Christmas

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Budget Cuts May Hurt Local Economic Growth — With looming budget cuts and the possible implications of the fiscal cliff, the D.C. area economy is starting to look more vulnerable and more like the rest of the country, according to economists. The federal government and information job categories have seen losses recently, and slower economic growth is expected over the next two decades. [Sun Gazette]

Residents Still Wary of Homeless Shelter — Residents have of the Woodbury Heights condominium in Courthouse, who have been speaking out against the county’s planned year-round homeless shelter at 2020 14th Street N., have been working with Arlington and its contractors on changes to the design of the building. Residents want the entrance to the shelter to be as far away from their building as possible. One homeless advocate, frustrated with the residents’ continued opposition to the shelter, called the attendees at a recent community meeting “the biggest group of snobs I’ve ever seen.” [Patch]

Library Recommends Audiobooks for Holiday Trips — Arlington Public Library has some recommendations for family-friendly audiobooks to make your holiday road trip go faster. [Arlington Public Library]

Flickr pool by John Sonderman

Arlington County Holiday Closures

By Katie Pyzyk

arlington-va-logoMost Arlington County government offices will be closed for a number of days to observe the Christmas and New Year’s Day holidays.

The closures will be in effect on December 24, 25, 31 and January 1, for Arlington County offices, libraries and human services offices. Courts are also closed those days; Arlington Circuit Court will be open from 1:00-4:00 p.m. on December 26, and Arlington General District Court and Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts will be open from 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on December 26.

The ART Information Center and all Commuter Stores will be closed on the previously mentioned four days. On December 24 and 31, ART 41, 42, 51, 77 and 87 will run on a Saturday schedule. On December 25 and January 1, ART 41 and 51 will run on a Sunday schedule. The STAR Call Center will be closed all four days and all standing order rides will be cancelled.

Barcroft Sports and Fitness Center will be open from 6:00 a.m.-noon on December 24 and December 31; all other community centers will be closed. On December 25 and January 1, all community centers, including Barcroft, will be closed.

Arlington Public Schools will be closed from December 24-January 2.

Trash and recycling schedules are as follows:

Dec 24 & 31

  • Trash & recycling: normal operations
  • Special collection: brush, metal, electronics – normal operations
  • No cart repair or mulch delivery service
  • Leaf bag collection – normal operations

Dec 25 & Jan 1

  • Trash & recycling: regular services not provided. Services available for Tuesday customers on Wed 12/26 and Jan 2
  • Special collection: scheduled services not provided
  • Leaf bag, brush, metal, electronics, cart repair services available for Tuesday customers on Wed Dec 26 and Jan 2
  • Call Center: closed

Dec 26 – 28

  • Trash & recycling: normal operations – all services completed by COB 12/29
  • Special collection: normal operations – all services completed by COB 12/19
  • Call center: normal operations

Jan 2-4

  • Trash & recycling: normal operations – all services completed by COB 1/5
  • Special collection: normal operations – all services competed by COB 1/5
  • Call center: normal operations

Metrorail will run on a regular weekday schedule on December 24. It will be open from 7:00 a.m.-midnight on December 25 and January 1, and will run on a Sunday schedule. MetroAccess subscription trips are cancelled for those two days. On December 31, Metrorail will run on a normal weekdays schedule, but will remain open until 2:00 a.m. to accommodate those celebrating New Year’s Eve.

Raccoon ‘Evicted’ from Arlington Chimney

By ARLnow.com

Christmas has been saved for one Arlington household, after a raccoon tried to block Santa’s impending arrival.

As the video above shows, the Humane Society was recently called to a home to help “evict” the raccoon from the chimney. Said Humane Society of the United States spokeswoman Kaitlin Sanderson:

“As stockings are being hung, trees decorated and children anxiously await the arrival of Santa Claus, one home owner in Arlington needed help making sure Santa could deliver presents Christmas morning. The Humane Society of the United States’ Humane Wildlife Services was called to help an Arlington family with ‘Raccoon Claus,’ a little raccoon who decided to turn Santa’s entry-way into his home for the winter.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Thieves Steal Wheels from Hotel — Two suspects were seen stealing tires and rims from two vehicles parked at the Crystal City Gateway Marriott (1700 Jefferson Davis Highway) early Thursday morning. A security guard tried to intervene but the suspects fled. Arlington, particularly south Arlington, has seen an apparent uptick in wheel thefts recently. [NBC Washington]

