free stuff

Busy Weekend for Bargain Hunters

By ARLnow.com

It’s going to be an especially busy Saturday for bargain-hunters. Here’s a chronology of where to get good deals and score some free stuff.

7:00 a.m. — The weekly Arlington Civitan flea market starts the morning bright and early. About 150 vendors will be selling their wares until 1:30 p.m. in the parking garage between I-66 and Washington-Lee High School.

8:00 a.m. — The Arlington Farmer’s Market will take place, as it does every Saturday, in the parking lot across from the county courthouse from 8:00 to noon. Affordable fresh food and free samples abound.

9:00 a.m. — Hunt for hidden gems at the Aurora Hills Senior Center Trash ‘n’ Treasure Sale. One person’s old, unwanted piece of junk may be another’s cherished antique. The Aurora Hills Branch Library will also take part, selling books and music CDs as part of their ongoing Friends Sale.

10:00 a.m. — Boutique pet store Wylie Wagg is holding a grand opening celebration for its new Clarendon store. Located in the former a.k.a. spot storefront at 2509 Franklin Road, next to the Java Shack,  Wagg will be offering a 10 percent store-wide discount and a chance to win a $200 shopping spree. There will also be free doggie “smoothies” while supplies last, from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

11:00 a.m. — Clarendon’s new frozen yogurt mecca, Red Mango, will also be celebrating its grand opening on Saturday. The store (at 2831 Clarendon Boulevard) will be giving away free froyo from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. There will also be free t-shirts for the first 100 customers.

2:00 p.m. — Join the Washington Shakespeare Company for a “pay-what-you-can” showing of “Every Young Woman’s Desire.” You decide how much you want to pay to see the show, a psychological thriller that examines the brutality of unchecked power. Presented at the Clark Street Playhouse (601 S. Clark Street).

See our events calendar for more details and for more things to do this weekend.

Flickr pool photo by Pseudo-Melancholy.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

It’s National Donut Day — Head out to your local Dunkin’ Donuts today to get a free donut — with a drink purchase — in celebration of National Donut Day. Or, if you care to venture outside of Arlington, Krispy Kreme is giving out free donuts with no purchase necessary. Don’t know where your local donut store is? TBD’s Mandy Jenkins created this handy Google map just for you.

Arlington Restaurateur Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement — Roberto Donna, who owned the now-defunct Bebo Trattoria restaurant in Crystal City, pled guilty yesterday to felony embezzlement, Washington City Paper’s Tim Carman reports. Donna must repay Arlington County the more than $150,000 he owes in unpaid meal taxes. Donna isn’t the only one who owes the county big bucks. According to the City Paper, Arlington Catering Company, owners of the recently-shuttered Restaurant Vero, owes $78,297 in delinquent meal taxes.

Lyon Hall’s Outdoor Patio Open for Business — You can now have a prime outdoor seat to go with your Silly Saison and Hungarian lamb sausage mussels. Lyon Hall has rolled out the folding white umbrellas and steel tables and is now helping to bring some street life to Washington Boulevard. Perfect DC Bites has more.

Zimmerman Fires Back At HOT Lanes Letter — “Nonsense” is how County Board Vice Chairman Chris Zimmerman described some of the arguments made by local business leaders — including Arlington Chamber of Commerce President Richard Doud — in a letter asking the county to drop its lawsuit against High Occupancy Toll lanes on I-395. More from the Sun Gazette.

Bicyclists Out in Force On Bike to Work Day

By ARLnow.com

“Arlington is one of the most bike-friendly communities in the United States,” Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said to kick off this morning’s Bike to Work Day event in Rosslyn. And the county’s efforts seem to be paying off: Fisette said that this was the best-attended Bike to Work Day he has ever been a part of.

Hundreds of bicyclists stopped at Bike to Work Day “pit stops” in Rosslyn, Ballston and Crystal City before pedaling to work this morning. There was no denying that there were more bikes on the road than usual, as normally car-bound or transit-hopping commuters took advantage of the nice weather and the communal experience of riding into the city en masse.

