Events

Testicle Festival Returning to Virginia Square

By ARLnow.com

The Montana State Society’s annual Testicle Festival is returning to Virginia Square next week.

Featuring unlimited rocky mountain oysters, Crown Royal and beer (usually Budweiser), the event takes place at the American Legion post at 3445 Washington Blvd. This year, the “Testy Fest” is scheduled from 6-11 p.m. on Saturday, June 3.

Tickets for the event are $25 online or $30 at the door. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older.

As usual, organizers have used the choice of cuisine to take liberties with their write-up about the event. From the event page:

You’d be NUTS to miss this! The Montana State Society would like to invite you to have a ball (literally!) at the 13th annual D.C. Testy Fest – “The Original Sack Lunch” – to be held from 6:00PM – 11:00PM on Saturday June 3rd, 2017 at the Arlington American Legion.

Last year over 600 people flocked to the event to enjoy live music provided by the Wil Gravatt Band and graze on all-you-can-eat Rocky Mountain Oysters! Thirsty? Wash them down with a limitless supply of Crown Royal (A.K.A liquid courage) & beer – all for the bargain price of $25 bucks!

Our Rocky Mountain Oysters are prepared by legendary chef Frank McGraw, and shipped fresh from the Rock Creek Lodge in Western Montana. Not your ‘bag’? Don’t worry baby! We will have food trucks there selling delicious grub. Get there early, the first guests will also get a T-Shirt to forever memorialize the event.

Prepare to go Ballistic! For more information and to see all of your friends who are attending please visit our Facebook page for the event! https://www.facebook.com/events/1832050013725803

New Rosslyn Outdoor Concert Series to Debut Next Week

By Chris Teale
1/4

A new free rock concert series will kick off next week at Rosslyn’s Central Place Plaza.

The Rosslyn Rocks! Concerts are scheduled to take place each Thursday in June from 6-8 p.m. at the plaza on N. Lynn Street. Each week, a new cover band will entertain concertgoers.

Attendees can also enjoy a drink in the neighborhood’s newest outdoor space, with proceeds from sales going to the Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network.

The schedule for the month-long concert series is below.

The public plaza already hosts the newly-opened Rosslyn farmers market and is adjacent to a 31-story mixed-use building that includes apartments and retail, including a new McDonald’s.

Governor to Attend Pro-Choice Event in Clarendon Tomorrow

By ARLnow.com

Terry McAuliffe campaigns at Washington-Lee High SchoolVirginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is scheduled to be in Clarendon tomorrow night for the seventh annual NARAL Virginia “Power of Choice” event.

The gala and awards presentation will honor “those who have made an outstanding impact” on NARAL’s “work to protect and advance reproductive freedom in Virginia.”

The event is taking place at Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Boulevard) and is also expected to be attended by Attorney General Mark Herring and Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam, who is currently running for governor.

Tickets for the event range from $40 for students to $150 for general admission. Sponsorships of the gala range from $500-5,000.

File photo

Taste of Arlington Will Close Roads This Weekend

By Kalina Newman

A number of roads will be closed this weekend in Ballston to accommodate the 30th annual Taste of Arlington.

The outdoor event spans Wilson Blvd from N. Randolph Street to N. Nelson Street, and this year will include more than 50 restaurants, live music and food trucks. Tickets are still available online, or can be bought on the door.

More on the road closures, from an Arlington County Police Department press release:

The 2017 Taste of Arlington event will be held on Sunday, May 21, 2017. The following road closures will occur from approximately 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 20th, 2017 through 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 21, 2017.

  • Wilson Boulevard will be closed between N. Randolph Street and N. Monroe Street, all North/South cross streets will be blocked.
  • N. Quincy Street will be closed with modified traffic between N. 5th Street and N. 9th Street.
  • All traffic trying to cross Wilson Boulevard on Pollard, Piedmont, Oakland, Nelson and Monroe Streets will be turned around.
  • N. Randolph Street will be open between the Ballston Parking Garage/Loading Dock to N. 9th Street, the area garages will not be closed.
  • Other area roadway restrictions may be in place to keep traffic impacts near the event and area neighborhoods to a minimum.