Santa Coming to Clarendon Saturday — Santa Claus will be coming to Clarendon on Saturday evening. The Jolly Old Elf will arrive at Market Common Clarendon (2700 Clarendon Blvd) on a “big red sleigh,” otherwise known as an Arlington County fire truck, at 4:00 p.m. He will be on hand for photos until 7:00 p.m. There will also be strolling carolers and other family-friendly entertainment. It’s the shopping center’s 12th annual “Winter Wonderland” event. [Market Common Clarendon]

Last Westover Farmers Market of 2012 — The new Westover Farmers Market will hold its last market of the year from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. The market, located at the corner of Washington Blvd and N. McKinley Road, will go on a holiday hiatus before returning on Jan. 13, 2013. The  market’s winter hours run through April. [Westover Farmers Market]

Brink Commends Funding for Blind Students — Del. Bob Brink (D-Arlington) is praising Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) for his proposal to add $4.9 million in funding for blind and visually impaired students to the upcoming Virginia budget. The funds will help localities cover the cost of teachers, teacher’s aides and staff for blind and visually impaired students. [Alexandria News]

Bike Advocates Call For Plowed Trails — Bicyclists are calling on Arlington County to start plowing snow from bike and pedestrian trails. “By failing to plow the trails, [Arlington’s Department of Environmental Services] puts more people onto the streets in cars,” said one bicycle advocate during yesterday’s county-organized online snow chat. “Is that really what you want, during a snow event?” [Along the Pike]

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

Today’s Featured Event

By ARLnow.com

The following is today’s featured event from our newly-redesigned event calendar. Submit your event to the calendar here.

Holiday pops concert, “A Singers’ Blue Christmas” –Dec. 14 & 15 from 7:30-9:30 p.m. — Join the Alexandria Singers, the DC area’s premier pops chorus, for our annual holidays pops concert weekend as we weave pop and jazz arrangements of traditional holiday classics with new tunes that will instantly become your holiday favorites! Note 3 show times! Friday Dec 14th 7:30; Saturday Dec 15th 2pm AND 7:30pm! The concert will take place at Convergence (1801 N. Quaker Lane) in Fairlington. For tickets visit: https://shop.AlexandriaSingers.com

Tree Lighting, Santa Visit Scheduled for Miracle on 23rd Street

By Katie Pyzyk

Aurora Highlands will get a little brighter tonight, during the annual “Miracle on 23rd Street” holiday celebration.

Linden Resources, Inc. is hosting the holiday festivies including a Christmas tree lighting and holiday music. Santa Claus is scheduled to arrive on an Arlington fire truck.

The event is open to the public and begins at 6:30 p.m. in front of the Linden Resources building (750 S. 23rd Street). In addition to the outdoor activities, guests are invited to take part in multi-cultural children’s activities inside the building.

Linden Resources employs and provides job placement for adults with intellectual, physical and mental health disabilities.

Your Beermonger: Christmas Ale Extravaganza!

By ARLnow.com

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

There is a subset of beer fans out there who really, really like Christmas Ales. Cinnamon and nutmeg abound in holiday-themed beers packaged with festive labels that often go out of their way to twist the season. The problem is that far too many Christmas Ales are too heavy with the yuletide spicy cheer. So which holiday beer do you pick for your celebration? Here are some of my favorites:

Schlafly Christmas Ale: The alternative to the more popular spicy Christmas Ales out there. Much the same way as Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale avoids the trap of going too spicy (which makes it the best out there in my opinion), their Christmas Ale gives you all the holiday spice you need as a secondary player to the excellent beer that those spices happen to appear in. This one never lasts very long, so if you see it jump on it quick.

Sierra Nevada Celebration: A favorite of mine, Celebration bucks the trend by simply being a delightful Fresh Hop Ale rather than a spicy mess. Easy going with punchy, earthy hop aromas and flavors, Celebration is good, popular, and readily available.

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale: This Belgian treat eschews the medicinal, herby flavors of other Biere de Noel by simply being a delicious, slightly malty Belgian Ale with a strong, clean banana yeasty note from its bottle conditioning.

Troeg’s Mad Elf: A big Barleywine brewed with honey and cherries, Mad Elf is 11% of insanity. Not only delicious, but improves with age.

Blue Mountain Brewery Long Winter’s Nap: This Virginia brewery’s seasonal release is a rich Blonde Tripelbock whose smoothness belies its 10% ABV. With enough malt, but not so much that it’s too cloying or rich. A real treat.

