free stuff

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Construction Planned for New Penrose Square Park — Construction is set to begin on a new public park in front of the Penrose Square apartment building on Columbia Pike. Included in the park will be a 50-ton granite sculpture of a “concave elliptical parabola.” [Pike Wire]

Free Pizza Offer — For some reason, Papa John’s and the Washington Post are giving away thousands of free pizzas over the next three days. Papa John’s has three Arlington locations. [The Capitol Deal]

A-SPAN Launches ‘Street Soccer’ Team — The Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network has set up a soccer team for its homeless clients. The team was created as part of the Street Soccer USA program. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]

Flickr pool photo by Christaki

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Board Awards Nearly Quarter Million to Arts Orgs — On Saturday the County Board voted to approve 25 grants, worth $249,077, to Arlington-based arts organizations. “Arlington has a thriving, vibrant, diverse arts community that brings not only economic benefit, but cultural enrichment, diversity and joy to our County,” County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman said in a statement. The top grantees, at $44,625.14 apiece, are Signature Theater and Synetic Theater. [Arlington County]

Board Adopts Inventory of Historic Properties — The County Board has voted to adopts a list of nearly 400 Arlington properties deemed ‘historic.’ Each property on the list was assigned a ranking from “essential” to “minor.” While officials say the inventory is an important step in the preservation process, inclusion on the list doesn’t prohibit owners from making “by-right” changes to their property. [Sun Gazette]

Free Slurpees Today — In celebration of its “birthday” today — on 7/11/11 — 7-Eleven stores are offering a free 7.11 ounce Slurpee to customers while supplies last. The company hands out an average of about 1,000 free Slurpees per store. There are at least twenty 7-Eleven stores in Arlington.

Flickr pool photo by BrianMKA

Free Paper Shredding Event on Saturday

By ARLnow.com

Arlington County is now offering free paper shredding to residents on the first Saturday of every month.

Since holiday weekends are excluded, July’s paper shredding event will take place this Saturday. Residents — not businesses — can take their sensitive documents to the county’s Solid Waste Bureau (4300 29th Street S.) to be shredded, for free, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“A County employee will process the materials while you observe,” according to the Arlington County web site. “100% of shredded material is recycled.”

Residents are limited to two boxes or paper bags of documents each month. Stapled and paper-clipped documents are okay, as are checkbooks, but magazines, catalogs, binders, phone books and credit cards are prohibited.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Free Coffee for Earth Day — To celebrate Earth Day, Starbucks is offering a free coffee or tea to anybody who brings a reusable mug or tumbler. Caribou Coffee, which has locations in Shirlington and Crystal City, is also offering free coffee for those who bring reusable drinkware. [Starbucks, Shirlington Village Blogspot]

Ballston Recognized for Environmental Efforts — Ballston has been named one of the top 10 “green” neighborhoods in the Washington area by real estate listing service MRIS. [Prince of Petworth]

Lawsuit May Be Filed to Stop Mark Center Moves — Rep. Jim Moran is urging Virginia officials to sue the federal government after the Department of Defense’s inspector general found big potential traffic problems with the new Mark Center in Alexandria. According to the inspector general’s report, the Army misled local officials about traffic issues at the site. A lawsuit could keep hundreds or even thousands of jobs in Arlington while improvements are made to the Mark Center’s transportation infrastructure. [Washington Examiner]

Post Tackles Twilight Convention — In an amusing but sadly photo-less write-up of last weekend’s Twilight fan convention at the Sheraton National Hotel on Columbia Pike, a Washington Post reporter discovers that most die-hard Twilight convention-goers are 25 to 50 year-old women. There are, however, a few male fans, who may or may not have been more interested in the female fans than in the movie itself. [Washington Post]

Shirlington Village Trades Escalator for Stairs — Eschewing the normal progression of technology, Shirlington Village has completed a project that removed an escalator and replaced it with a set of stairs. [Shirlington Village Blog]

Flickr pool photo by Philliefan99

http://www.flickr.com/photos/74104660@N00/5639010401/in/pool-arlnow#/photos/74104660@N00/5639010401/in/pool-1412700@N22/

Conte’s Group Rides Start in Two Weeks

By ARLnow.com

Conte’s (3924 Wilson Blvd) in Ballston will hold its first group ride of the summer on Tuesday, May 3.

The group rides take about 350 cyclists on an hour-long route through local neighborhoods. The course can get hilly, but the rides are open to cyclists of all skills and abilities.

“No one will be left behind,” Conte’s says. The store also offers an “introduction to group riding skills” course for group ride beginners.

The rides are held every Tuesday, with the second Tuesday of every month reserved for a fast-paced, 15-mile women’s ride. A free Baja Fresh BBQ is provided on the first Tuesday of every month.

