Video: Senior Citizen Flash Mob at the County Fair
A large group of senior citizens, organized by the Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation’s Office of Senior Adult Programs, participated in a “flash mob” at the Arlington County Fair this afternoon.
The seniors — who were later joined by fair-goers during a reprise — performed a choreographed dance to the Black Eyed Peas song “I Gotta Feeling.”
A video of the performance, and an interview with dance leader, choreographer and Ms. Senior Virginia 2012 Kathy Fanelli, is below.
Organizers Kick ‘Senior Village’ Development Into High Gear
Civic association leaders, with an assist from the county’s Wisdom Works group, are hoping to establish a county-wide “Senior Village” to help Arlington’s sizeable population of seniors remain independent and in their own homes.
The project is based on a concept that has taken root in a number of communities across the country. A network of volunteers band together to provide services to older residents who wish to remain in their neighborhoods and out of retirement homes or senior living communities.
Services can include daily check-ins, home maintenance, social events or tasks as minor as help opening email or a ride to the supermarket.
“As people get older, there are some things they just can’t do,” said Pete Olivere, a longtime Glencarlyn Citizens Association member who last October started talking to other neighborhood groups about forming an Arlington village. “We wanted to build on the very active civic association type bases that Arlington has and use those as building blocks toward delivering volunteers.”
There are about 25,000 over-60 residents in Arlington, reflective of the expected nationwide surge in the senior population as members of the “baby boomer” generation age into retirement.
Wisdom Works, organized by the county’s community engagement program, came up with much of the design of the village, which Olivere said is likely a year or two away from launching. The group will be promoting the concept and looking for volunteers today (Friday) through Sunday at the Arlington County Fair.
A Wisdom Works “project team” of mostly retired residents came up with a hub-and-spoke model for the village, with volunteers assigned to senior residents in, or close to, their own neighborhoods.
The team also deals with non-senior issues. Program Manager Barbara Karro said they’ll likely take on childhood obesity soon.
“We were able to go county-wide, and that enabled Pete to have a group outside of a civic organization to work with,” Karro said. “Particularly in Arlington, we have just an amazing resource in terms of their skills and lifetime experience. As this group of seniors gets larger, that would be a shame to waste.”
The hub would provide record-keeping and liability insurance (a major hurdle to some village set-ups) for volunteers. Villages come in a variety of forms. Some are funded by private donations. Others require monthly membership fees.
The Arlington senior village, which will be set up as a nonprofit agency independent of the county, will require “a modest membership fee.”
Olivere, 64, said the group has about 30 willing volunteers after a couple of presentations to civic and senior groups. He hopes the fair will open up the concept to more.
“A lot of these things foster a neighbor helping neighbor type environment, just to make sure an older person isn’t struggling” Olivere said. “These are things that can make a difference.”
Petco Store Coming to Pentagon Row
An Unleashed by Petco store will be replacing the former Hallmark store at Pentagon Row (1101 S. Joyce Street), the shopping center confirmed on its Facebook page today.
ARLnow.com reported in June that the Hallmark store was closing on July 29 and that employees were telling customers that it would be replaced by a Petco store. At the time, a Petco representative was unable to confirm that report.
Unleashed by Petco is a “boutique” version of the pet retailer’s large-format stores. Arlington’s first Unleashed store opened on Lee Highway last May.
No word on an exact opening date, but Pentagon Row says the new Unleashed store will be holding a grand opening at some point this fall.
Your Beermonger: Fall Already?
Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)
Every year around this time, I get the same comments from folks when they see the early arrivals of Oktoberfests, Pumpkin Ales, and other fall seasonal beers: “Already?”; “Isn’t it a bit soon?”; “Shouldn’t those Oktoberfestbiers be available in, like, October?” For the record, the answers to those are “Yes”, “Probably”, and “No, since the Oktoberfest starts in late September (the 22nd of September this year, by the way)”.
Season changes are always awkward times of the year for me, as the demand for outgoing specialty beers clashes with the need to be up-to-date with my inventory for those looking for the newest arrivals. Of all the season changes, the transition from summer to autumn is by far the most difficult to handle.
We’ve talked about the intense competition for the consumer dollar that drives breweries to release seasonal and specialty beers earlier than expected. I’m not sure there is a seasonal beer segment more competitive than Oktoberfest beers; there’s a built-in audience and a specific date and event to associate the beer with. If you make a great Oktoberfest it can drive the growth of your brewery like few other styles can. Even if you only make an okay Oktoberfest, you’re still likely to sell a fair amount of it, and for some breweries that can be the difference between expansion or failure. All of that is to say that I understand the early releases of fall seasonals (especially Oktoberfestbiers) and try not to shake my head too much when some pop up sooner than expected.
