weekend events

‘Family Fun Day’ to be Held at Bluemont Park

By Katie Pyzyk

The whole family can enjoy the outdoors on Saturday, during “Family Fun Day” at Bluemont Park.

The Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation is joining up with PBS Kids to provide the event. Activities include art projects, a nature treasure hunt, relay races, moon bounces and bingo. There will also be an opportunity to get up close and personal with live snakes, turtles and lizards.

Families are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to enjoy together. There will also be a $3 lunch available for purchase, which includes a hot dog, chips and a drink.

Be sure to watch the weather if you plan on attending, because if there’s inclement weather the event will be cancelled. If it is cancelled, the event will not be rescheduled.

The event runs from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Timing for each of the activities can be found online. For more information, contact Kevin Clements at 703-228-4729 or [email protected].

Oyster Feast Marks Final Campaign Opportunity

By Katie Pyzyk

(Updated at 3:35 p.m.) Candidates for public office are getting ready for the Arlington Kiwanis Club’s Oyster Feast and Pig Roast tomorrow night. It’s the final large-scale public event before Tuesday’s election.

The annual fundraiser is traditionally an opportunity for candidates to put forth a last ditch effort to meet and win over voters. Some local officials even suit up and help serve at the all-you-can-eat event.

The event takes place tomorrow from 5:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. at American Service Center (601 N. Randolph St.). Money raised goes toward the club’s sponsored youth program and other community organizations to help children. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Steve Jobs Memorial Grows — The Post-it-Note memorial to Steve Jobs at the Clarendon Apple Store is getting bigger. Since we arrived at the Apple Store yesterday morning, the memorial has grown from zero to dozens of hand-written notes for the late Apple founder.

Favola Takes Aim at Merrick on NRA Rating — Republican State Senate candidate Caren Merrick was given an “A-” rating in a new candidate “scorecard” issued by the National Rifle Association. Democrat Babara Favola, meanwhile, received an “F” rating. But it was Favola who took the offensive. It’s “not a grade my opponent should be proud of,” Favola Tweeted. Said Favola campaign manager Adam Scott: “Caren Merrick is supported by the Tea Party, the NRA, and anti-choice extremists who want to chip away at a woman’s right to choose in Virginia. That’s just not what we need in the state Senate.”

Relocated ‘Nine’ Starts Tonight — The Arlington Players production of ‘Nine’ starts tonight at the Kenmore Middle School Theater. The musical — which was made into a Hollywood movie two years ago — was originally scheduled to be held at the Thomas Jefferson Middle School Theater. It had to be relocated, however, due to earthquake damage at the theater. [The Arlington Players]

Lots of Events This Weekend — There’s plenty of stuff going on in Arlington on what promises to be an absolutely beautiful fall weekend. If you want to support a high school car wash, or attend an Oktoberfest, or party with artists, check out our Events Calendar.

Photo courtesy @btrpkc

New Events Added to Calendar

By ARLnow.com

Looking for things to do this month? Good news: we just updated our events calendar with a bunch of great local events.

As always, if you have an event you want to promote, fill out this form. We’ll review the submission and add the event within a couple of days. If you’re a bar owner, be sure to let us know what you’re doing for St. Patrick’s Day so we can include your event in our upcoming St. Paddy’s guide.

Weekend Event Roundup

By ARLnow.com

If you’re staying in town for Columbus Day weekend, consider yourself lucky. The forecast calls for perfect warm and sunny weather, and there’s plenty of events around town to keep one busy.

Tonight, we already told you about the Capitals Rock the Red Season Opening Party at The Front Page in Ballston.

Tomorrow, you already know about the Burst @ Artisphere event, presented by Pink Line Project and Brightest Young Things.

You may not know about the Arlington History Bike Tour, a “leisurely” 23-mile ride past some of the notable historic points in Arlington.

Two notable events taking place just outside Arlington on Saturday may be of interest. Rustico in Alexandria will be holding its annual Oktobeerfest from noon to 6:00 p.m. — which may of interest to Ballston residents who are waiting with bated breath for Rustico Ballston to open (as soon as Oct. 25, we’re told).

On Saturday night, the Friends of the David M. Brown Planetarium will be holding a benefit concert at the State Theater in Falls Church. Cobra Collective will headline the show.

Finally, on Sunday, Artisphere will hold its grand opening. The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be followed by a free open house featuring music performances and art installations. An open house will also be held on Monday.

Happy Columbus Day!

To Do This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

With two big rallies invading DC this weekend (the crowd at the Glenn Beck rally alone is expected to number in the hundreds of thousands), you may want to avoid traveling into the District altogether. The good news is that there’s plenty of fun things to do over here on the quieter side of the Potomac.

On Saturday, the Center Hiking Club is sponsoring an all-day, 12-mile historical walking tour of central Arlington, which will include visits to colonial, Civil War, trolley, and W&OD railroad sites.  There will also be stops at cemeteries, log cabins, historic springs and old mills, among others. The tour will start at the Clarendon Metro Station at 9:00 a.m. and end at the Ballston Metro Station around 7:00 p.m. The cost is a mere $2.00. Contact organizer Bernie Berne at (703) 243-0179 or bhberne [at] yahoo.com for more information.

Also on Saturday, Shirlington Village is holding its second annual “Wags ‘N’ Whiskers” pet event from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. See our previous article on the event for more information.

Finally, on Sunday, expect a large crowd at Pentagon City’s Fire Station No. 5 for a public ceremony where Arlington County will formally accept a gift of World Trade Center steel from New York City. Representatives of New York’s Fire Department and 500 motorcyclists will be escorting the steel from Brooklyn to Arlington. Between the escort, the middle school choir coming up from Georgia for the event, and spillover from the aforementioned Restoring Honor rally, we expect this to be a very well-attended event. It will take place at 11:00 Sunday morning at 1750 S. Hayes Street. If you have to drive, we recommend parking at the Pentagon City mall garage.

