Hussmann. “We’re hoping for a great event.”

Whereas the DC101 Chili Cookoff was a music-centric event, Hussmann said that cookoff organizers were looking for a new venue that will allow the chili to stand on its own.

“They really wanted to re-calibrate what they’re doing,” he said. “They wanted to focus on the chili and on family-friendly events. We’re pretty happy about it.”

Hussmann said other Clarendon Day details, like the live music lineup, are still being worked out. One notable subtraction this year: the Virginia Hospital Center Foundation “Family Fun Day” attractions that have been featured in previous years.

U.S. Olympic Hockey Team to Hold Camp at Kettler Iceplex

By Ethan Rothstein

Published August 15, 2013 at 11:45AM | Updated August 15, 2013 at 2:45PM

The U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team will start preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics at Kettler Capitals Iceplex later this month.

This is the first time the Iceplex has hosted a USA Hockey Orientation Camp. The Ballston facility will host the full contingent of USA Men’s Hockey, including Conn Smythe winner — the NHL’s award for its Stanley Cup Playoffs MVP — Patrick Kane and several members of the team that won the silver medal in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

The Olympians will be at the facility from Aug. 25-29, and the camp itself will be held from Aug. 26-27.

Just one Capitals player is among the 40 invited to the camp: defenseman John Carlson. The roster of players attending will not be finalized until closer to the camp’s start, according to Capitals officials.

Although the orientation itself will be closed to the public, one event will be open to fans who want to catch a glimpse of 2014’s Olympians. Nike will be hosting a USA Hockey jersey unveiling at the Iceplex Aug. 27 at 11:30 a.m. USA Hockey players will be modeling the jerseys, and fan attendance is encouraged.