A colorful new look and refreshments have arrived for the summer on The Clarendon Ballroom’s rooftop.
The three-level bar and events venue recently renovated its rooftop — renamed “The Deck” — with latticework, more seating and summery, Mediterranean-inspired decor and food. It is the first pop-up theme in what the Ballroom team hopes to make a rotating series throughout the year.
A new tavern with Appalachian charm and an Italian American-inspired menu will soon open for business in Clarendon.
Nettie’s Tavern, opening Monday, Aug. 11 in part of the former Whitlow’s space, is named after a beloved family friend of Arlington restaurateur Reese Gardner. The Appalachia native met Nettie, who he identified only by her first name, six years ago in a bar near Berkeley Springs, W.Va.
This summer, Arlington residents and visitors are invited to experience the creative energy of the 2700 Art Space through two community celebrations honoring newly completed public artworks by artists MasPaz and Adam Henry. These events showcase how art can transform public spaces into places of connection, discovery, and belonging.
Located along the Four Mile Run Valley corridor, the 2700 Art Space is a flexible outdoor arts and maker space designed to host public art, performances, workshops, markets, and cultural programming. Developed through community input, the site reflects Arlington’s commitment to investing in arts and culture as essential ingredients of vibrant neighborhoods and a thriving local economy.
The two celebrations mark the culmination of Arlington Arts’ inaugural AIR@2700 Artist-in-Residence program, a National Endowment for the Arts-supported initiative. Through murals, sculpture, concerts, workshops, and community engagement, the program demonstrates how artists can help strengthen community identity and create a greater sense of place.
On Saturday, June 27, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the public is invited to Meet MasPaz, a community celebration honoring the completion of a dynamic new mural at Arlington Arts. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet the artist, learn about his creative process, and participate in hands-on artmaking activities at 2700 S. Nelson Street.
MasPaz, also known as Federico Frum, is an Arlington-raised artist whose work blends contemporary street art with influences from his Colombian heritage. His murals often incorporate Indigenous-inspired patterns, environmental themes, and visual storytelling that reflect the diversity of the communities where they are created. Through his residency, MasPaz has transformed the Cultural Affairs facade l into a colorful landmark that invites reflection, conversation, and connection. (more…)
From raw bar oysters to crab cakes, there are some great places in Arlington to enjoy seafood this summer.
Here are the nominees for “Best Seafood Restaurant in Arlington” as part of our ARLnow Readers’ Choice awards.
Did we miss your favorite restaurant? Write them in!
Voting will close in two weeks.
Voting for Favorite Theater Company in Arlington is still taking place. Be sure to cast your vote before voting closes next Friday at 8:30 a.m.
Two weeks ago, we voted on the Best Steakhouse in Arlington. The results are now official:
New water fountains and refill stations are coming to the Mount Vernon Trail, the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial and other federally controlled parts of Arlington.
The National Park Service plans to install up to 14 new stations at “high-priority locations” in the vicinity of GW Parkway.
Due to the extended period of extreme heat forecasted for the next several days in our area, the Civic Jam event originally scheduled for Friday, July 3, 2026, has been postponed to Friday, July 24, 2026.
Commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary of the United States of America at Civic Jam! Celebrate the City of Falls Church’s diverse community, civic engagement, and classic summer fun. Jam out to live, local music, sip on local brews, enjoy tasty treats and eats, and a full evening of festivities for all ages on Friday, July 3, 2026, from 6 to 10 p.m.
Some seniors in assisted-living facilities at Culpepper Garden may be able to stay even after supportive services are phased out next year.
The nonprofit running the senior-housing community is exploring moving eligible residents into independent-living areas, using a combination of new services and family support, president Marta Hill Gray told the Arlington Commission on Aging.
Break-ins in Arlington View — “The male suspect allegedly broke windows of five different homes in the area and subsequently made entry into three of them. Responding officers established a perimeter and located the suspect inside an unoccupied residence, issued commands and took him into custody.” [ACPD]
History of Zoned Parking — “A lawsuit again was filed by a number of commuters, but also by a plaintiff who lived right outside the zoned area. He complained it was not fair that his neighbors could park in front of his house, but he could not park in front of their house. In other words, the ordinance violated “the equal protection of the law.” The County again lost at the Circuit Court level and then lost on appeal to the Virginia Supreme Court. But a miracle happened, and the U.S. Supreme Court took up the appeal.” [FCNP]
Natural Gas Surcharge — “Residents in Northern Virginia will see higher gas bills starting next month because of a temporary surcharge from its main utility provider, the Washington Gas Light Co. The surcharge will affect 556,000 customers in much of Northern Virginia from August to October, and the average residential customer in Virginia may pay roughly $10 more per month on their gas bill.” [Washington Post]
Exodus from WaPo — “Dozens of journalists are taking buyouts and calling it quits at the Washington Post, fueling speculation about how the storied paper can survive while bleeding so much talent.” [Axios]
It’s August — Showers are possible before 10am, with a chance for more showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Expect mostly cloudy skies and a high of around 78 degrees, accompanied by a north wind ranging from 11 to 13 mph, gusting up to 21 mph. The precipitation probability for the day stands at 20%. For Friday night, the clouds will gradually clear, giving way to mostly clear skies and a low temperature of around 64 degrees, with a north wind of 7 to 9 mph. [NWS]
Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — Jul 31, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Showers are possible before 10am, with a chance for more showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Expect mostly cloudy skies and a high of around 78 degrees, accompanied by a north wind ranging from 11 to 13 mph, gusting up to 21 mph. The precipitation probability for the day stands at 20%. For Friday night, the clouds will gradually clear, giving way to mostly clear skies and a low temperature of around 64 degrees, with a north wind of 7 to 9 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
– Steve Jobs
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
Arlington’s Green Valley community has a long and, in many ways, distinguished past.
Coming into being before the Civil War, it served as a home to freed Black residents and carried on as a refuge for the African-American community in a county and commonwealth that, until the 1960s, adhered to a rigid system of segregation in housing and other facets of daily life.
Arlington Independent Media’s website and flagship radio station are down, but the bedraggled nonprofit’s leadership has few answers about what happened.
Multiple tipsters informed ARLnow that WERA, AIM’s low-power FM radio station, stopped broadcasting its lo-fi beats earlier this month. Additionally, AIM’s website now directs to a page reading “bandwidth limit exceeded.”
