News

National Win for Local Girls — “Congratulations to the 10U Virginia Hurricanes for winning the organization’s FIFTH NFL Flag Football National Championship this weekend at the NFL Pro Bowl in Las Vegas!! Hurricanes teams have won NFL Flag National Championship titles four years in a row.” [Twitter]

County Seeking New Poet Laureate — “Arlington County is seeking its official Poet Laureate for the 2023-2025 term. With the final application deadline of March 24, 2023 by 5:00pm, the selected poet laureate’s two-year term will begin July 1, 2023. The poet selected as Arlington’s poet laureate will serve as an advocate for poetry and the literary arts and will advance Arlingtonians’ consciousness and appreciation of poetry in its written and spoken forms.” [Arlington County]


Sponsored

This column is sponsored by Arlington Arts/Arlington Cultural Affairs, a division of Arlington Economic Development.

Arlington’s Four Mile Run corridor is home to an inspiring new happening. The new art market called SPARK! launches on Sunday, May 3, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and continues every first Sunday of the month through November.

A fun inclusive outdoor market with handpicked art and food vendors and programming including poetry, music and art making, it’s the kickoff activity for the new outdoor venue 2700 Art Space, located at 2700 S. Nelson St., Arlington, Virginia 22206. Meet your neighbors, build community and be inspired.

At the first event, “Spark” your creativity with a smooth jolt of coffee from Rossana Coffee. Browse the stacks at the mobile bookstore Wandering Shelf. Get a massage from the licensed therapists from Zen27 Healing and Body Works. Peruse artwork by artists David Amoroso, Kate Rosendale or the printmakers and ceramicists from The Studios at Arlington Arts. Have a poem composed especially for you at The Poet is IN booth. Stop by Tigerflight and put the squeeze on a plush animal made from repurposed wool sweaters. Enjoy a Thai-inspired dessert from Mango Mama while listening to tropical sounds from the DJ’s of Leon City Sounds! Every month will offer something new and unusual. Visit the website for the full list!

Artist Roxana Alger Geffen will be the interactive artist at the first SPARK! bringing her popular Arlington Art Truck project “Patch or Swap: A Textile Rescue Lab” to the market! Fans of the Art Truck, which brought artists-in-residence to every corner of the County from 2018 through 2025, will be glad to know that SPARK! is curated with a similar vision by Arlington Arts’ programming team including Special Projects Curator, Cynthia Connolly.

Located adjacent to Jennie Dean Park, busy auto repair shops, a food assistance outlet and one of the region’s most popular “destination” dog parks, it is only a four-minute walk across Four Mile Run to the Tony Award-winning Signature Theater. The area is bustling all day.

Anchored by SPARK!, the venue now known as 2700 Art Space is at the nexus of several communities. It’s directly opposite Arlington Arts’ headquarters featuring Theatre On the Run, an 90-seat black box theater, rehearsal rooms, dance studios, and new printmaking and ceramics studios for the resident artists of The Studios at Arlington Arts (formerly LAC Arts Center on Langston Boulevard), which will hold its Spring Show and Sale on Saturday, May 2.

Music and merch aren’t the only types of art that will surround you at SPARK! As shown in this reel, even the tables and benches are fun! Film nights and other activities are in the making for the fall, and two works of temporary public art are currently being installed. Artist Adam Henry is creating a 10-foot tall sculpture of a golden retriever replete with a QR-code dog collar inviting you to upload selfies and stories about your pets. Directly adjacent to the outdoor space (on three sides of the Arlington Arts headquarters at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Dr.) will be a sweeping new mural by nationally acclaimed artist MasPaz. Both works grew out of a special Artist In Residence (AIR) Grant from Arlington Arts, made possible by a top-tier award from the National Endowment for the Arts, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

Visit our website for more information about SPARK!


Schools

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) After lockdowns, a fatal, apparent drug overdose, a racist threat of gun violence, and additional threats and gun-related incidents — all within the past few weeks — parents and teachers say they want more information from Arlington Public Schools.

But there’s a document floating around — outlining how School Board members should talk to the public, school staff, other board members and members of the media — that they say encourages the Board to be less transparent.


News

A pair of incidents have prompted police investigations at two Arlington middle schools to start the week.

A student at Thomas Jefferson Middle School allegedly brought a weapon to school on Monday that turned out to be an airsoft gun. Police say they confiscated the airsoft gun and juvenile charges are pending.


Event

Join us for the 12th Arlington Triathlon in Memory of Anne Viviani. This youth-only swim-bike-run event for ages 7-15 takes place Sunday, June 7th at Washington-Liberty Aquatics Center. It features a time-trial pool swim, a circuit bike course on closed streets, and an on-road run to the finish on the track. For registration, sponsorship information and more, please visit our website at www.triathlonfamilyusa.com. The race benefits the Arlington Triathlon Club, Arlington’s award-winning, elementary school-based multi-sport training program, the longest-running youth triathlon program of its kind in the country.


Around Town

(Updated at 5:20 p.m.) It’s set to be a busy month at the Black Heritage Museum of Arlington as it continues to look for a permanent home.

The museum is participating in a number of Black History Month programs while preparing to put up new exhibits, museum director Scott Taylor told ARLnow.


News

Two bills that would have given online-only local news publications like ARLnow some of the same privileges afforded legacy media outlets failed in Richmond over the past few weeks.

In the House of Delegates, HB 1920 would have included online local news publications that employ at least one full time journalist in an exemption from local Business, Professional, and Occupational License (BPOL) taxes.


Events

Bishop O’Connell High School students will be dancing for 12 hours straight to raise money for the research and treatment of cystic fibrosis.

The nearly 50-year-old tradition, dubbed the “Superdance,” will take place on Saturday, March 11 from noon to midnight. Each year, over 95% of the student body attends the event, which has live bands, DJs and games.


Around Town

Another unassuming Arlington restaurant tucked well away from a Metro corridor has received a glowing write-up.

King of Koshary, at 5515 Wilson Blvd in Bluemont, “serves Egyptian food fit for royalty,” a Washington Post headline declared atop a new review that was published yesterday.


News

Knife Incident Along I-66 — “Scanner: Arlington and state police on scene of incident along I-66 near Rosslyn and the Key Bridge. A man reportedly came out of the woods and threatened some construction workers with a large knife.” [Twitter]

I-395 Chases Caught on Camera — From Dave Statter: “Watch: Two @VSPPIO chases into DC 50 minutes apart on I-395N. Both likely stolen vehicles that sped past troopers. This is the first. It came from the Beltway & Van Dorn about 2:40 am. Speeds up to 150 mph.” [Twitter]