It’s Thanksgiving week, one of the busiest and most dangerous times to drive.
As people head out of town for family gatherings — and gather locally for libations with friends — police in Arlington and throughout Virginia will be on the lookout for traffic and safety violations.
Reported Hit-and-Run Injures Biker — From Alan Henney: “MOTORCYCLIST STRUCK BY HIT-N-RUN DRIVER— on Washington Blvd just past the exit for w/b Arlington Blvd in Arlington. The victim was taken to hospital with a shattered hip and cuts to his face. Unknown on the description of the suspect vehicle.” [Twitter]
Arlington’s Rising Office Vacancy — “Arlington County, Virginia, has been the single most affected jurisdiction throughout the greater Washington, D.C., region when it comes to office vacancy increases over the past four years.” [CoStar]
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
Good Friday 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 — Nov 17, 2023.
(Updated at 10:30 p.m.) Police responded to a bomb threat at an Arlington synagogue tonight.
Arlington County police were dispatched to Congregation Etz Hayim, along Route 50 in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, around 5:30 p.m. Initial reports suggest that someone texted a crisis hotline that they had placed a bomb at the synagogue and were also planning to stab people inside.
Live standup comedy in Arlington on Friday July 31 starring Jim Bryan, Kim Villamera, and Greg Billet.
Friday, July 31, 2026
The holiday season is here and you’re probably wondering what to get those special Arlingtonians in your life. Lucky for you, the ARLnow Shop has plenty of gift options for savvy locals.
Among the offerings are some new, notable additions since the store launched in August, including:
Swanson Middle School was put in “secure the school” mode this morning (Friday) due to a threat.
Initial reports suggest the school’s office received a shooting threat via email. Police responded to investigate around 10 a.m. and the security status was lifted about an hour and a half later.
Update at 7:35 p.m. — Arlington County’s Chief Fire Marshal has issued a “fire ban” through midnight Sunday due to the wildfire risk, according to a social media post by the fire department.
Based on current and expected weather conditions, no open burning of any type will be allowed. This includes burning of yard debris, the use of permanent or portable outdoor fireplaces and pits, chimenea, open flame cooking devices, etc.
Please give a warm welcome to Bruni aka Brunello Harris, the newest Arlington Pet of the Week!
This adorable fluffy guy is living his best life.
Charlie Clark, a dogged chronicler of local life in Arlington, has died at the age of 70.
He was known locally as the author of “Our Man in Arlington,” a weekly column in the Falls Church News-Press, and as the author of several books on local history.
