(Updated at 1:55 p.m.) Between now and New Year’s Eve, as in years past, ARLnow will be counting down the most-read articles on the site in 2020.
Needless to say it was a year to both remember and forget, with the pandemic dominating local headlines. But there are plenty of other local news stories that will appear in our countdown, which serve as a reminder that life went on, despite the deadly virus that largely defined the year.
If you’re looking for a kid-friendly outdoor adventure, parks and rec employees just left 17 winter-themed chalk obstacle courses at parks around Arlington.
The Arlington Dept. of Parks and Recreation’s “Super Squad” has been leaving chalk obstacles for kids throughout the pandemic. They should last for a week if the weather holds, according to department spokesperson Susan Kalish, though some rain is in the forecast for Sunday.
The interior of a salon on Lee Highway is set to be demolished and renovated, according to a permit filed with Arlington County.
The salon is New Image Hair Designs at 5800 Lee Highway, in Leeway-Overlee, across the street from Sloppy Mama’s Barbecue. All the finishes, plumbing and electrical fixtures will be removed and non-structural interior walls will be taken down, according to the permit.
After some delays, Clarendon Popup could be hosting live entertainment and dancing in the former Clarendon Ballroom space by the end of December.
The new opening day would be almost exactly one year after the event and nightlife spot at 3185 Wilson Blvd closed after New Year’s Eve in 2019. Owners anticipated the first popup — with a “Winter Wonderland” theme — would open around this time in December, but the holidays have set them back.
Which local restaurant has the best takeout? What’s the best sledding hill in Arlington? Where should you go to board your pet?
Those are a few of the questions that ARLnow readers will help to answer as we launch The Arlies, Arlington’s community awards.
Just four months after chef Ed Hardy started making pierogies for pickup and delivery, his operation, Zofia’s Kitchen, has a brick-and-mortar shop in Ballston Quarter.
“We were really fast going from a ghost kitchen to a store front,” Hardy told ARLnow. “We are going to be looking for a second location, probably, if we can do well through January.”
After months of losing business during the pandemic, Hendricks Gentlemen’s Barbershop in Clarendon will close for good just before Christmas.
Co-owners Melanie St. Clair and Lisa Dahl announced the closure to customers last night.
Pentagon Row is no more. Now, it’s “Westpost at National Landing.”
The Pentagon City shopping center has rebranded as Amazon’s new HQ2 rises a few blocks away. The goal, according to a press release, is to create a “fresh vision” for the retail strip, which first opened in 1999.
D.C.-based grilled chicken eatery Farmbird has announced plans to open its newest location in Arlington this spring.
The restaurant — which prides itself on menu items featuring farm-raised, vegetable-fed chicken — will take over the space at Ballston Exchange (4121 Wilson Blvd) vacated in January by Miami-based Dirt restaurant.
Benjamin Banneker Park could open sometime before Christmas, about one year after work started and a few months behind schedule.
“We just have a few final items that we are working on,” said Arlington County Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Susan Kalish in an email. “When the park opens, you’ll find a bigger park.”
Kids who want to talk to Santa Claus can drop off letters at the Gulf Branch Nature Center through Dec. 14.
For the first time, the park is collecting letters to send to St. Nick, rather than facilitating a weekend of in-person visits with the jolly one himself. In non-pandemic years, Santa visits typically drew up to 300 kids and families, park manager Rachael Tolman said.
That’s one of the questions Arlington’s Department of Parks and Recreation is asking as it begins a two year-long process to update its Forestry and Natural Resources Plan (FNRP). The new plan will include “a variety of long-term goals, strategies and priorities that address tree canopy in a comprehensive, systematic manner,” according to the project website.
