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Good morning, Alexandria.
The Mount Vernon Trail is in the national Hall of Fame. It took 58% of the vote against two other finalists, in a contest we flagged here twice while the ballot was open — thanks to everyone who clicked.
One thing you may notice today: the city is testing its school zone flashers and speed cameras. If you see them running, that's the test — no citations. The cameras go live Monday, the first day of school, with $100 fines in six zones.
Also today: two North Ridge neighbors have started the postpartum group they went looking for and couldn't find, NRG's Del Ray record store turns out to be a second Mobius Records, and Restaurant Week ends Sunday. And at the bottom, the 87th anniversary of the Alexandria library sit-in — with a free virtual panel at noon.
Here's what you need to know for Friday, Aug. 21.
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1️⃣ Mount Vernon Trail wins national Hall of Fame honor
The Mount Vernon Trail has been named to the Rails to Trails Conservancy's Hall of Fame, the national trails group announced Thursday, capping a public vote in which the Virginia path drew 58% of ballots cast.
The trail beat two other finalists: the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and the Historic Battlefield Trail in Texas. Voting ran Aug. 5 through Aug. 16.
2️⃣ A postpartum support group launches in Old Town, started by two neighbors who couldn't find one
Cara Hewitt moved to Alexandria's North Ridge neighborhood after seven years in Washington, had her daughter in 2022, and found herself isolated. Friends back home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, were posting about a postpartum program they attended together. Hewitt wanted the same thing here and couldn't find it.
Last summer, a neighbor down the street had her second baby a month after Hewitt had hers, and the two spent their maternity leaves talking about the same gap. This month they started filling it. Mom League DC held its first Newborn Series in Old Town on Aug. 4, an eight-week program for about a dozen women with babies up to 12 weeks old, meeting weekly at barre3 at 715 Duke St.
3️⃣ NRG's Del Ray record store will be a second location of Mobius Records
The record store that Neighborhood Restaurant Group announced for Del Ray this summer now has a name: Mobius Records, an independent shop that owner Dempsey Hamilton has operated out of Fairfax City's Main Street since 2014.
Hamilton announced Aug. 9 on Instagram that Mobius will open a second location at 2016 Mt. Vernon Ave. in mid-September, partnering with NRG founder Michael Babin, Evening Star Café chef Nathan Anda and NRG beverage director Greg Engert. The collaboration builds on more than a decade of joint projects, including an annual Record Store Day beer and pop-up appearances at NRG's Snallygaster festival.
4️⃣ Things to do in Alexandria this weekend: Aug. 21-23
Restaurant Week ends Sunday, closing a 10-day run at more than 75 restaurants. It's the last weekend to use it.
The City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums play Waterfront Park at 7:45 p.m. Friday, their only performance of the summer after a July concert was called off during the region's Code Purple air quality alert. Trivia nights run at two historic sites that evening, and Saturday brings farmers markets in Old Town and Del Ray, a crab feast at Aslin and a live painting demonstration at Principle Gallery.
As for the weather, Friday and Sunday are the better bets. Rain holds off Friday until late afternoon, then picks up after dark. Saturday carries a 70% chance of showers and storms for much of the day. Sunday is mostly sunny and 85, with a chance of storms after 2 p.m.
Here's everything on the calendar this weekend in Alexandria.
In brief
A massage therapy practice that spent 30 years near the Old Town waterfront has moved to Eisenhower Avenue after learning its building had been sold and would be torn down to make way for townhouses. (The Brief)
A jury has convicted a 19-year-old Woodbridge resident of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a man who was struck by a Metro train after climbing into the track bed to escape an attack. (The Brief)
A 27-year-old man who was the subject of a daylong search has been found safe, Fairfax County police have said. (The Brief)
Seven weeks after the pumps came on, RiverRenew is collecting hardware. (The Brief)
Reminder: The city tests its school zone flashers and speed camera systems today, and residents may see the flashers operating during normal weekday hours. No citations will be issued during the test. Enforcement resumes Monday, Aug. 24, the first day of school. (The Brief)
Sports
Jacob deGrom struck out 10 and allowed one hit and one walk in six innings while reaching 2,000 career strikeouts in the second-fewest games and innings in major league history as the Texas Rangers beat the Washington Nationals 2-0 on Thursday night. (The Brief)
Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn revealed that “a good amount of starters” will play during Saturday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions. (The Brief)
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Today in Alexandria
⛅ Weather
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84 degrees. North wind around 5 mph.
Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 4 a.m. Patchy fog after 5 a.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 68 degrees. Light southeast wind. The chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms.
🌖 Sun, Moon, & Tide
Sunrise at 6:27 a.m., sunset at 7:54 p.m. 13 hours & 27 minutes of sun.
High tide at 3:33 a.m. & 4:14 p.m. Low tide at 10:22 a.m. & 9:52 p.m. The moon phase is a Waxing Gibbous.
🗓️ Things To Do
- All Day: Alexandria Restaurant Week throughout Alexandria
- 8 a.m.: WEBA August Coffee & Collaboration with CMIT Solutions of Alexandria at Salem Café
- 6 p.m.: Bodies of Work Group Exhibition at Principle Gallery
- 6:30 p.m.: Friday Night Run Club at Daniel O'Connell's
- 7 p.m.: Trivia Night at Historic Sites at Carlyle House
- 7 p.m.: Pop Culture Trivia – Sitcom Edition at Lee-Fendall House Museum & Garden
- 7:45 p.m. Alexandria Pipes and Drums to perform at Waterfront Park
🎶 Entertainment
- 219 Restaurant: Chris Timbers at 9 p.m.
- Alexandria Bier Garden: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
- Cuates Grill: Karaoke at 10:15 p.m.
- Daniel O'Connell's: Chris Brunn Daily at 9:30 p.m.
- Del Ray Public House: Karaoke at 9 p.m.
- Galactic Panther: Erked with friends at 7 p.m.
- Hops N Shine: Live music at 6 p.m.
- Laporta’s Restaurant: Live music at 7:30 p.m.
- Makeda Restaurant: Mesfin & Tsehay at 10 p.m.
- Murphy’s Pub: Johnny Artis Legacy Band, Pat Carroll at 9 p.m.
- O’Shaughnessy’s Pub: Second Sun at 9 p.m.
- Rock It Grill: Karaoke at 9:30 p.m.
- The Birchmere: Robert Earl Keen with Race Ricketts at 7:30 p.m.
- The Garden Del Ray: Franklin Music at 5 p.m.
- The Light Horse: Tunnels End at 9:30 p.m.
- The Study at Morrison House: Live Piano Music at 6:30 p.m.
🏛️ City & Schools
- 6 a.m.: Chinquapin Pool open
- 10 a.m.: Memorial Pool open
- 4:30 p.m.: Warwick Pool open
- 4:30 p.m.: Old Town Pool open
- 7 p.m.: French Book Club with the Alexandria-Caen Sister City Committee and Old Town Books at Lloyd House
- 7:45 p.m.: City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums summer concert at Waterfront Park
📚 Alexandria Library
- All day: Alexandria Library: A Legacy of Service Since 1937 at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
- 10:15 a.m.: Baby Storytime at Ellen Coolidge Burke Branch Library
- Noon: Learning from a 1939 Library Protest, a discussion of the Alexandria Library sit-in (virtual)
- 3 p.m.: Tai Chi at Charles E. Beatley Jr. Central Library
⚾ Sports
- 7:10 p.m.: Washington Nationals at Miami Marlins
- 7:30 p.m.: Minnesota Lynx at Washington Mystics Nationals at Texas Rangers
Ryan Belmore
On this day in Alexandria's history
Eighty-seven years ago today, five young Black men walked into the Alexandria Library at 717 Queen St., asked for library cards, were refused, and sat down to read. All five were arrested. The date was chosen: it was the second anniversary of the library's opening, a building paid for with public money that Black residents couldn't use.
It is the earliest recorded sit-in protesting segregated access to a public library in the United States, two decades before the lunch counter protests of the 1960s. Attorney Samuel Wilbert Tucker organized it after a lawsuit stalled in court. The city's answer was to build a separate one-room branch rather than open the library it already had. That building is now the Alexandria Black History Museum.
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