The rides depart from Mosaic Park, behind the store, at 6:30 p.m. Helmets are required A police escort is usually provided for safety.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Rief

Celebrate Earth Day With Capital Bikeshare

By ARLnow.com

This Friday is Earth Day, and the folks from Bike Arlington and Capital Bikeshare will be celebrating by showing off one of the new Bikeshare stations in Rosslyn.

The event is being held at the Bikeshare station at Fort Myer Drive and Wilson Boulevard. From 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Bikeshare representatives will be demonstrating how the system works and giving away bike maps, CaBi schwag and one-day membership coupons.

The three other locations where Bikeshare stations were installed this weekend are North Lynn Street and 19th Street, North Pierce Street and Clarendon Boulevard, and North Rhodes and 16th Street North.

Flickr pool photo by Chris Reed

Soccer Fans to Kick Off MLS Season in Clarendon Tonight

By ARLnow.com

Local soccer fans will be gathering at Clarendon Grill (1101 North Highland Street) tonight to mark the start of the 2011 Major League Soccer season.

DC United goalie Bill Hamid is expected to stop by and greet fans at the event, which is being organized by the Arlington Athletic and Social League. There will be gift bags for the first 50 fans who arrive, plus raffles for DC United opening day tickets (the game will be held on March 19 at RFK Stadium) and other memorabilia.

In addition to the soccer festivities inside, organizers plan to set up pick-up games of cornhole outside on the patio.

The event will be held from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Admission is free. It will be immediately followed by the start of the LA Galaxy vs. Seattle Sounders MLS opening night game on ESPN2.

“National Pancake Day” at IHOP

By ARLnow.com

IHOP restaurants nationwide are celebrating “National Pancake Day” by giving away free short stacks of pancakes in exchange for charitable donations.

Like last year, when the chain raised $76,000, IHOP is collecting money on behalf of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Local IHOPs participating in the promotion include the Ballston location at 935 North Stafford Street and the Potomac Yard location at 3425 Jefferson Davis Highway.

Flickr pool photo by Tim Kelley

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Early Buds — Maybe Punxsutawney Phil was right. The photo above was taken by Flickr pooler Clio1789 near Rosslyn on Friday.

Dr. Dremo’s Site Set for Development — Construction could begin by the end of the year on the hallowed ground that once was home to Dr. Dremo’s and Taco Bell. The site, on the 2000 block of Wilson Boulevard, will house 154 residential units and 30,000 square feet of retail space. Meanwhile, a development on the 1800 block of Wilson Boulevard is still awaiting financing. The project — a 107,000 square foot office building — will eventually displace the Rhodeside Grill and Il Radicchio restaurants. [DC Mud]

Westover Beer Garden Forum Planned — A public forum has been scheduled to discuss the Westover Beer Garden. The meeting will take place at 7:00 p.m. on March 8, at the Westover Library. The forum will allow “all members of the community to come together to agree on common positions regarding the beer garden.” [Tara-Leeway Heights Civic Association]

Neighborhood College Program Accepting Applications — Arlington County is accepting applications for its “civic leadership development program.” The Arlington Neighborhood College offers a free, seven-week introduction to Arlington civic life and community participation. [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Clio1789

Isn’t it Romantic Music?

By Uriah Kiser

Who said the music had to be romantic around Valentine’s Day? IBIS did, and they want to you come and see them perform for free.

The chamber music society will appear for its “Isn’t it Romantic” performance at 4 p.m. Sunday February 13 at the Rock Spring Congregational Church at 5010 Little Falls Road in Arlington.

They’ll be performing a quartet of numbers, including “Liebeslied and Liebesfreund” by Fritz Kreisler, “Aeolian Harp” Etude and Ballade No. 3 in Ab by Chopin and “Piano Trio No. 1” by Brahms.

The music will be romantic, with flutes, strings and piano, according to IBIS.

Free street parking will be available for the performance.

IBIS was formed in Florida but now calls Arlington home.

Members of the seven-person group work with the likes of the Boston POPS Esplanade Orchestra and the Kennedy Center Opera House.

Whole Foods Cooking Classes Back for 2011

By ARLnow.com

The Whole Foods Market in Clarendon (2700 Wilson Blvd) is gearing up for another year of free cooking classes with in-house chef Michael Kiss.

On the menu for January are two vegetarian classes and a how-to for curried lamb. The classes are held from 7:00 to 7:45 p.m. on Tuesdays.

Seating is limited. Interested cooks are asked to reserve a spot by emailing michael.kiss[at]wholefoods.com with the subject line “Cooking Class.”

See the list of January classes after the jump.

Flickr pool photo by Erin Johnson

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