Virginia Sales Tax Holiday

When is it?

August 3-5, 2018. The 3-day sales tax holiday starts the first Friday in August at 12:01 am and ends the following Sunday at 11:59 pm. 

What is it? 

During the sales tax holiday, you can buy qualifying school supplies, clothing, footwear, hurricane and emergency preparedness items, and Energy Star™ and WaterSense™ products without paying sales tax.

What items are eligible?

• School supplies, clothing, and footwear 
  • Qualified school supplies - $20 or less per item
  • Qualified clothing and footwear - $100 or less per item
• Hurricane and emergency preparedness products  
  • Portable generators - $1,000 or less per item
  • Gas-powered chainsaws - $350 or less per item
  • Chainsaw accessories - $60 or less per item
  • Other specified hurricane preparedness items - $60 or less per item 
• Energy Star™ and WaterSense™​ products 
  • Qualifying Energy Star™ or WaterSense™ products purchased for noncommercial home or personal use - $2,500 or less per item

Detailed lists of qualifying items and more information for retailers can be found in the 2018 Combined Sales Tax Holiday Guidelines. 

TC Williams Fall Sports Tryouts

Fall Sports Tryouts are Right Around the Corner

Cheerleading, Cross Country, Field Hockey, Football, Golf, Volleyball

#1. You must have a physical dated after May 1, 2018. 

Click here for physical forms and here for Emergency Care Form.

Students can get a physical at the Teen Wellness Center located on the King Street Campus. Click here for Wellness Center hours, contact, and appointment information.

#2. Turn in paperwork to the Athletic Office 

Dates and time TBA

#3. Show up and Try out starting:

• Football - July 26, 3:00 - 6:00 p.m., King Street Stadium and Weight Room
• Golf - July 27, Location TBA
• Cheerleading - July 30, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. King Street Dance Room and Small Gym
• Field Hockey - July 30, Time TBA at Minnie Howard or Hammond (Turf Field)
• Cross Country - TBA
• Volleyball Freshmen and J.V. August 6, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. King Street Main Gym
• Volleyball Varsity, August 6, 5:00 -7:00 p.m. King Street Main Gym

The 11th Annual MV Big Flea Is This Saturday April 29

The annual community flea market and fundraiser for Mount Vernon Community School. Every year the MVCS PTA collects donations of furniture, housewares, baby gear, toys, games, electronics, hardware, tools, small appliances, jewelry, and antiques and collectibles and sells them to raise money to support the students and the school. Proceeds are used for things such as field trips, enrichment activities, dance integration, special events, computers, musical instruments and art and classroom supplies. 

Here are the details:

Mount Vernon Recreation Center, 2701 Commonwealth Ave. Alexandria, VA 22305.

7-8 a.m.: Looking for something specific or particularly sought after? Get an early start with early bird admission ($10 entrance fee) at 7 a.m.

8 a.m. - 11:15: General admission (no entrance fee)

11:30: Re-entry (no fee) and all items are half price.

1pm: Pay $5 to re-enter, all items are free.

This year also look for the raffle of the mystery gift! At an early donation drop back in December, someone donated a (visibly dusty) gift wrapped package. Flea volunteers have no idea what it contains and decided that it would be fun to raffle off the opportunity to solve the mystery! Curious? Buy a raffle ticket and you might be the lucky winner!

Some top MV Big Flea tips:

*Getting there early pays off, particularly if you are looking for something specific or want something that you have seen featured on the Flea Facebook page.

* You can ask for help. Signage inside the gym indicates the location of the various sections, but there are also Flea volunteers in blue Flea shirts stationed around the floor to help direct you and answer questions.

* Bring bags. Flea volunteers will give you a shopping bag as you enter (until supplies run out), but the likelihood is high that you will need more than one. 

*Buying furniture? Flea volunteers (in blue Flea shirts) in the furniture section will help stick a "sold" label on your furniture for you and help move it out. And don't forget, the Flea delivers! For a $25 delivery fee, you can arrange delivery of your furniture finds.

* Checking out. Just before the exit, Flea volunteers will tally up your purchases and give you your total. They'll then direct you outside to "Fleadom Plaza" where cashiers will take your payment. Cash and credit cards are accepted. 

*Fleadom Plaza. In addition to the cashiers and the delivery coordination table, a host of other things will be happening on Fleadom plaza, including a student council book sale (cash only), MVCS swag sales, and the raffle of the mystery gift. It's a fun and festive atmosphere on the plaza, and it should be a beautiful day!

Remember, you are shopping with a purpose: it's for the kids!