In Rosslyn, vendors provided snacks, drinks, free tune-ups and assorted schwag (free BikeArlington bell, anyone?) as obligatory pump-up music blared on the speakers (“Bicycle Race” by Queen was only a slightly more obvious choice than the “Rocky” theme).

After Fisette announced the new Arlington-DC bike sharing program, the winner of Arlington’s Car-Free Diet Skeptics challenge was revealed.

Two men, Todd and Ross, both gave up driving during the course of the one month competition. Ross went so far as selling his car, a move Todd says he plans to follow. In the end, however, Todd was named the winner.

“[Giving up my car] actually worked perfectly for me,” Todd said after delivering a short victory speech.

To Do Tonight

By ARLnow.com

There are several very good options for people who want to get out of their house or apartment and do something tonight:

  • The new Siena Park luxury apartment building (2301 Columbia Pike) its celebrating its grand opening with an “Art of Living Well” event from 7:00 to 9:00, featuring food and FREE beer and wine tastings from a number of local restaurants, including: Twisted Vines, Rocklands Barbeque, Caribbean Breeze Restaurant, Extra Virgin, Rock Bottom,Tthe Melting Pot and others. There will also be live music, an appearance by artist J.D. Miller, and — of course — tours of the apartments.
  • Put on your best “O” face and go to the Bi-Annual TPS Report Managers Meeting at Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike). The “meeting” is actually an Office Space movie festival with trivia, impersonation and costume contests. The festivities start at 7:00 with theme music. The movie starts at 8:30.
  • Finally, for the civic-minded, Arlington County will hold an informal public forum on the snow removal ordinance at 7:00 p.m. The forum will take place at 3033 Wilson Blvd, rooms 7E-7F. Staffers will explain the proposed ordinance and answer questions.

As always, see our events calendar for lots more to do this weekend.

What Will the Library of the Future Look Like? You Decide.

By ARLnow.com

This will be a rare instance of librarians encouraging people to speak up.

On June 5, Arlington County will hold a focus group to hear the citizen ideas for the future of the library system. And they’re giving away an iPod to boot.

The county is specifically seeking ideas for ways to improve its libraries. Officials will be asking questions like “why do you use the Library?” and “what should the ‘library of the future’ look like?”

The focus group will take place at the Fairlington Community Center (3308 South Stafford Street) at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 5. Refreshments will be served and an iPod will be raffled off.

Flickr photo by Arlington Public Library.

To Do Tonight: Spruce Up Your Salads

By ARLnow.com

Via Every Food Fits, we learn that Michael Kiss, resident chef at the Clarendon Whole Foods, will be teaching a class on whole grain salads tonight. What are whole grain salads? Well…

We all know that we need to incorporate more whole grains into our diets, although in practice it can be overwhelming and frustrating. Chef Kiss will showcase light and flavorful vegetarian salads, great for summer entertaining at patio dinners and picnics!

The class will start at 7:00 and run 30-50 minutes. It’s free and you don’t have to RSVP, but arriving early is recommended.

Whole Foods’ free cooking lessons are a weekly event. See some of the upcoming classes here.

Miss an Outdoor Showing of Clueless? As if…

By Ashley Houghton

Rosslyn’s “I Love the ’90s” outdoor film series started off with a crowd-pleaser Friday night. About 150 people crammed onto the field at Freedom Park to watch Alicia Silverstone, Brittany Murphy, and Paul Rudd in the 1995 classic teen comedy “Clueless”.

Space was at a premium. Most of the crowd arrived with picnic blankets in tow about an hour before show time.

Sultana Khan was there with friends about an hour and a half before the movie started with plenty of sandwiches, cheese, hummus, and other munchies.

“Seriously, this movie is, like, amazing,” she enthused, chanelling the flick’s San Fernando Valley spirit. “It’s a standard, and Cher is a total Betty.”

Several picnicking groups knew the script by heart, which meant a good section of the audience recited aloud one of the most memorable lines in the film:

“Why should I listen to you, anyway? You’re a virgin who can’t drive.”

“That was way harsh, Ty.”

This coming Friday the “gnarly” SNL-skit-turned-blockbuster Wayne’s World will be playing on the big screen. Others films in the series include Airheads, Home Alone, and Johnny Depp’s highly underrated Cry Baby.