Testicle Festival Returns to Va. Square
(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Exotic food lovers should enjoy an event taking place at the Arlington American Legion (3445 N. Washington Blvd) in Virginia Square on Saturday, May 19. The Montana State Society’s Eighth Annual Testicle Festival, dubbed “Legends of the Ball,” will be testing visitors’ gag reflexes.
The event lets attendees sample unlimited amounts of bull testicles, also called Rocky Mountain oysters. Like last year, there will be all-you-can-drink beer and Crown Royal to wash it down.
In a press release, organizers touted the event as a “unique western tradition.”
“While in D.C. people celebrate spring by posting pictures of cherry blossoms on Facebook, Montanans have a pretty unique tradition of our own,” said Montana State Society President Jed Link. ”Spring is calving season out West, and that means something special in the pot come chow time.”
There will be live country music at the festival, which runs from 6:00-10:00 p.m. The first 200 people to arrive will also get a commemorative t-shirt.
Tickets can be purchased online for $25, or at the door for $30. Attendees must be at least 21.
‘Protein Bar’ Coming Soon to Ballston
A restaurant putting its attention on healthy food will be coming to Ballston. The Chicago chain Protein Bar is branching out and planning locations in Arlington and D.C.
Signs are up on the ground floor of the building under construction at 800 N. Glebe Road, but there’s not much visible progress on the site yet.
Protein Bar’s website says the mission is to “provide active, on-the-go people with healthy, flavorful choices while having a positive impact on everyone we meet and in everything we do.”
The strong focus on health comes through on the menu, where nutritional information for each dish is clearly listed. Everything on the menu is less than 600 calories.
Many of the dishes include quinoa instead of rice, such as the restaurant’s signature “Bar-ritos,” which are also made with low calorie wheat wraps. Protein Bar claims the quinoa makes their burritos have half the calories of most others. There are also salads, chilis and blended drinks.
On its website, Protein Bar says it expects to open in Ballston “later in the summer.”
Election Year Theme for Rosslyn Outdoor Movies
Rosslyn has picked a theme for its series of outdoor summer movies, and political buffs are going to love it. The movies will all relate to the theme “Friday Night is Election Night.”
All of the movies involve the American presidency or elections, featuring films like Wag the Dog, The American President and All the President’s Men. They will be shown at dusk every Friday night from June 8 through August 24 at Gateway Park (1300 Lee Highway).
The movies will play rain or shine, but may have to be cancelled in the event of storms.
Blankets, low chairs and picnics are welcome during the free showings, but alcohol is not, per local law. The full schedule is as follows:
- Election — June 8
- Primary Colors — June 15
- My Fellow Americans — June 22
- Dick — June 29
- The American President — July 6
- All the President’s Men — July 13
- Dave — July 20
- Swing Vote — July 27
- Head of State — August 3
- Man of the Year — August 10
- Wag the Dog — August 17
- Canadian Bacon — August 24
District Taco to Open D.C. Restaurant Tomorrow
District Taco is planning to open its new brick-and-mortar restaurant in the District tomorrow.
Founder Osiris Hoil tells ARLnow.com that the new location, at 1309 F Street NW near Metro Center, will open to the public on Friday. Hoil, who launched the District Taco cart in 2009 after being laid off from a construction job, called new restaurant “my American dream” on Twitter.
The D.C. eatery is District Taco’s second location. Hoil opened the original restaurant, at 5723 Lee Highway in Arlington, in November 2010.
Hoil says El Toro — the District Taco cart that parks in various parts of Arlington during the week — will be out of service for a “couple weeks” to allow the company to focus on training staff and getting the new restaurant off the ground.
Photo via Twitter
Former ACPD Officer Featured in Rockwell Painting Dies
A former Arlington County Police officer who gained much recognition for being depicted in a famous Norman Rockwell painting has passed away.
Richard Clemens was born in New York City and spent much of his career as a Massachusetts state trooper. Rockwell, who was Clemens’ neighbor, asked the trooper to pose for the 1958 painting with an 8-year-old boy. It shows an officer counseling a young boy who wants to leave home, and was featured on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post. It’s a well known painting in the law enforcement community, and can often be found in police stations across the country.
Before moving to Massachusetts, Clemens was a police officer in Arlington from July 1952 through August 1953. Records show his address as having been in the Long Branch Creek neighborhood.
Clemens retired from the Massachusetts State Police as a detective. He accrued awards throughout his career, including one for outstanding police service.
Most recently, Clemens lived in New York state. That’s where his funeral will be held tomorrow.
Water Pollution Control Bureau Apologizes for Smell
Managers at the county’s Water Pollution Control Plant are apologizing for a stinky situation on Sunday.
Excessive odors were released from the sewage plant on S. Glebe Road due to an overripe load of “biosolids.” A letter to residents from the Water Pollution Control Bureau explains what went wrong:
On May 6, 2012, odors were released by the Water Pollution Control Plant. We apologize for this inconvenience and have investigated the issue. Due to coordination issues with truck ordering, timely truck delivery, and work in the dewatering building loading bays, a load of biosolids remained in a bin for several days. This overloaded the odor control system and resulted in odors being released.
Plant management has updated the procedures concerning truck ordering and coordination, loading times and procedures, and equipment monitoring to minimize the probability of a recurrence.
Significant progress has been made in the past two years with respect to addressing odor control at the plant. Staff continue to work to prevent/minimize odor releases and plant impact on local quality of life while maintaining viable plant operations.
Photo via Arlington County Department of Environmental Service.
Moran Applauds President’s Support of Gay Marriage
President Obama made waves yesterday when he did and about-face and stated his support for gay marriage. He’s the first president to make such a declaration.
He made the comment in an ABC News exclusive, after having said for years he only supports civil unions and not same sex marriages.
“I’ve been going through an evolution on this issue,” President Obama said. “As I talked to friends and family and neighbors… at a certain point I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”
The president said he believes the issue should continue to be worked out on the local level, in individual states.
On the local level in Arlington, Rep. Jim Moran (D) is voicing his support of Mr. Obama’s announcement. He notes his record of actions to prevent discrimination, such as being a member of the LGBT Equality Caucus, voting against the Defense of Marriage Act when it passed in Congress in 1996 and working to overturn the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy.
Here’s the statement he issued on the matter:
“President Obama’s comments today reflect the views of a growing number of Americans across the country. I welcome the President’s words, and those of members of his Administration, for their outspoken support for marriage equality.
“Marriage equality is an issue of basic fairness. The Declaration of Independence clearly states that “all men are created equal” and that everyone has a right to “the pursuit of happiness” – principles that surely cannot be achieved without the ability to marry the person you love. Religious institutions have the right to define and sanction marriages in keeping with their religions’ faith. But the federal government has no place in determining which types of state-sanctioned marriages to recognize.
“The President’s comments today represent an important turning point in the fight to end discrimination. President Obama has become the first sitting President to take this position, and he deserves credit for arriving at this decision. Much work remains to achieve the goal of true equality for all citizens. I will continue my efforts to ensure that all Americans, regardless of age, race, gender and sexual orientation, are afforded equal rights and protection.”