Alexandria Winter Restaurant Week - February 17-26

For 10 days and two weekends, 60 Alexandria restaurants offer a $35 three-course dinner for one OR a $35 dinner for two during Alexandria Winter Restaurant Week,February 17-26, 2017. More than 30 restaurants will also offer lunch deals at $10, $15 or $20 per person in addition to the dinner specials.
New to Alexandria Winter Restaurant Week are five new restaurants— Vola’s Dockside Grill, Hen Quarter, Live Oak, Northside 10 and BurgerFi—as well as first-time participants Dos Amigos and Hawwi Ethiopian Restaurant. Returning participants include Restaurant Eve, Bastille, Vermilion, Blackwall Hitch, Carluccio’s, Cheesetique, and Virtue Feed and Grain.
Alexandria Winter Restaurant Week showcases the inventiveness of local chefs in neighborhoods throughout the city, including Old Town, Del Ray, Carlyle and the West End. At a range of locales, from fine dining establishments to casual neighborhood favorites, guests will savor the flavors of Alexandria's distinctive collection of eateries.
Guests will find a flip-book of menus on www.AlexandriaRestaurantWeek.com. 
WHAT: Alexandria Winter Restaurant Week
WHEN: 10 Days – February 17-26, 2017 WHERE: Neighborhoods throughout Alexandria, including Old Town, Del Ray, Carlyle and the West End
HOW: $35 three-course dinner for one OR $35 dinner for two; select locations offering lunch from $10-20/person
INFO: www.AlexandriaRestaurantWeek.com; 703-746-3301

Seeking Nominations for Salute to Women Awards

The Alexandria Commission for Women seeks nominations of women, men and youth who have made a significant impact on women and girls in Alexandria.

Winners will be honored at the Commission’s 37^th Annual Salute to Women Awards Program on March 20, 2017 at 6 p.m. at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Proceeds support the Alexandria Sexual Assault Center and Domestic Violence Program.

Winners will be recognized for their achievements in several areas, including health and safety, legislative advocacy, leadership, artistic endeavors, business and career development, and providing opportunities for youth.

All nominations must be submitted by the close of business on Friday, Feb. 3, 2017. Late submissions will not be accepted and the deadline will not be extended. Nomination forms can be completed online.

To purchase tickets to the Annual Salute to Women Awards Program or to serve as a sponsor, please visit: https://www.alexandriava.gov/dchs/info/default.aspx?id=82658.

For more information, contact Marilyn Patterson at marilyn@joyousevents.com.

Girl Scout Troop Collecting Food for New Hope Housing

Fall in Alexandria

TC Williams Fall Sports Tryout Schedule

FALL SPORTS TRYOUTS

Fall sports tryouts start soon so it is time to get ready #1.  You must have a physical dated after May 1, 2016.  The physical and other forms are available on the T.C. Athletics Website. #2.  Register for tryouts.  See the tryout webpage. Monday (7/25/16):       Field Hockey and Golf Tuesday (7/26/16):      Football - JV and Freshman Wednesday (7/27/16):  Football - Varsity Thursday (7/28/16):     Volleyball and Cheer Friday (7/29/16):          Cross Country Registration times for each day 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. #3.  Tryouts start: August 1: Football August 1: Field Hockey            August 1: Competition Cheer August 3: Cross-country August 8: Volleyball Please share especially with any rising 8th and 9th graders you know!

The Del Ray Music Festival is in NEED of Volunteers

THE 9th ANNUAL DEL RAY MUSIC FESTIVAL takes place on Saturday, July
23 from 3pm to 8pm. Local musicians will perform on two stages at the Pat
Miller Neighborhood Square, located at the intersection of Mount Vernon
Avenue and Oxford Avenue in the heart of Del Ray. Seven of Del Ray's top
restaurants will host pop-up beer gardens in the three blocks surrounding
the stage. The event is free and open to all. For more information, visit
www.delraymusicfestival.com <http://www.visitdelray.com/>.

*Can you help out and volunteer? If so, email Ellen Patrick
<ellen.france.patrick@gmail.com> to sign up. *

*thanks!! -Del Ray Music Festival Committee*

*Del Ray Music Festival Saturday July 23rd*

*Summer Outdoor Festival Features Top Local Bands & Pop-Up Beer Gardens*

The 9th Annual Del Ray Music Festival will take place on Saturday, July
23 from 3pm to 8pm. Local musicians will perform on two stages at the Pat
Miller Neighborhood Square, located at the intersection of Mount Vernon
Avenue and Oxford Avenue in the heart of Del Ray.

Headlining this year's festival is award-winning guitarist Anthony
Pirog, a recipient of the Washington Area Music Association's Best Modern
Rock Instrumentalist award. In an interview with *Guitar Moderne*, Andy
Summers, the guitarist of The Police, recently said Pirog is "one of my
favorites at the moment." *The Washington Post *has praised Pirog for
his “fusion
of talent and creativity," while *Guitar Player Magazine *named him one of
the “Rising Artists You Must Hear."