Flickr pool photo by Christaki.

To Do This Weekend

By ARLnow.com

Normally for our weekly “To Do” list we pick a few of the upcoming weekend’s most promising events and write a couple sentences about each.

This week, there’s so much going on that it was impossible to narrow it down. So rather than a novel-sized write-up, here’s a list of everything on our radar. See our events calendar for more details on each event.

Thursday

  • Canceled due to weather Rock at the Row Summer Concert Series – Pentagon Row Plaza
  • Live Music: White Ford Bronco and Practically Einstein – Ri-Ra Irish Pub
  • Clarendon Ballroom Blitz w/ Dr. Fu and Toxic Mouse

Friday

  • National Donut Day
  • Yorktown High School Art Show
  • “I Love the 90s” Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival – Rosslyn Gateway Park
  • U.S. Air Force Band Summer Concert Series (Opening Concert) – Air Force Memorial
  • Live Comedy: Natasha Leggero – Arlington Drafthouse

Saturday

  • Courthouse Farmers Market
  • Aurora Hills Senior Center Trash ‘n’ Treasure Sale
  • Focus Group: Re-Envisioning the Future of the Library – Fairlington Community Center
  • Wylie Wagg Grand Opening
  • Red Mango Grand Opening
  • Live Theater: Every Young Woman’s Desire (“Pay-What-You-Can” showing) – Clark Street Playhouse
  • Summer Concert: Soho Down (Country Rock/Pop) – Potomac Overlook Regional Park
  • Vivaldi’s Extraordinary Four Seasons – Rosslyn Spectrum Theatre

Sunday

  • Columbia Pike Farmers Market
  • Green Living Home and Garden Tour
  • Film: “The Princess and the Frog” (2009) – Shirlington Branch Library
  • Live Theater: R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe – Arena Stage
  • A German Requiem – Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington

Last-Minute Mother’s Day Ideas

By Ashley Houghton

Your mother deserves more than a phone call and a picture frame made of Popsicle sticks on Mother’s Day. A card and flowers are a nice start. But there are also some mom-friendly gifts and activities to consider this weekend.

For the crafty mother: The first day of the Ballston Arts & Crafts Market (in Welburn Square, between N. 9th and N. Stuart Streets) is on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Expect plenty of delightful, handmade gifts that will impress your mother much more than anything YOU could have put together at the last minute.

For the musical mother: The Opera Guild of Northern Virginia is holding a benefit concert for the children of Haiti from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday at the NRECA Building (4301 Wilson Blvd).  The music will range from arias to swing and there will also be an art sale — a great opportunity to show that your mother raised a charitable, thoughtful son or daughter.

For the hungry mother: The Sunday brunch at Eatbar (2761 Washington Blvd), featuring popular G-rated movies on the restaurant’s big screen, is a local family favorite. Instead of breakfast in bed (so clichéd), mom can be watching The Incredibles, eating some eggs Benedict, and drinking mimosas as you reminisce about your childhood.

For the green thumb mother: Don’t want to buy flowers? Crystal City is holding its very intensely-named “Floral Frenzy Bulb Blitz” on Friday. From 9:00 and 11:00 a.m., the fine folks at Crystal City BID will provide you with a trowel so you can dig up tulip bulbs from the area between the 2100 and 2200 blocks of Crystal Drive. Several thousand bulbs must be removed to make way for new landscaping. Why not take ’em home and plant them around mom’s house?

For the outdoorsy mother: Sunday is supposed to be sunny and gorgeous.  Take your mother out for a picnic or a walk at one of Arlington’s many parks. It’s not just a great opportunity to spend quality time with your mother, it’s also FREE.

For the really, really last-minute gift: Modern Companies, which owns a day spa and a number of local nail salons, is holding a contest for Mother’s Day. Anyone who follows Modern Companies on Twitter or Facebook over the next four days could win a $100 manicure/spa gift card.  The only downside is that you find out whether you win the gift card ON Mother’s Day.  (We suggest a backup gift, just to be on the safe side.)

Photo by Dr. Case.

To Do This Weekend: Staying Inside Edition

By ARLnow.com

It looks to be a rainy weekend, but don’t let that get you down — there’s plenty to do inside.

Saturday:

  • It’s the closing night for the Arlington Players production of Mel Brooks’ “The Producers.” The show starts at 8:00 p.m. at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (120 S. Old Glebe Road).
  • Jennifer Coolidge, a.k.a. Stifler’s mom from the American Pie movies, will be performing live stand-up comedy at the Arlington Drafthouse (2903 Columbia Pike), starting at 9:30 p.m.

Sunday:

  • Toscana Grill (2300 Clarendon Blvd) is holding a “Bring Your Dog to Brunch Day.” From 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., dog owners can enjoy a vegetarian brunch while Fido chows down on treats from a local vegan dog food company.
  • Lord of the Rings fans can watch all three films on the big screen at the Arlington Drafthouse’s LOTR Movie Festival (2903 Columbia Pike). There will also be a Gollum impersonation contest and awards for the best costume. Taking place from noon to 10:00 p.m. — ten hours worth of middle-earthly fun for $8.

For those bold enough to wander outside, the annual Friends of the Library Book Sale will be taking place at the Arlington Central Library parking garage (1015 N. Quincy St.) and volunteers are needed to help a Girl Scout project at Glencarlyn Park (South Harrison St. and 4th St. S.).

See our events calendar for more details.