Firefighters Distribute 2,500 Pairs of Shoes
Seeing is believing for Nicholas Chakos and his family, who made the drive from Pittsburgh to Alexandria to help provide 2,500 pair of shoes to children in need as part of the Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue coat and shoe distribution Oct. 28 at Penn Daw Fire Station 11.
It’s All Relative
“Three Sistahs” returns to MetroStage.
It’s the third funeral in as many years for Olive, Marsha and Irene, sisters brought together by tragedy in “Three Sistahs,” a poignant tale of family relationships now playing at MetroStage Theatre.
'Service Above Self'
Rotary Club contributes $90,000 to local nonprofits.
The Rotary Club of Alexandria, in partnership with the Alexandria Day Nursery and Children's Home, continued its decades-long tradition of awarding grants to local nonprofit organizations with the presentation of more than $90,000 to 32 organizations at the annual Contributions Day luncheon June 17 at Belle Haven Country Club.
WMP Concludes Season June 8
Lyceum Summer Music Series on tap.
Selections from Bela Bartok, Arthur Benjamin and George Gershwin will highlight the season finale performance of the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Sunday, June 8 at T.C. Williams High School.
A Hero's Welcome
Quadruple amputee defies the odds.
In the weeks leading up to the 2014 GI Film Festival, the buzz was all about actor and veterans advocate Gary Sinise appearing at the May 23 Salute to Hollywood Patriots night at the Old Town Theatre. But by the end of the evening, it was Army Staff Sergeant and quadruple amputee Travis Mills that left everyone starstruck.
2014 Athletes of the Year
GMU's Hewitt to keynote Sportsman's Club awards dinner May 29.
George Mason Men's Basketball head coach Paul Hewitt will be on hand as 27 of the city's best high school athletes are honored for their academic and athletic excellence at the 58th annual Alexandria Sportsman's Club Awards dinner May 29 at the Westin Carlyle Hotel.
Alexandria to Host GI Film Festival
Sinise, Arquette set to honor troops.
Gary Sinise, David Arquette and Adam Driver are just three of the celebrities who will be in attendance as the GI Film Festival heads to Alexandria May 19-25.
Protecting the Potomac
ASF program teaches community stewardship.
More than 300 students from T.C. Williams International Academy and Minnie Howard STEM Academy spent the morning of April 25 at the Alexandria Seaport Foundation participating in a hands-on program to celebrate community stewardship.
State of the Art
Organizations make 2014 a year to celebrate.
Now known as The Old Town Theatre, the historic venue on King Street leads a list of more than 16 arts organizations celebrating milestone anniversaries in 2014.
Hog Wild
Sweet Fire Donna's opens in Carlyle neighborhood.
BBQ fans lined up Feb. 27 to sample the fare at the opening of Sweet Fire Donna's, the latest offering from “Mango Mike” Anderson, Bill Blackburn and Anderson's wife Donna.
By George!
The questions were fast and furious as nearly 100 local Boy and Girl Scouts slated to march in Alexandria's Washington's Birthday Parade met with President George Washington (Alexandria re-creator Don De Haven) during a Feb. 16 reception at the Old Dominion Boat Club.
Obituary: Peter C. Williams
Peter Carrington Williams, a prominent attorney and director of community service projects for the Alexandria Rotary Club, died suddenly Feb. 13 while helping a neighbor clear snow from a driveway on Collingwood Road. He was 67.
Bank Makes Donation to Police Foundation
$6,500 raised for Fallen Officers Memorial.
Officials from John Marshall Bank gathered Jan. 30 to present a check for $6,500 to Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook and Police Foundation Chairman Willem Polak to go towards the building of a Fallen Officers Memorial at APD headquarters.
‘Ella’ has Scatitude
MetroStage production runs through March 16.
Based on the book by Lee Summers and conceived and directed by Broadway royalty Maurice Hines, “Ella” takes the audience on a musical journey through the celebrated singer’s life.
Chamber Salutes New Chairman
United Way's Haggerty takes the helm for 2014.
The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce officially welcomed United Way Worldwide Chief Operating Officer Joseph V. Haggerty as its 2014 Chairman of the Board at the Chairman's Community Reception Jan. 23.
Association of Retirees Elects Officers
Dutzman honored for 15 years of service.
More than 70 members and guests joined Police Chief Earl Cook and Fire Chief Adam Thiel in attending the annual Alexandria Retired Police, Fire and Sheriff's Association holiday celebration Dec. 12, where the 2014 officers were sworn in for the coming year.
Alexandria's New Book Shelf
DreamDog Foundation creates citywide literacy program.
Passionate about sharing the gift of reading, the DreamDog Foundation intends to get books into the hands of every child in need in the City of Alexandria through its new literacy program called Alexandria's Book Shelf.