New this year, Mount Vernon Avenue will be closed to traffic for the
three blocks adjacent to the stage, and seven of Del Ray's top restaurants
will host pop-up beer gardens -- a first for an outdoor street festival in
the City of Alexandria. "The Del Ray Community is excited about this
signature event, we hope to show once again that Del Ray is the best
neighborhood for fun in Alexandria," said Del Ray Business Association
President Bill Blackburn.

The lineup:

- 3pm: Jack Kilby & The Front Line
- 3:45pm: Noise In The Basement
- 4:15pm: Elroy Jenkins
- 5pm: Geno & The Spirit of Jazz
- 5:30pm: Wanted Man
- 6:15pm: Near Northeast
- 6:45pm: Anthony Pirog

Held each summer, the Del Ray Music Festival celebrates the diverse,
local talent in the Washington, DC area music scene. The event is free and
open to all. For more information, visit www.delraymusicfestival.com
<http://www.visitdelray.com/>.

Fundraiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society at CRAVE in Bradlee on June 20th

TC Williams All Night Grad Party NEEDS Volunteers!

Parents and friends please help.  The All Night Grad Party is this Saturday and we still need about 15+ volunteers for the late shift and are about $2000 short of our fundraising needs.  Please act now and help our 2016 graduates have a fun, safe and exciting last TC event. 

Click here to tickets, donate or volunteer:
http://www.http://www.titansallnightgradparty.org/index.html.org/index.html

Volunteers Needed for Vine on the Water

We need your help! We are in urgent need of at least 40 additional volunteers at the 2016 Vine on the Waterfront on Saturday, June 25. Volunteers will assist with selling tickets, checking IDs, handing out wine glasses, children's area, and more! Groups are encouraged, so bring a family member or friends! 

We need volunteers for the following shifts: 

11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. 
2:30-5:00 p.m. 
4:30-7:30 p.m. 

Each volunteer will receive 10 free food tasting tickets for volunteering their time! 

Please sign up HERE http://handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CU000000ffxbi! 


If you have any questions, please contact Volunteer Alexandria at mail@volunteeralexandria.orgor 703-836-2176. We hope to see you there! 

STEAM Event in Alexandria

Alexandria Tot Rock Festival

Blue Park Candy Free Easter Egg Hunt

The Blue Park candy-free Easter egg hunt tradition continues this year! The egg hunt is open to kids of all ages though has largely been the 5 and under crowd in the past. If you're looking for such an event, please see the details below:

Date: Saturday, March 26, 2016

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location: Blue Park Playground, (Rosemont) 22301

Your role: Drop off 10-12 candy-free eggs (please NO food items at all) per participating child by Friday, March 25 to

196 W. Uhler Terrace

or

106 E Linden St.

Suggestions for candy-free items: Stickers, tattoos, small packages of bubbles, pencils, erasers, silly putty, check the dollar section at Target, dollar stores, etc.

Join the Alexandria Pothole Patrol!

 For Immediate Release: March 7, 2016

On March 7, the City began a month-long effort to repair potholes across the City, and is asking residents and businesses to help find and report potholes using Call.Click.Connect., or by calling 703.746.HELP (4357).

Potholes form when water seeps into tiny cracks in pavement and expands during freezing temperatures. During the 2015 campaign, crews repaired more than 10,000 potholes throughout the City, and this year crews have already begun aggressively repairing damaged streets. This year’s severe winter weather has already caused more potholes than usual. A typical repair consists of digging out any loose material and installing a permanent hot asphalt patch. When the weather doesn’t allow for a permanent repair, a cold mix material is used for a temporary patch, followed by a permanent repair later in the season.

For more information about the City’s pothole repair efforts or paving program, including a short video to share via social media, visit www.alexandriava.gov/Potholes.