In addition, street parking in the area will be restricted. Motorists should be on the lookout for temporary “No Parking” signs. Illegally parked vehicles may be ticketed and/or towed. If your vehicle is towed from a public street, call 703-558-2222.

Image via Ballston BID

Rosslyn To Host Day-Long Adventure Race Starting Friday

By Chris Teale

The 24-hour Questival Adventure Race will arrive in Rosslyn on Friday as part of its 2017 tour of the Mid-Atlantic.

The race begins at Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway) at 7 p.m. on May 19. Teams of two to six will complete a series of challenges across 24 hours that could be about anything from fitness to food, with winning prizes worth up to $10,000.

Currently the quests are unknown and the challenge list will be sent out to teams 24 hours in advance.

“Whether it’s adventure & fitness, food, service, or teamwork, your quest will include challenges that push you out of your comfort zone,” the Questival website reads. “Anyone can do it, but only the slightly neurotic thrive.”

The race’s official website advises participants to bring gear such as swimsuits, tennis shoes and camping gear. Participants track their team’s challenge progress throughout the race on an app, where the judges will then decide on the winning teams.

Online registration is still open; entry costs $46 per person.

Photo via Questival. Kalina Newman contributed reporting.

Arlington Agenda: May 15-21

By Chris Teale

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

Free Home Buyer Class *
Orange Line Living (1600 Wilson Blvd)
Time: 6-7 p.m.

Specialists including lenders and buyer agents will give an overview of the buying process, while attendees will learn Orange Line Living’s valuable home buying strategies that will save you 3 percent or more when you purchase.

Financial Scams: Just Say No!
Aurora Hills Branch Library (735 18th Street S.)
Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

Virginia Cooperative Extension presents an interactive session that covers common financial scams and with practical tips on how you can protect yourself, especially if you suspect a family member is the fraudster.

Tuesday

Surf Like a Sleuth
Arlington Independent Media (2701 Wilson Blvd #C)
Time: 7-9 p.m.

Learn tips, tricks and tools used by private investigators for tracking down information using nothing more than a web browser and an internet connection. This course will cover the basics of records searches, and more.

Wednesday

U.S. Army Twilight Tattoo
Summerall Field, Fort Myer (247 Sheridan Ave)
Time: 7-8 p.m.

An hour-long military pageant featuring soldiers from The 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment and The U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” Experience a glimpse into American history through performances by various ensembles and drill teams.

Thursday

Special Screening: The Crucible
Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike)
Time: 7:45 p.m.

Based on Salem’s infamous witch trials, “The Crucible” takes place in a small tight-knit community, where personal grievances collide with lust and superstition, fueling widespread hysteria.

Saturday

Civil War Camp Day
Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th Street S.)
Time: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

A Civil War living history event hosted by Arlington Parks & Recreation. The event recognizes the 156th anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln ordering Union troops into Arlington on May 24, 1861 to defend Washington, D.C.

Lyon Park Spring Fair
Lyon Park (414 N. Fillmore Street)
Time: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

A family-centered event with carnival games, pony rides, moon bounces, cake walk, face painting, cotton candy and more. Concessions, a bake sale and a plant sale are also part of the event. Bring the family and have some old school fun!

Sunday

Taste of Arlington *
Ballston (Wilson Blvd from N. Randolph to N. Nelson Street)
Time: 12-6 p.m.

The 30th annual Taste of Arlington, presented by Courthaus Social and benefiting BallstonGives. The event transforms Wilson Blvd and neighboring streets into a street festival with dining, music and entertainment for all ages.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event

Lubber Run Amphitheater Summer Lineup Set

By Chris Teale

Thirty performances including big band, blues, soul and orchestral music as well as cabaret acts will come to the Lubber Run Amphitheater this summer.

The acts begin on June 16 with roots rock band The Grandsons, then children’s entertainer The Great Zucchini wraps things up on September 17.