To bring you behind the curtain a bit, here’s how it usually goes for me this time of the year: On August 1st of every year I wait for the phone calls and emails telling me which fall beers are arriving and ready to go. I expect this and think it’s an appropriate if seemingly early date to start working on bringing them in. The usual suspects are the first to pop up — Hofbrau, Paulaner, Weihenstephaner, etc., along with a handful of Harvest Ales (notables this year include Southern Tier’s Harvest Ale and New Belgium Red Hoptober). Over the next few weeks more will roll out; Pumpkin Ales will tend to run a little later with many coming in as we get into September and various Oktoberfest and fall releases will be scattered over the next couple of months.
There are always outliers of course. The big one this year seems to be Harvest Moon Pumpkin Ale, made by MillerCoors under their Blue Moon label. I heard reports of this hitting shelves as early as three weeks ago, which is the kind of corporate marketing leverage move we should expect yet it still surprised me to see them roll out so early. The aforementioned Southern Tier Harvest Ale arriving a week ago wasn’t expected, but I’m hoping that means we see more of it over the course of the next few weeks as it’s a favorite of mine. After the popular first-year performance of their Oktoberfest and the continued growth of their Pumpkin Ale here, expect to see Schlafly seasonals in sooner rather than later.
Open Houses in Arlington This Weekend
Home shoppers will have plenty to choose from in Arlington this weekend, with some 30 open houses scheduled around the county.
See our real estate section for a full listing of open houses. Here are some highlights:
3118 17th Street North
Single Family Detached – 4 Bed / 6 Bath
Listed: $1,629,000
Agent: Ruth Boyer
Open: Sunday, Aug. 12 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
4304 37th Road North
Single Family Detached — 5 Bed / 5 Bath
Listed: $1,545,000
Agent: Diane Lewis
Open: Sunday, Aug. 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
2215 Greenbrier Street North
Single Family Detached — 5 Bed / 5 Bath
Listed: $1,329,000
Agent: Florann Audia
Open: Sunday, Aug. 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
2413 Vernon Street North
Single Family Detached — 3 Bed / 2 Bath
Listed: $729,900
Agent: David Lloyd
Open: Sunday, Aug. 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
1949 George Mason Drive South
Townhouse — 4 Bed / 4 Bath
Listed: $549,500
Agent: Richard Urban
Open: Sunday, Aug. 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
2113 Quebec Street South
Single Family Detached — 3 Bed / 2 Bath
Listed: $415,000
Agent: Julie Hall
Open: Sunday, Aug. 12 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Local Media Stars Coming to Clarendon for ‘Junkies’ Sundress Party
The Sports Junkies will be hosting their 5th annual Sundress Party at Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Blvd) tonight, and a number of local TV and radio personalities are expected to attend.
Doors at the Ballroom open at 5:00 p.m. and the event, which is free and open to the public, kicks off at 7:00 p.m. Ladies are encouraged to “get dressed in summer’s finest” and enter for chances to win prizes like gift cards to Victoria’s Secret, Nordstrom’s, Coach, and MAC cosmetics.
In addition to the Junkies themselves — Cakes, E.B., Lurch and J.P. — a number of local media personalities are expected to attend, including Angie Goff and Eun Yang from NBC 4; Bri Carter, Britt McHenry (pictured, with E.B.) and Jummy Olabanji from ABC 7; and Tommy McFly and Kelli Collis from Fresh 94.7 FM.
There will be a cover to enter the Ballroom after 10:00 p.m. Last year the Sundress Party was held at the Georgetown Waterfront.
The Junkies are on the air weekdays from 5:00 to 10:00 a.m. on WJFK 106.7 FM “The Fan.”
Photo courtesy CBS Radio
Morning Poll: Where Did You Go to the Beach This Summer?
Kids are getting ready to go back to school and the Redskins just played a preseason football game. That can only mean one thing: summer is starting to wind down.
Labor Day may be only three weeks away, but don’t fret yet: the 10-day forecast is currently calling for six 90 degree days.
In the interest warm and sunny thoughts, let’s take a moment to reflect on where Arlington residents went (or are going) to the beach this summer. Which of the following popular beach destinations were on your travel agenda this summer?
Morning Notes
County Fair Moves on From Embezzlement Case — All seems to be going well with the Arlington County Fair (photos, above) this year, despite the arrest and subsequent guilty plea of the fair’s now-former event manager on embezzlement charges several months ago. [Falls Church News-Press]
Rumsfeld to Attend Murray Fundraiser — Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is slated to be the special guest at a private fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Patrick Murray next month. Murray is a retired U.S. Army colonel. [Patrick Murray for Congress]
Bike Trip Planner Released — Those wanting to plan bike trips around Arlington and D.C. can now do so via a new online bike routing tool. BikeArlington contributed knowledge of local bike routes to the free tool, which was developed by the nonprofit group OpenPlans. [Mobility Lab]