Julie Crenshaw Van Fleet Dies at 61
Longtime Old Town resident Julie Crenshaw Van Fleet died Dec. 18, 2013 at her home in Alexandria.
Santa's Helpers
BFSPA makes holidays bright for area children.
BFSPA makes holidays bright for area children.
Firefighters and Friends collect more than 3,500 toys for area children.
Christmas came a few days early for more than 100 children from local Head Start programs as they picked out toys during the annual Firefighters and Friends to the Rescue toy drive Dec. 17 at Penn Daw Station 11.
Circle of Stars
USO honors top corporate donors.
The USO of Metropolitan Washington honored its top corporate sponsors Oct. 4 at the 10th Annual Stars and Stripes Night gala, naming 37 corporate donors to its 2013 Circle of the Stars.
Remembering Those Who Serve
First Lady marks Patriot Day at Fort Belvoir.
First Lady Michelle Obama marked the 12th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon with a visit to the new USO Warrior and Family Center at Fort Belvoir.
'Service Above Self'
Peter Knetemann is 86th Rotary Club president.
“Rotary … seems to attract a neat kind of person. Our members are looking beyond themselves and that's what sets us apart.”
Obituary: Claude 'Buzzie' Harris
Rotarian, former Little League commissioner dies at 81.
It was 1957 when Claude “Buzzie” Harris first laid eyes on Nancy Cooper at a party at George Washington University.
Signature revives classic Sondheim
For Bobby, the word marriage is actually a sentence — a jail sentence. A perpetual bachelor, he is turning 35 and surrounded by five married couples who all have an opinion about his lifestyle in the Stephen Sondheim musical “Company,” now playing at Signature Theatre.
Gaining a NICHE
Designation spotlights Inova Mount Vernon Hospital’s elder care.
Inova Mount Vernon Hospital recently earned the designation of being a NICHE hospital. NICHE, which stands for Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders, is the only national designation indicating a hospital's commitment to elder care excellence. Inova Mount Vernon Hospital is one of the first hospitals to receive the NICHE designation in Fairfax County.
MetroStage Garners 7 Helen Hayes Nominations.
Griffin named a “Helen’s Star.”
Theatre Washington has announced the nominations for the 2013 Helen Hayes Awards with Alexandria’s MetroStage Theater among the 25 theatre companies nominated in 26 categories.
For Those Who Serve
World's largest USO facility opens at Fort Belvoir.
Less than two years ago, it was just an overgrown lot in the shadows of Fort Belvoir Community Hospital. But on Feb. 5, the world's largest USO facility welcomed the community with a grand opening celebration of the new USO Warrior and Family Center.
Helping Nation’s Heroes
Inside the new USO Warrior and Family Center.
Growing up in Richmond, Staff Sergeant Charles Eggleston never imagined what awaited him when two improvised explosive devices detonated next to his vehicle in Mosul, Iraq in 2006. The Cornell University computer science graduate was severely injured, his spine nearly severed and his face badly scarred as part of his mission during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
A Lullaby to Birdland
MetroStage premieres “Ladies Swing the Blues.”
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee. Their voices defined the history of jazz alongside the likes of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. But it is the indomitable influence of Charlie “Bird” Parker that sets the stage for “Ladies Swing the Blues: A Jazz Fable,” now playing at MetroStage.
Working Together on Toy Drive
Occasionally Cake partners with Firefighters and Friends Toy Drive.
When Sabrina Campbell volunteered to help put together a tribute to local police and firefighters, she had no idea the event would lead to a chance meeting with Capt. Willie Bailey, founder of the Firefighters and Friends Holiday Toy Drive.
Charities Win at Half Marathon
Ndereba, Johnson win 13.1-mile race.
Dreary skies couldn't dampen the spirits of more than 3,000 runners who took to the streets of Virginia and Maryland Oct. 7 in the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon, won by Kenyan Samuel Ndereba in 65 minutes and 15 seconds with American Kellyn Johnson leading the women in 1:13:24.
Shear Fun
2nd Annual Cuts for Kids Day
More than 90 students from throughout the area were treated to free back-to-school haircuts thanks to Alexandria and Fairfax County firefighters who sponsored the second annual Cuts for Kids Day Aug. 27 at the Gum Springs Recreation Center.
‘Best Little Whorehouse in Texas’ at Signature Theatre
It was known as The Chicken Ranch, a century-old “business” in La Grange, Texas, that earned its nickname for accepting chickens as payment for services rendered.
$30,000 to Community Lodgings
Walmart funds after-school programs for teens.