The performances are being organized by Arlington’s Cultural Affairs division, with the cooperation of the Lubber Run Amphitheater Foundation, which funded the four family-friendly shows at the end of the season.

The amphitheater is located near the intersection of N. Columbus Street and 2nd Street N., about a 20-minute walk from Ballston. It is also accessible on Metrobus’ 4B route between Rosslyn and Seven Corners.

It almost closed five years ago but the foundation worked with the county to find a way to keep it open through some cost-effective renovations.

The full performance schedule is below.

Flickr pool photo by John Sonderman. Kalina Newman contributed reporting.

Civil War Re-Enactment Coming to Arlington Next Week

By Chris Teale

Soldiers spent four years in Arlington during the Civil War, and county residents can get a small taste of what they went through next weekend.

The re-enactment event Civil War Camp Day will show how soldiers lived by walking through encampment displays, practicing military drills and trying on Civil War uniforms. It takes place May 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Walter Reed Community Center and Park (2909 16th Street S.)

Union troops arrived in Arlington in 1861 on the orders of President Abraham Lincoln. For the next four years, tens of thousands of northern soldiers manned the Arlington Line, a series of fortifications and camps that stretched from Rosslyn to the Pentagon.

A schedule of the day’s events is below:

  • 10 a.m. – The camp is open to visitors, with displays on how soldiers lived in camp, what gear they used and the music they listened to.
  • 11 a.m. – A presentation on Arlington’s role during the Civil War, especially as a center for training.
  • Noon – Cooking and a presentation on what soldiers ate.
  • 1 p.m. – A presentation on Arlington’s role during the Civil War, especially as a center for training.
  • 2-4 p.m. – The camp is open to visitors, with displays on how soldiers lived in camp, what gear they used and the music they listened to.

Bike To Work Day Festivities Set For Next Week

By Chris Teale
1/9

Next Friday, thousands of area commuters will celebrate Bike to Work Day, including at sites across Arlington.

The free event is open to all area commuters, who are encouraged to meet up with neighbors and co-workers at one of 85 pit stops across the region and ride bicycles to work in a commuter convoy.

In Arlington, seven sites will provide food and drink, as well as nearby Capital Bikeshare stations for the easy docking of bikes. In the mornings, the pit stops will be open from 6:30-9 a.m., while those open in the afternoons will last from 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Rosslyn’s morning pit stop will be hosted at Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway), while in the afternoon it will be at the Heavy Seas Alehouse (1501 Wilson Blvd). Shirlington will also hold pit stops in the morning at the Shirlington Library (4200 Campbell Ave) and in the afternoon at New District Brewing (2709 S. Oakland Street).

Pit stops can also be found in the mornings at FreshBikes Bike Shop (3924 Wilson Blvd) in Ballston, Penrose Square at 2503 Columbia Pike, the East Falls Church Metro station (2001 N. Sycamore Street) and the Crystal City Water Park (1750 Crystal Drive).

Registration is required for the pit stops, which enters attendees into local and regional raffles and guarantees a free Bike To Work Day T-shirt.

The regional event is organized by Commuter Connections, a program of the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments that promotes bicycling to work, ridesharing and other alternatives to driving. More than 17,500 bicyclists are expected to register across the D.C. area.

“Each year, Bike to Work Day attracts commuters who choose to bike to work for the very first time, and after the event, 10 percent of them continue to bike to work an average of 1.4 days per week,” said Nicholas Ramfos, director of Commuter Connections, in a statement. “That’s an impressive conversion rate and it’s why we are committed to making every Bike to Work Day bigger and better than the one before it.”

Peace Officers Ceremony Adds Seventh ACPD Officer to Memorial Wall

By Chris Teale
1/9

(Updated at 10:15 a.m.) Arlington’s Peace Officers Memorial Day ceremony this morning added a new name to its memorial for police officers killed in the line of duty: the county’s seventh and its first since 1977.

