ARLive Network with Newsmakers party

ARLnow is a great Arlington news blog that turns four years old today. The website started out small in 2010 and now has grown to hundreds of thousands of readers and lots of timely links to local events content. It's an excellent local news source that I use frequently to keep pace with upcoming events.

On Tuesday February 11, ARLnow is throwing a party to bring together Arlington residents, businesses and officials to "meet the people behind the headlines." This ARLive party goes from 5:30 to 8pm in Crystal City on the 10th floor of 2011 Crystal Drive.Tickets are $25 available here and the event includes a DJ, hors d’oeuvres by Jaleo, wine by the Crystal City Wine Shop.

1K Beer Walk in Crystal City

Harpoon beer at the first Beer Walk in 2012
(they used left over wine glasses from
the wine walk the weekend before)

This weekend Crystal City mall is hosting the second annual 1k Beer Walk. The race themed beer tasting is Saturday January 26th and Sunday January 27th, 2013. The entire race in indoors, so you can use this as an excuse to escape the cold and show.

Tickets cost $35 for Sat and $30 on Sunday. Sample 20 of the close to 50 beers they will be pouring and end at a giant dance party. Pick a heat every half an hour from 1 to 5pm, but sign up soon as time slots are selling out.

Beer & Wine Walks in Crystal City

Later this month, Crystal City will host their now annual 1K Wine Walk on Jan 14 and 15th. The walk runs from 2-7pm each day and gives walkers 30 different wines to taste through the indoor course at Crystal City Shops. Tickets are $40 here.

The next weekend, the same location will debut the first 1K Beer Walk. The tickets for this Jan 21 & 22nd event are slightly cheaper at $35 each.

1K Wine Walk in Crystal City

The 1K Wine Walk this weekend is a tasting tour through the interior walkways of Crystal City featuring 30-40 wines at different ‘hydration stations’ along the course. This quirky event will be perfect for a cool February weekend, and offers a great chance for participants to take in the Foto Week finalists as they cruise through the course.

Date: February 26th  & 27th, 2011 from 2 - 6 pm
Tickets: $30

Thanks to Abbey and Laura for the tips and image!

Arlington #1 in Walkability

According to Walk Score, Arlington is the most walkable city in Virginia, barely beating out Alexandria. Clarendon is one of the most walkable sections of Arlington, getting about an 90 out of 100 score. This is no surprise to the residents here, as those who either live in the apartment high rises or flanking single family homes are within an easy walk to dozens of restaurants and bars, a Whole Foods, many high end stores, two Starbucks' and one anti-Starbucks.

Crystal City also ranked well this pedestrian-friendly competition, as our blue line cousin got very high marks. Thanks to Under One Roof for the tip, check out their blog post for more details.

Bozzelli's in Crystal City opens

The Springfield Italian deli Bozzelli's recently opened a new location much closer to Clarendon in Crystal City. Since they just opened last week, they have a limited menu that does not include their pizzas or all sandwiches. The small to-go only storefront flanks the entrance to new Concord luxury apartment building, and is sure to be come a favorite quick dining option for future residents.

Bozzelli's son was manning the register, and was good enough to honor my Groupon for $15 off the meal even though they aren't 100% operational yet. I had the steak and cheese, which was delicious. Some people think the white bread is bland, but I liked it. The steak cut fries are seasoned just write, but needed to be heated up by the time I started eating.

Parking is tight on the street, but there is a paid garage directly next to the restaurant. Its a steep $5, but you may be able to get it validated and waived by the restaurant.

Crystal City Outdoor Film Festival: Star Trek

Join me at tonight's outdoor movie showing of Star Trek: First Contact in Crystal City! It seems like we've gotten a slight break from the heat wave after the storm, so this seems like a great activity to take advantage of the outdoors.

This is a summer long event happening every Monday at sundown until August 16. This year's theme is Star Trek and every week is a different movie, each in chronological order.

Tonight features an extra special people watching event: a Star Trek Costume Contest!

September 11 5k Memorial Run @ Crystal City

The 9-11 Memorial 5k race went on tonight in Crystal City without a hitch thanks to almost perfect weather. The race was heavily participated in with Army Navy Drive near the Pentagon being packed with both runners and supporters.

Additional entertainment was provided in the form of a high school dance team, Redskin cheerleaders, and live music. Free pizza, hot dogs, water and beer was also provided to runners after the race!

Congrats and thanks to all the runners!

Metro Stations Closed for Labor Day Weekend

Stupid Metro.

WMATA has decided to close three stations this Labor Day weekend, starting Friday night and lasting until Tuesday morning. The stations shutting down are:

• Pentagon City
• Crystal City
• Reagan National Airport

Don't they realize the 9-11 Memorial 5k race is this Saturday in Crystal City, and many participants were planning on using the trains for it?

Oh, and Metro didn't bother to tell us about this until Sept 1st, so it will throw a wrench into all those people who were planning on using the train to get out of the airport.

Drag Queen Bingo @ Freddie's

Many local venues have a regular Wednesday night activity or deal to attract the weekday crowd. Several places have half price burgers or happy hour deals. Iota has open mic. RiRa has comedy standup. And now I've learned that Freddie's in Crystal City has ... Drag Queen Bingo?

Its definitely a break from the ordinary in Arlington, with Freddie's being a beach themed and LGBT friendly bar. It's a fun and laugh filled night with bingo hostess like Ofelia Bottoms reading the numbers.

The best part is when two people get bingo simultaneously, and Ofelia makes the crowd judge the winner as they "lip sync for their lives!"

The free bingo games start at 8pm and the night also features half price burgers.

Air Force Cycling Classic @ Crystal City

This morning was the second part of the Air Force cycling race in Arlington. The 60 mile race around Crystal City occurred on an almost perfect day despite some early thunder showers, but should have been better organized.

Racers afterward complained of poor planning and that the organizers of the race were not clear about cut off times. The race was scheduled to start at 7:30, but bikers were not able to actually clear the start line until 7:46 due to the announcers talking on stage. And that 16 minute delay was not added on to the 10:30 cut off time, so many racers who were going to finish the race with a "gold medal" (which you get for completing all 8 laps on time) were stopped early. But the race it self was very rewarding for contestants of all ages and ability.