Whether you live in Arlington, Virginia or are thinking of moving here this site is for you. Presented by Elizabeth Bouchard, Arlington native and longtime real estate professional.
Whole Foods Market in Arlington is offering a variety of free cooking classes including “Curried Lamb with Pan Roasted Chick Peas” on Tuesday, January 19th at 7 PM, “I Can Cook Vegetarian” on Tuesday, January 25th at 7 and “Cooking Classes for Kids” on Saturday, January 29th at 10:30 and 11:30 depending on age group.
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/.
If your New Year’s Resolutions call for working out more, but you don’t want to spend the money to join a private gym, Arlington has its own fitness centers where you can work out for very reasonable fees. A one year membership for an Arlington adult is $195 which allows you to workout at Barcroft Sport & Fitness Center or any one of eight community centers. Discounted memberships are available for students, seniors and teachers. Click this link for the locations and more details.
(This information is courtesy of the Arlington County website)Christmas Tree Collection is typically held the first two weeks in January on your regular refuse day. Since trees will be ground into wood mulch, please remove the tree stand, lights, and decorations. Please do not place the tree in a plastic bag.
During the first two full weeks in January, Christmas trees are collected curbside for residents with curbside refuse and recycling service. Residents are reminded to place the tree on the curb no later than 6 a.m. on your regular trash collection day and to remove all decorations, nails, stands, and plastic bags. After the trees are collected, they will be ground into wood mulch for garden use. Special unbundled brush or metal pickups will be suspended during this time.
After the second full week of January, holiday trees will not be recycled, but will be collected as trash on your regular trash collection day. After that date, residents may also resume making requests for special curbside pickup of unbundled brush and metal by telephoning the Department of Environmental Services at 703-228-6570 (703-228-4611 TTY) the day before regular collection from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., weekdays.
Residents that do not have curbside recycling service, such as those living in townhouses, apartments, or condominiums, may also bring their Christmas trees to the Solid Waste Bureau during the Christmas tree collection season. Please call 703-228-5000 to schedule an appointment between 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Solid Waste Bureau is located at the Arlington Trades Center in Shirlington. Residents will need to show proof of residence in Arlington, such as a driver’s license. Trees may also be dropped off the first Saturday of each month at the Trades Center without an appointment. Please call 703-228-5000 to make an appointment or for additional information.
Members of the Northern Virginia Bird Club hold informal walks through Arlington parks and other nearby areas in search of wintering birds. Bring binoculars and field guides. Registration is required but the events are free and open to both experienced and beginning birders. Click this link for more details.
Crumbs Bake Shop just opened its doors today, December 30th, at 2839 Clarendon Boulevard (Market Common). They are open daily beginning at 7am M-F and 9am Saturday and Sunday. According to their website, this bake shop which originated in Manhattan, offers “an irresistable blend of comfort-oriented classics and elegant baked goods, but the specialty of the house is the Crumbs Signature size cupcakes! With our more than 50 varieties baked fresh daily and a new cupcake of the week every Monday, each Crumbs Bake Shop is an oasis of wall to wall deliciousness.” They offer both signature size and taste size cupcakes as well as cakes and cookies. Their cupcake of the month? Peppermint Hot Cocoa.
NOTE: Crumbs is now closed.