No sooner had Community Lodgings Executive Director Bonnie Baxley been presented a check for $30,000 from Walmart store manager William Hunsucker, she asked for more. “Do you have any tents?” she queried.
Over the Edge
Rappellers raise $60,000 for Special Olympics.
Rose Pleskow is not one to shy away from a challenge. The 23-year-old Reston resident competed in the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece, last summer, earned multiple medals in the 2012 Virginia Special Olympic Summer Games and recently competed in an 800-meter race in the waters around the Cayman Islands.
WWII Veteran Honors Fellow Comrades on Memorial Day
He moves throughout the cemetery, stopping to pause and remember the men he has come to see before placing a flag at their grave and moving on to the next. For World War II veteran Warden Foley, this Memorial Day ritual began nearly half a century ago as a labor of love and respect for his fellow veterans.
Strike Up the Band!
'Music Man' Dazzles at Arena Stage
Move over Robert Preston. There's a new band leader taking River City by storm in Meredith Willson's “The Music Man,” playing now at Arena Stage.
'Xanadu' Is Zany Spoof of the 1980s
Signature's production should not be missed.
Don't bother telling “Xanadu” that's it's based on one of the worst movies of all time. It's already in on the joke, reinventing itself as an outlandishly zany spoof of the 1980 movie about a muse descended on skates from Mount Olympus to inspire the creation of a roller disco in Venice, Calif.
LTA Cast Bids Adieu to “Witness for the Prosecution”
More than a few tears were shed as The Little Theatre of Alexandria continued its long tradition of hosting a closing night wrap party following the final performance of “Witness for the Prosecution.”
Don't Miss 'Lonely Planet' at MetroStage
Poignant AIDS play never mentions the word.
Like the American city where Steven Dietz's “Lonely Planet” takes place, the disease paralyzing the gay community with fear remains unnamed in the powerful and moving production of the award-winning work now playing at MetroStage in Alexandria.
2012 Athletes of the Year
Tim Hightower to keynote Sportsman's Club awards dinner May 15.
Washington Redskins running back Tim Hightower will be on hand as 25 of the city's best high school athletes are honored for their academic and athletic excellence at the 56th annual Alexandria Sportsman's Club Awards dinner May 15 at the Westin Carlyle Hotel.
Got Food?
Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive set for May 12.
The nation's largest single-day food drive will take place on Saturday, May 12, when postal workers in Alexandria will join others across the country in the 20th annual Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive.
Face of America Ride Honors Disabled Veterans
They came from across the country, gathering before dawn in the shadow of the Pentagon to begin a two-day journey to honor the sacrifices of America's wounded warriors and gain a better understanding of people with disabilities.
'Witness for the Prosecution' Opens at LTA
It's 1954 and Leonard Vole stands accused of the murder of a rich elderly woman whom he befriended. His wife's testimony could save him until she suddenly becomes a “Witness for the Prosecution” in the Agatha Christie thriller now playing at The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
'God of Carnage' at Signature Theatre
It begins innocently enough: Two New York couples oozing affected politeness meet to discuss a playground scuffle between their sons. Painstakingly attentive to social niceties, they hope to talk things over in a calm, mature and rational way.
And Then there Was One
'Someone Who'll Watch Over Me' opens at Port City Playhouse.
It's been more than a quarter of a century since Irishman Brian Keenan, Englishman John McCarthy and American Terry Anderson were taken hostage in Beirut and held in a series of desolate cells throughout the city. Keenan was released after more than four years in captivity and went on to pen “An Evil Cradling,” a chilling account of his experience.
Applause in the Form of $1,500
First Night donates to school music programs.
First Night Alexandria's board of directors voted unanimously April 19 to make monetary contributions to the music programs at T.C. Williams High School and George Washington and Francis Hammond Middle Schools.
Chamber to Honor First Responders with Valor Awards April 26
There was no time for careful deliberation. The water was swiftly rising as an elderly driver was trapped inside a submerged vehicle at the intersection of Edsall Road and Winter View Drive during the flash flooding that devastated the region on Sept. 8, 2011. Unequipped for swift water rescue, Lt. Patrick Lyon and firefighters Michael Chandler, Louis Simpson and Joseph Porcelli from Ladder Truck 208 quickly assessed the situation.
Baseball Legend Frank Howard Visits Sportsman's Club
He took the field with the likes of Carl Furillo, Gil Hodges, Pee Wee Reese and Ray Campanella. But Frank Howard didn't just play with baseball's finest, he was one of them, winning National League Rookie of the Year honors in 1960 and appearing in four All Star games for the American League from 1968 to 1971. On April 17, the former Washington Senator and Los Angeles Dodger spoke at the Alexandria Sportsman's Club and recounted some of the most memorable moments of his career.