Kaiya Ovando won the state discus title (courtesy of Yorktown track-and-field)
It was close, but Yorktown High School multiple-sport student-athlete Kaiya Ovando made it with a bit of time to spare.
With many anxiously following her progress, Ovando successfully participated in two different championship high-school sporting events at venues hours apart on Friday, June 5.
Two men have been arrested after reportedly dumping “substantial quantities” of motor oil and gasoline into Arlington’s stormwater system.
Ahmad Adawi, of Fairfax, and Suhib Derbas, of Alexandria, are accused of intentionally releasing hazardous substances directly into stormwater drains, the Arlington County Office of the Fire Marshal announced today (Tuesday).
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
Willston water tank as seen from Patrick Henry Apartments (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)
A 75-year-old water tank serving the Dominion Hills and Boulevard Manor neighborhoods is on track for a replacement — eventually.
The 200,000-gallon Willston tank is “inadequate to meet the needs of the current service area,” Fairfax Water General Manager Jamie Bain Hedges said at a June 2 meeting between the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the Fairfax Water Board.
The author of a critically acclaimed book about the harrowing experiences of World War II soldiers and Holocaust survivors is hosting a talk and book signing in Clarendon this weekend.
Arlington resident Nina Willner will pay a visit to the Clarendon Barnes & Noble (2800 Clarendon Blvd) from noon to 2 p.m. this Saturday, June 13, to discuss her narrative nonfiction work, “Boys in the Light.” The book delves into the parallel experiences of her father, Holocaust survivor Eddie Willner, and American soldiers during World War II.
Join DC Road Runners and Potomac Valley Track Club for our annual Family Night at the Track and Meet of Miles. The event is open to runners of all ages and paces as well as nonmembers.
This event hosts 400 meter and 800 meter races for kids ages 1-8, as well as multiple 1-mile heats for participants of all ages. There is also a 3K race that is open to participants of all ages.
Ireland's Four Provinces in Falls Church (staff photo)
Falls Church is introducing a pilot sip-and-stroll program this weekend in partnership with several local businesses downtown.
From 5-10 p.m. this Saturday, Little City Sips will allow residents to partake in alcoholic beverages on the go, while enjoying entertainment, a lively atmosphere and libations from local restaurants, available in branded cups.
Vehicle fire at parking garage entrance in Crystal City (via ACFD/X)
A pickup truck became engulfed in flames at the entrance to a Crystal City parking garage early Tuesday, prompting a large fire department response.
The intense vehicle fire broke out around dawn on the 1700 block of Crystal Drive, just outside of a loading dock and the entrance to a public parking garage.
Current sidewalk conditions along Wilson Blvd (via Arlington County)
County officials are preparing for the final phase of a nearly 20-year effort to improve conditions for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists along Wilson Blvd.
“The goal is to start in late summer — late July or sometime in August,” said Gabriela Kock, the county government’s project manager for the streetscape project.
The Grace and Reva apartment buildings in Crystal City (courtesy Jason Gooljar)
One of Arlington’s advisory panels is considering a push to require local landlords to make their rent increases public annually.
The legislative subcommittee of the county government’s Housing Commission has included the proposal on a list of potential 2027 legislative priorities.