Port City Tidings: Starting to run low already, so jump on it quick. This holiday offering from Alexandria’s Port City Brewery is a Belgian-style Blonde Ale that uses local Maryland wildflower honey and Virginia wheat. The spices in Tidings aren’t exactly what you’d expect either; there’s cardamom, coriander, grains of paradise, and fresh ginger. This year’s Tidings strikes an even better balance between the richness from the honey and its spices.

There is no shortage of Christmas offerings out there — which ones do you look forward to the most?

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

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Today’s Featured Events

By ARLnow.com

Starting today, ARLnow.com will be highlighting select events from our event calendar. This is the first of what will eventually be daily “featured event” listings. Submit your event to the calendar here.

Symphony Orchestra of Arlington Family Holiday Concert — Saturday, Dec. 8 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. — The Symphony Orchestra of Arlington (SOA) will present its “Family Holiday Concert” at the beautiful Arlington Temple United Methodist Church. Tickets are now on sale — $15 for adults and $10 for age 12 and under. Purchases are available online at www.symphonyorchestraofarlington.com or at the box office by calling (804)-322-9328.

Shirlington to Light Up Tonight Despite Dreary Weather

By ARLnow.com

The 10th annual “Light Up The Village” Christmas tree lighting event is still scheduled tonight in Shirlington despite the cold, wet weather.

Shirlington Village said the event will go on despite the inclement conditions via its Twitter account. The light-up ceremony is expected to feature live holiday music from The Lovejoy Group, photos with Santa, face painting, balloon twisting, strolling entertainment and horse and carriage rides (with a non-perishable donation to the Arlington Food Assistance Center).

There will also be specials and promotions at Shirlington Village merchants, including free coffee or apple cider at Busboys and Poets, and free kids meals (with an adult entrée) at Capitol City Brewing Company.

The festivities are scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The tree lighting will take place at 6:30, and photos with Santa will begin at the UPS Store at 6:45. The event is free and open to the public.

Musical Holiday Light Display Benefits AWLA

By ARLnow.com
1/6

Tom and Jo Straub have prided themselves on their elaborate Christmas light display for years. Only recently have they started using it to raise money for a good cause.

The couple has transformed the front yard of their Leeway Overlee area house, located at 5612 24th Street N., into a “dancing” light show synchronized to 15 of their favorite Christmas songs.

The display contains some 10,000 LED lights, which blink and “dance” with the music. The tunes can be heard from speakers outside the house and via a low-power radio station they set up for people who’d rather stay in their cars with the windows up. The station can be found at 98.1 on the FM dial.

The lights have been on display since Thanksgiving night and will be on every night through New Years Day. The show runs from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6:00 to 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Santa Claus (as played by Mr. Straub) is on hand from 6:00 to 8:00 on most nights.

Not only are the lights fun to watch, but they’re also helping to raise money for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. A small mailbox near the street collects cash donations for the AWLA, as well as donations of pet food, pet beds, toys and other pet supplies. Once a donation is made, the donor can reward themselves by hitting a button near the mailbox for a small bonus light show.

Last year was the couple’s first year collecting for the AWLA. Tom Straub said they collected $1,100 for the organization, and hopes to raise even more this year.

Straub said the display requires about 2,000 feet of extension cords and takes all year to plan. He said the outdoor speakers turn off at 8:00 and he hasn’t heard any serious complaints from neighbors this year. He has, however, received a complaint about his Santa-like beard, which he started growing in June 2011.

“The wife is fed up with it, so it’s coming off on the 24th,” he said.

Optimist Club Christmas Tree Sale Begins Saturday

By ARLnow.com
1/5

The annual Optimist Club of Arlington Christmas tree sale begins Saturday.

The trees arrived on Tuesday at the Wells Fargo bank lot near the corner of Lee Highway and Glebe Road. Volunteers offloaded the trees from tractor trailers, sending the unmistakable holiday smell of fresh Christmas trees wafting across the immediate area.

The Optimist Club will offer the trees — 1,800 total, including white pines, Canaan furs and Fraser furs — for sale starting at noon on Saturday. From there on out, until Dec. 22, the lot will be open on weekend mornings starting at 10:00 a.m., on weekdays starting at 2:00 p.m., and on Fridays starting at noon. The lot will remain open until 9:00 p.m.

The tree prices range from $40 to $240. This year, for the first time, the club will take credit cards.

Last year, the tree sale raised $75,000, according to Optimist Club volunteer Greg Clough. The proceeds all benefit the local club, which sponsors “academic and sports activities designed to give Arlington’s youth a better chance to succeed in today’s world.”

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