Corporal Harvey Snook, an Army veteran, died in January 2016 from cancer he contracted from responding to the Pentagon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Snook spent a week at the Pentagon after a plane crashed into its western side at 9:37 a.m. that day, collecting evidence and the remains of some of the 189 people killed.

Snook’s plaque was unveiled at the memorial outside Arlington police headquarters in Courthouse, with more than 200 people present, including law enforcement officials from around the county and the region, U.S. Park Police and representatives from the Metropolitan Police in London.

His plaque was the first to be added to the memorial since it was dedicated in 2005.

Arlington Police Chief Jay Farr paid tribute to Snook’s lively personality, which persisted even after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and said his response at the Pentagon on 9/11 “encompassed who he was.”

“Harvey was the kind of guy who brought joy to this job,” Farr said. “He brought joy to it every day.”

The ceremony included bagpipers playing “Amazing Grace,” readings from police and county officials, and a flyover by the Fairfax County Police helicopter. During the ceremony, a dispatcher from the county’s Emergency Communications Center read a tribute to Snook over a police radio channel and announced that Snook — identified by his ACPD unit number, 884 — had ended his tour of duty.

“In valor, there is hope,” the dispatcher said.

Arlington Agenda: May 9-14

By Chris Teale

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

Hurricane Hunters Tour
Reagan National Airport (Near the Signature Air terminal)
Time: 2-5 p.m.

The public can tour four planes that fly into hurricanes for better weather forecasts, hear from aircraft pilots from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Air Force and hurricane experts.

Wednesday

Arlington Committee of 100 Visits A-SPAN *
A-SPAN (2020-A N. 14th Street)
Time: 7-9 p.m.

The Arlington Committee of 100 invites you to visit the A-SPAN Homeless Services Center. Dinner, social hour and tours begin at 7 p.m., followed by an 8 p.m. presentation. Dinner is $28 for members and $30 for non-members.

Market Common Clarendon Open House
CBRE Main Room (2801 Clarendon Blvd)
Time: 6-9 p.m.

Join Regency Centers, owner of Market Common Clarendon, for a community open house to help imagine the future of this dynamic neighborhood destination. Share your ideas, meet the team and enjoy complimentary tastings from local restaurants.

Thursday

James and Lewis Marcey’s Civil War Experience
Marymount University (2807 N. Glebe Road)
Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

The Arlington Historical Society welcomes Jessica Kaplan, who will present a lecture about the Civil War experience of yeoman farmers Lewis and James Marcey, who owned 95 acres between Forts Ethan Allen and CS Smith in North Arlington.

Broadening the Rainbow
Walter Reed Community Center (2906 16th Street S.)
Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

The Human Rights Commission will sponsor a public forum in memory of activist Tiffany Joslyn. Hear discussions how to protect the rights of the county’s LGBT community and the challenges of upholding the rights of all people in the county.

Friday

Live Music: Garden State Radio
Clarendon Grill (1101 N. Highland Street)
Time: 9:30 p.m.

Cover band Garden State Radio performs with their new lead singer, Hannah Peterson. In the band’s last appearance in Arlington of the spring and summer season, experience theatrics and visuals synced to a soundtrack of today’s best music.

Saturday

Mother’s Day Concert: Music of Our Time *
Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre (1611 N. Kent Street)
Time: 7:30-9:30 p.m.

Arlington’s own National Chamber Ensemble season finale celebrates musical compositions inspired by theater and film. Featuring clarinetist Julian Milkis, pianist Carlos César Rodriguez and Ensemble Artistic Director violinist Leo Sushansky.

Tuckahoe Home and Garden Tour *
Tuckahoe Elementary School (6550 26th Street N.)
Time: noon-5 p.m.

A tour ideal for people thinking of renovating or remodeling. It is the perfect opportunity to meet builders and architects and see their projects. The tour is self-guided through the Arlington community, showcasing up to eight newly-renovated homes.

Neighborhood Day
Various locations
Various times

A countywide event featuring numerous events and activities. The day looks to bring together neighbors to strengthen bonds on blocks and across the county, and has fun things to do for all the family.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event

View More Stories