Whether you want to master fresh pasta, finally conquer a sourdough loaf or just spend a fun evening at the stove, Arlington has no shortage of places to sharpen your skills in the kitchen.
The concrete spheres and steel poles of Dark Star Park create more than a striking sculpture. Photo by Elman Studios.
Visitors gather each year to witness the annual Dark Star Park Day alignment. Photo by Elman Studios.
Dark Star Park in Rosslyn, designed by artist Nancy Holt, was created to connect art, time and place. Photo by Elman Studios.
Every year, for just a few minutes, one of Arlington’s most iconic works of public art comes to life exactly as its artist intended.
On Saturday, Aug. 1, at approximately 9:32 a.m., visitors will gather in Rosslyn to witness the annual shadow alignment at Nancy Holt’s Dark Star Park (1979–84). At that precise moment, the shadows cast by the sculpture’s spheres and poles align with permanent shadow forms embedded in the ground—a phenomenon Holt designed to commemorate the anniversary of Rosslyn’s founding.
The alignment lasts only a few moments, but it has become a beloved Arlington tradition, drawing residents, visitors, artists and architecture enthusiasts alike to experience the intersection of art, astronomy, and history. If the weather cooperates, the park transforms into a striking demonstration of how light, time and place can become part of a work of art.
Created between 1979 and 1984, Dark Star Park was Arlington’s first County-commissioned public artwork and remains one of the nation’s earliest examples of integrated public art—where sculpture, landscape architecture and the surrounding environment function as a single work. Rather than placing an object within a park, Holt made the entire park the artwork, incorporating spheres, pools, steel poles, tunnels, earthworks and carefully positioned plantings into an immersive landscape.
Nancy Holt (1938–2014) was a pioneering artist whose work spanned poetry, film, photography, land art and large-scale public sculpture. Throughout her career, she explored perception, time and humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Dark Star Park remains her most significant urban installation and one of the few major works by the artist that can be experienced in an accessible city setting.
Whether you’ve attended for years or have never visited before, Dark Star Park Day offers a rare opportunity to experience a public artwork that changes with the movement of the sun—and reminds us that some of the most memorable moments in art happen not inside a museum, but out in the world around us.
Dark Star Park Day
When: Saturday, Aug. 1, beginning around 9 a.m.; shadow alignment at approximately 9:32 a.m. Where: Dark Star Park, 1655 N. Fort Myer Drive, Rosslyn
A notice at the Clarendon post office (staff photo by Dan Egitto)
The Clarendon post office has restricted after-hours access to its lobby, citing issues with people relieving themselves and otherwise causing problems at the location.
The U.S. Postal Service is in the process of installing an automated entry system to enter the lobby at 3118 Washington Blvd from 6 p.m.-7 a.m., USPS spokesperson Mark Wahl told ARLnow. Once completed, customers with a QR code or fob have been able to access their boxes during those hours.
Virginia Village properties on S. Maple Avenue, Shirley Street and Gibson Street (via City of Falls Church)
Falls Church leaders this week took a major step forward on a key affordable housing proposal, but ongoing divisions may imperil getting to the finish line.
Council members voted 6-1 authorizing staff to release a request for proposal (RFP), seeking development partners for the apartment buildings owned by the city in the 4.5-acre Virginia Village community.
Capital Bikeshare bikes lined up at a corral in Ballston (staff photo)
Day Camp’s Growth Spurt — Camp Sarraka has more than quadrupled enrollment in three years, from 40 to 50 campers a week at its 2023 launch to about 210 this summer across three Arlington churches, with dozens more on a waiting list. About 10% of slots go to campers who can’t afford the $475 weekly fee. [WBJ]
E-Bike Robbery — Two e-bike riders were robbed in the 200 block of Oakland Street around 8:57 p.m. Wednesday, police said. The suspects asked one rider to borrow his bike and, when he refused, implied a firearm before taking the bike and fleeing. No one was injured. [ACPD]
Driver Gets 29 Years — A D.C. woman, 46, was sentenced to 29 years in prison for a 2023 crash that killed three men, including two passengers headed home to Arlington. She was driving 100 mph after fleeing a Rock Creek Parkway traffic stop when she hit their Lyft, and was convicted in April of three counts of involuntary manslaughter. [NBC 4]
Jets Roar Over Arlington — Military aircraft thundered over the area Thursday as Freedom 250 celebrations ramped up. B-52s and fighter jets crossed over Reagan National around 11:30 a.m., and the British military’s Red Arrows trailed red, white and blue smoke over D.C. and Nationals Park. The flyovers, marking America’s 250th birthday, run through July 10. [T-Byrd/X, Breaking911/X, Airshow News/X]
DES Earns Accreditation — “Years in the making, DES has achieved top accreditation as an American public works agency. A different department member is now rocking our shiny new medal each day like NHL champions spending a day with the Cup.” [Arlington DES]
Assault Weapons Ban Blocked — A Lancaster County judge has temporarily blocked Virginia’s new assault weapons ban from taking effect July 1, when buying or selling the firearms would have become a Class 1 misdemeanor. Attorney General Jay Jones (D) said he will appeal, calling the law “compliant with the Constitution of Virginia.” Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) signed the ban in May. [WJLA]
It’s Friday — Expect a partly sunny day with a high near 93 and a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Winds will be out of the southwest around 8 mph, and showers and storms become likely overnight, with a low around 70. [NWS]
New Legal Notice — Hotel restaurant seeks ABC license for on/off-premise wine and beer. [Public Notices]
There is a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms mainly after 5 p.m., with partly sunny skies and a high of 92°F. Southwest winds will be 6 to 8 mph. Friday night, there is a 70% chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., with patchy fog possible after 3 a.m. It will be mostly cloudy, with a low of around 70°F and variable winds. Rainfall may reach between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, with higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. See more from Weather.gov.
💡 Quote of the Day
“Don’t count the days, make the days count.” – Muhammad Ali
Thanks for reading! If you have something to say about an issue of local note not covered today, feel free to post it as a letter to the editor on our new forum.
Il Radicchio's new space at 2909 Wilson Blvd (staff photo by Dan Egitto)
Il Radicchio, the longtime Italian restaurant, is coming back to life in Clarendon.
The family-owned restaurant, which closed on June 1 after more than three decades at 1801 Clarendon Blvd, has posted a notice announcing its arrival at the former home of Mazaro at 2909 Wilson Blvd.
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) speaks on the House floor, April 2024 (via Rep. Don Beyer/Twitter)
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) is faulting the Trump administration’s abrupt move to cut off access to two of Anthropic’s most advanced AI models, calling the federal government’s approach to the technology “haphazard.”
Anthropic, one of the country’s largest AI companies, said it was ordered this month to suspend access to its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models for any foreign national — a directive it said it could comply with only by switching the models off for every user worldwide. The Commerce Department issued the order on June 12, citing national security, various outlets reports.
O'Connell's Gigi Payne was an all-state selection in softball (photo by Dave Facinoli)
Players from multiple sports for Arlington teams received public and private all-state honors for their performances during the 2026 spring high school season.
Leading the way were the three Bishop O’Connell Knights baseball players chosen to the Division I private school all-state first team.
