A “Love” sign in Rosslyn (Staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

An event in Rosslyn this week is hoping to help local singles prepare for “cuffing season,” the time of the year when some are looking to settle down with a partner to pass the cold months.

On Wednesday (Nov. 16) at 5:30 p.m., the Rosslyn Business Improvement District is hosting its first-ever Cuffing Season Tips & Sips at Assembly food hall at 1700 N. Moore Street.

The event will feature a chance to mingle with other singles, an onsite photographer to take that “perfect profile photo,” and advice from online dating coach Erika Ettin.

Registration is required with the event costing $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Attendees will get one drink per admission plus a happy hour menu will be available.

Cuffing season, per Merriam-Webster, “refers to a period of time where single people begin looking for short-term partnerships to pass the colder months of the year.” It starts in October and lasts until after Valentine’s Day.

Due to the pandemic, the last two cuffing seasons have been rough for singles looking to cozy down for the winter. This year’s rendition appears to be approaching normalcy, with other local events looking to encourage the ritual.

Besides mingling and freshening up that online dating photo, Rosslyn BID is bringing in a well-regarded local online dating coach to provide advice. Erika Ettin is the founder of “A Little Nudge,” a service that helps singles manage online profile creation and date planning as well as coaching.

Ettin will be at the event “to give you the best tips on how to improve your dating profile to help you find the perfect match,” reads the event page.


It looks like someone proposed on the Custis Trail yesterday.

A reader sent these photos, taken on the stretch of the trail off Quincy Street, near the pond. A series of signs starts with: “From the day we first met I knew I loved you the best.” It ends with the message: “Which is why I want to ask you this one special question.”

“I didn’t get to see the proposal in action,” says reader Abby Hughey. “But thought you might want to post [it]… cheers to happy stories like this one!”

If you know the backstory, share it with us: [email protected].

This isn’t the first time someone has used homemade signs to express affection in public in Arlington. Last March someone posted love letters to utility poles along Lorcom Lane.


Some hopeless romantic has stapled a series a posters to utility poles along Lorcom Lane, declaring his or her love for one special lady.

The love letters, which were visible to traffic heading from Spout Run Parkway to Lee Highway yesterday, had messages like “Proud to Be Yours,” “I Love You Forever,” and “The Only Woman In The World For Me.”

One passerby was befuddled by the romantic declarations.

“It’s not even Valentine’s Day,” he observed, scratching his head. On Twitter, there were questions as to whether the posters were a declaration of love or an apology, with one reader using the hashtag “#lovelettersordoghouse.”

Update at 3:15 p.m. — The mystery continues, as the initial claim of credit for the love letters appears to be an hoax perpetrated by an individual who assumed the identity of another person. ARLnow.com apologizes to both named individuals who were falsely identified as the writer and the recipient.

Hat tip to @rebeccapenno