Applicants need to “like” the event’s Facebook page, fill out an online application and submit a video link along with it. Competitors have to be at least 13 years old, audition videos must be no more than three minutes long — performances during the competition can be up to five minutes — and be free of “nudity or obscene language/gestures.” The deadline for applying is Sept. 11.

The competition itself will be on Wednesday, Oct. 29 at Clarendon Ballroom (3185 Wilson Blvd), with a social starting at 6:30 p.m. before the show begins at 7:30 p.m. Last year’s show had more than 200 people in attendance, Leadership Arlington said in a press release. Tickets for the show are $30 online and $40 at the door. Hors d’oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash bar.


The Arlington County Fair is going on now and continues through this weekend, giving residents plenty of chances to ride ponies, catch some racing piglets and check out hundreds of locally produced goods.

Friday afternoon, thousands of people piled into the fairgrounds next to the Thomas Jefferson Community Center (125 S. Old Glebe Road), taking in the sights, sounds and smells of Arlington’s annual reminder that the county wasn’t always an urban center.


The library has a temporary display of Nixon-related items that visitors can check out through the end of the month. A private, local collector allowed the library to borrow the pieces of memorabilia covering the decades from Nixon’s 1950s vice-presidential campaign through his death in 1994. The display includes a couple dozen items including newspapers, masks and even a section of carpet from the Democratic National Committee offices at the Watergate — the target of the 1972 break-in that sparked a larger investigation.

The collector is particularly proud of a t-shirt from the late 1970s prompting readers to “Don’t Buy Books By Crooks.” It was part of a national campaign, started in Arlington, to encourage people not to buy Nixon’s memoirs. The headquarters for that campaign was located close to where the Ballston Metro station currently exists.


The show is called “Making Their Mark: Art Brut,” and highlights pieces from artists with disabilities from ServiceSource day centers, a non-profit disability resource organization. It is put on in partnership with Purple Art, an art therapy program that works with individuals with disabilities and with military members and their families.

“Sometimes, I feel like Van Gogh,” artist Andrew Ross told ARLnow.com. “Music and art go together with me. I enjoy making both of them, they are big part of me”.


From 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., starting at 1945 N. Dinwiddie Street, members of the community will gather to remember Carl Moten and Keefe Spriggs, who were found murdered in an apartment on the 1900 block of N. Culpeper Street on Aug. 7, 2012. The crime is still unsolved, but according to Arlington County Police Department spokesman Dustin Sternbeck, it’s still an active investigation.

Moten, known as “Pooh Bear,” and Spriggs, known as “Kee Kee” to friends and family, were born and raised in Hall’s Hill. Moten worked as a cook in Falls Church and was 31 years old at the time of the incident. Spriggs, 59 when he was killed, worked at a body shop. This is the second annual walk to raise awareness of the crimes.


Crystal Screen, the Crystal City Business Improvement District’s annual outdoor movie festival, will be showing 14 James Bond movies under the theme Bond is Back. One movie will run every Monday next summer from June through August.

“Crystal City broke the outdoor movie festival mold by launching the very first Bond-themed series back in 2008 and we are excited for the triumphant return of everyone’s favorite super-spy,” Crystal City BID President and CEO Angela Fox said in a press release. “There are so many great Bond films that we wanted to give the fans a chance to see their favorite ones all summer.”


Residents and business owners are encouraged to spend the evening getting out of the house and meeting their neighbors for National Night Out. Police officers and community leaders also will make the rounds to chat with residents.

The nationwide event happens the first Tuesday of every August and is sponsored by the non-profit organization National Association of Town Watch. It raises safety awareness and gives residents the opportunity to get better acquainted with the officers who patrol their neighborhoods.


Starting next week on Aug. 5, patrons 21 and over, gay or straight, are encouraged to come to the cafe for a night of unity. There’s no cover charge — IOTA frequently requires tickets purchased at the door for its Tuesday night shows — and IOTA says it will stay open until 1:00 a.m. or later.

“We’re making a commitment to the LGBT community by making our Tuesdays a weekly social for LGBTs and their straight friends at IOTA,” co-owner Stephen Negrey said in a press release. “Why not? This will be great fun and maybe even productive.”


Kennan Garvey was a cycling enthusiast, taught children about bikes when he was in the Peace Corps and wanted to volunteer for Phoenix Bikes after he retired, his widow, Arlington County Board member Libby Garvey said.

Since she created the fund, Garvey has aimed to raise $56,000 for Phoenix Bikes, a thousand dollars for each year her husband lived.


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