Del Ray Candy Cane Bar Crawl raises $10,000 for ALIVE! in 10th anniversary year
Del Ray Business Association caps record year of giving with donation to Alexandria's largest food and housing nonprofit
The Del Ray Business Association presented a $10,000 check to ALIVE! at its annual Holiday Luncheon on Monday, marking the culmination of the 10th Annual Candy Cane Bar Crawl held Dec. 13.
The bar crawl drew participants to 17 restaurants along Mount Vernon Avenue for an afternoon of holiday cocktails, raffles, and fundraising. ALIVE!, Alexandria’s largest nonprofit addressing food and housing insecurity, was this year’s beneficiary.
“We decided to make the nonprofit ALIVE! this year because it was a no-brainer,” said DRBA President Lauren Fisher. “People were starving and we wanted to see what we could do with the Del Ray Business Association to help all the amazing efforts they do.”
Carlton Willis, president of ALIVE!’s board of directors, accepted the donation at The Loft at Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap and outlined the organization’s reach.
“We serve the underserved here in Alexandria,” Willis said. “We have five major programs — food distributions, furniture, housewares, food hubs around the community, and a family assistance program, which kind of flies under the radar.”
ALIVE! serves 20,000 individuals each month by providing food, transitional shelter, financial help, eviction prevention, and furniture and housewares. The organization operates food hubs around Mount Vernon Avenue and Commonwealth, where Alexandria residents can walk in and receive free food. Its family assistance program provides financial help to prevent evictions and keep utilities connected.
The bar crawl also generated 865 pounds of food donations through a community collection effort, with organizers expecting to reach 2,000 pounds by the end of the week.
“We had community elves activate and go into the city and collect food,” said Eva Hartman, who co-chaired the food drive component.
From 50 to Thousands
The crawl has grown dramatically since Fisher proposed the concept a decade ago.
“Fifty people on the first crawl, and it’s become several thousand,” Fisher said.
This year’s event featured $15 advance tickets, holiday cocktail specials at each participating location, trolley transportation between venues, costume contests, and swag bags for the first 250 registrants. The Jen Walker Team served as the title sponsor.
Participating restaurants included Northside10, HopsNShine, Los Tios, Piece Out Del Ray, Cheesetique, Pork Barrel BBQ, Joy on the Avenue, St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub, Del Ray Pizzeria, Gustave Boulangerie, Evening Star Cafe, Pak Soii, Rosemarino D’Italia, Matt & Tony’s All Day Kitchen, The Garden Del Ray, Bella Napoli, and Lena’s Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap.
Over the past decade, the crawls have raised money for numerous local nonprofits, including Neighborhood Health, Blessings in a Backpack, Community Lodgings, and local restaurants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Record Year for DRBA
The ALIVE! donation caps a record year of giving for the association. Fisher told luncheon attendees the DRBA donated over $60,000 directly to nonprofits in 2024 and hosted 30 signature events.
The organization also expanded its programming with Second Saturdays in Del Ray, featuring a Farmhouse Market, art market, and vintage market.
“Our social media is pretty phenomenal,” Fisher said. “We have over 25,000 followers across our platforms. For the last three months, we had over a million organic views of our association — 500,000 would be considered great.”
The DRBA has been producing signature events in Del Ray for over 30 years, funded entirely by business sponsors and volunteers.
Disclosure: The Alexandria Brief is a member of the Del Ray Business Association.