Elizabeth, Author at All Around Arlington

#280 – Pay Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 13, 2011 by Elizabeth

UPDATE: This was a date specific event, but search the Arlington County website for MLK Tributes and Days of Service for the current year.

Monday, January 17th, 2011 is a Federal holiday to celebrate Martin Luther King’s Birthday and Arlington will once again pay tribute in several ways. On Sunday, January 16, 2011 from 7-9PM the 42nd Annual Tribute Celebration will be held at the Thomas Jefferson Community Center Auditorium. Horace Holmes from ABC7/WJLA-TV will be the Master of Ceremonies for the tribute which will also feature Keynote Speaker Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, activist and friend of Dr. King, the World Childrens’ Choir and the Washington-Lee Jazz Band.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?'” Each year, Americans across the country come together on the King Holiday to serve their neighbors and communities in what has been proclaimed a national “Day of Service”.

Hold your own service project or join in with Arlington’s AmeriCorps team who will be holding a neighborhood & stream cleanup from 10 am to noon on . Monday, January 17, 10:00 a.m. to noon. Volunteers will meet at Arlington Mill Community Center, 4975 Columbia Pike to clean up a section of Columbia Pike and Four Mile Run stream and keep trash out of Arlington County’s largest stream watershed. Please register at volunteer@arlingtonenvironment.org or 703-228-6406.

Also on Monday, January 17, from 1 – 4 pm volunteers are needed to help AmeriCorps at Gulf Branch Nature Center, 3608 Military Rd, to remove invasive plants that are smothering our forest floor and strangling trees. They suggest you dress warmly, wear clothes that can get dirty, and bring work or gardening gloves and clippers if you have them. Call Gulf Branch at 703-228-3403 for more information.

Each of us can contribute to strengthening our own communities by serving in Dr. King’s honor on the King Holiday and throughout the year. The King Center website says that “King Day is a time for realizing that each of us has the power to help alleviate poverty, build community and foster peace through nonviolence, if only we have the courage and commitment to work for it.”

If you’re interested in finding other service project in this area or registering one of your own, visit http://mlkday.gov/.

#279 – Train for Ten and Help AMEN

January 12, 2011 by Elizabeth

GW Parkway Classic Alexandria VA — Photo courtesy of Pacers

NOTE: This event was in the past and does not appear to be re-occurring.

Join Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs for a 3 Month Training Program and get ready to run in the GWParkway Classic Ten Miler and 5K on April 10th. Info session will be January 12th at 7pm at First Presbyterian Church in Arlington. Training Runs will be held on Saturdays at 9 a.m. from January 22- April 2, 2011. Experienced and beginning runners are welcome.

#278 – Attend a Joint Choral Concert at W-L

January 11, 2011 by Elizabeth

The Washington-Lee High School choral department will be hosting a Pyramid Concert for students in grades 4-8 at elementary and middle schools that feed into W-L performing along with the W-L students. The concert will be held on Thursday, January 13th, 2011 at 7 PM in the W-L auditorium. Yorktown High School will be performing a similar concert in May 2011.

Reminder for School Holidays

January 10, 2011 by Elizabeth

This weekend, all Arlington County public school students will get a four day weekend because Monday, January 17th, 2011 is Martin Luther King’s birthday and Tuesday, January 18th is a teacher work day.

#277 – Come to Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub

January 10, 2011 by Elizabeth

Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub is Shirlington Village’s newest restaurant. “A true taste of Ireland in the heart of Arlington”, they just opened Saturday January 8th, 2011 and will be having a limited menu for the first week (serving from 3PM to 1 am) with a full menu including lunch and brunch and opening at 11:30 beginning Monday, January 17th.

#276 – Go Shopping at Ski Chalet

January 9, 2011 by Elizabeth

Stefdog skiing in Aspen, Colorado, 2008. — Image via Wikipedia

Planning a weekend getaway to one of the ski slopes nearby? Or a Spring Break trip to Colorado? The Ski Chalet on Columbia Pike has been open since 1969 and sells ski and snowboard equipment and apparel year round. According to their website, Ski Chalet was awarded Gold Medal Ski Shop by Ski Magazine seven years in a row and it has been honored as ‘Retailer of the Year’ three times by Snow Sports Industries of America (SIA).

Author’s Note: The Ski Chalet location on Columbia Pike is now closed but the store has re-opened in a new location as Sun & Ski Sports just outside of Arlington at Seven Corners Shopping Center.