Public Meting on Operating Hours of Ben Brenman Dog Park

Please note a community meeting has been scheduled with the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities for Thursday, March 3rd at 7 PM at Cameron Station to discuss the Brenman Park Dog Park expansion, operating hours and illumination. Currently the hours are from "sunrise to sunset" and now would be from 6 AM to 10 PM in all lighted areas of the park. The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities is seeking a Special Use Permit to add lights to the Ben Brenman Park Dog Park located in the back corner of Ben Brenman Park across Holmes Run. Because the addition of lights at this location will extend the use of the park past sunset hours, there will be an associated change to the hours of the park that we wanted to make sure you are aware of. We would encourage all residents to attend but especially those residents who live on or near the park.   From Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities: The Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities (RPCA) will hold a community meeting on March 3, 2016 at 7 p.m. at the Cameron Station Community Room, 200 Cameron Station Blvd. to seek input on the hours of use in Ben Brenman Park. The Planning Commission requested RPCA hold the meeting in conjunction with the Special Use Permit (SUP2015-0128) request to add lights to the Ben Brenman Dog Park, located in the back corner of Ben Brenman Park across Holmes Run. The original Special Use Permit for Ben Brenman Park (SUP98-0048) allows the hours of operation for the park to be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. However, the hours have been more limited in large portions of the park to sunrise to sunset, except by permitted use. Because the new lights in the dog park will extend the use of that part of the park, RPCA proposes to change the posted hours of operation in the park as follows: * The current posted hours state that the park is open from "sunrise to sunset, except by permitted use." * The new posted hours will state that the park is open from "6 a.m. to 10 p.m. in all lighted areas of the Park." On April 5, the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing and action to consider the request to add lights to and to expand the Ben Brenman Dog Park. Individuals unable to attend the community meeting are encouraged to send written comments to Dana Wedeles, Urban Planner III, by email at dana.wedels@alexandriava.gov  or standard mail to RPCA, Attn: Dana Wedeles, 1108 Jefferson St., Alexandria VA 22314. All comments received by March 31, 2016 will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for consideration.  The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the City's Human Rights Code and the American with Disabilities Act. To request a reasonable accommodation or to request materials in an alternative format, please call Jack Browand at 703.746.5504 (VA Relay 711) or e-mail jack.browand@alexandriava.gov.

  

Boots & Bling: A Western Fling Fundraiser for Alexandria's Kids

Annual fundraiser to help Alexandria's Kids continue to provide services to child abuse victims and vulnerable families in Alexandria, VA.  

When: February 25, 2016, 
Where: Blackwall Hitch Restaurant, on the waterfront, Old Town, Alexandria, VA 
When:  7-10pm. 

The event will include: 

• live music
• dinner (including a full taco bar!)
• open bar

along with a chance to win: 

• a week in Jackson Hole
• a weekend in Washington, VA, 
• a $2500 Neiman Marcus card, 
• and/or a signed Chip Esten (TV’s Nashville) guitar. 

Tickets can be purchased  at www.alexandriaskids.org

Volunteer Opportunities in Alexandria to Celebrate MLK Day of Service

Dr. King believed in a nation of freedom and justice for all, and encouraged all citizens to live up to the purpose and potential of America by applying the principles of nonviolence to make this country a better place to live—creating the Beloved Community. The MLK Day of Service is a way to transform Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and teachings into community action that helps solve social problems. On this day, Americans of every age and background celebrate Dr. King through service projects that strengthen communities, empower individuals, bridge barriers, and create solutions.


If you are interested in serving on January 18, 2016 to celebrate Dr. King’s memory and vision, please take a look at the opportunities in Alexandria below. You can sign up for these opportunities via the link provided.


MLK Family Volunteer Day hosted by Volunteer Alexandria
Join Volunteer Alexandria for a family volunteer day to celebrate MLK Day 2016! After the success of the Family Volunteer Day on November 21, we will be offering another opportunity for families to serve together. We will be completing the same projects as the Family Volunteer Day, including place mats for seniors, literacy games for an affordable preschool, and homemade dog toys for rescue dogs. 9:30-11:30 a.m. Families with children as young as 6 are welcome to volunteer! Sign up HERE http://handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CU000000dwFFA.


MLK Emergency Preparedness Project hosted by Volunteer Alexandria
Come and help us work together on Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Youth and seniors will come together to assemble emergency go kits at Community Lodgings. 9:30-11:30 a.m. Volunteers must be 18 and older. Sign up HERE http://handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CU000000dwWhD.


MLK Community Fitness/Childhood Hunger Awareness Program Volunteer hosted by the AlexandriCity of Alexandria DPRCA
We are looking for volunteers to assist in this community program where we will provide healthy snacks, fitness based activities and a variety of non contact games and activities for approximately 50 to 100 students. 10:30-2:30 p.m. Volunteers must be 18 and older. Sign up HERE http://handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CU000000dwMkn.


Annual MLK Community Summit hosted by The Morning Bishop Theater Playhouse, Inc.

The community is welcomed and encouraged to participate in the planned community service activities of first aid assemblage, baking cupcakes, creating greeting cards for the sick and shut in, sorting of donations and organizing materials. Volunteers are welcome anytime between 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Volunteers as young as 12 are welcome to volunteer with an adult present. Sign up HERE http://handsonconnect.volunteeralexandria.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0CU000000dwQuk. 

from Volunteer Alexandria  

ALIVE! Toy Drive

Please support a holiday toy drive for NEW or GENTLY USED TOYS for boys and girls in our community. 
Once again, this year I'm part of a group of Alexandria boys at Gonzaga College High School who are getting together to help ALIVE! stock their annual Christmas Toy Closet. 
Every year the ALIVE! toy closet enables families in need to select holiday gifts for their children. 
* Please donate NEW or GENTLY USED children's toys by December 11th. 
* Items may be dropped at 5 East Nelson Avenue (front porch) OR contact mjerakis@gmail.com to arrange a time for pick up.
Thank you!