Lebanese Taverna, which began as a single storefront in Arlington operated by an immigrant couple and their five children, is celebrating its 35th anniversary with events and specials over the next two months.
On July 28 and 29 at the Westover location (5900 Washington Blvd) and Aug. 6 and 7 at Pentagon Row (1101 S. Joyce Street), Lebanese Taverna will serve dishes from its 1979 menu with the original prices to commemorate the year the restaurant opened.
The event, starting at 8:00 p.m. on June 13, is free and open to the public. It will be the first-ever evening event held at the cemetery’s Memorial Amphitheater, according to organizers.
“‘Arlington at 150’ is an hour-long live military show featuring musical performances by ‘The President’s Own,’ U.S. Marine Band and a Joint Chorus made up with singers from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force; a wreath ceremony and historical vignettes that showcase how military conflicts have shaped our nation and the cemetery,” according to a press release.
(At the time, the biggest local happening was a snowstorm that tied up traffic around the area.)
When we started our original coverage on Jan. 30, 2010, literally no one knew about the site other than family and friends. Today we’re glad to count all 200,000 of you among our friends.
Owner Katherine Glorioso, who hails from Falls Church, had known for years that she wanted to open a boutique featuring Southern California fashions. She started off by selling a few items at Eastern Market. After four straight weeks of selling out halfway through the day, Glorioso’s parents pushed her to set up a brick and mortar establishment.
Glorioso originally thought her boutique would fit well in Georgetown, but she discovered that rent prices were too high. Her goal was to keep all pieces of merchandise below $100 each, which would make it difficult to pay Georgetown rents. Her father tipped her off to a potential space in Crystal City. Upon seeing the area her father had suggested, Glorioso had a flashback to being on 23rd Street when she was younger.
The art venue has often been the target of criticism due to a rocky first year in existence, which included low attendance and revenue. However, there’s been a concerted effort to turn things around by following a revamped business plan.
“We’ve had a really successful year and I think if people engage with the arts they understand the value of it. I would certainly encourage people to participate more to understand the value,” said Artisphere Executive Director Jose Ortiz. “Like any new organization or start-up, you go thorough some growing pains. I hope at this point we would have all moved past that.”
The nature center was saved from potential closure and demolition in 2009 when supporters rallied to have it removed from a list of county budget cuts. Now, the nonprofit Friends of the Gulf Branch Nature Center organization is throwing the wooded outpost another birthday party.
The free event is scheduled from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 16. The program includes:
The sister establishments will be holding a joint anniversary event at Liberty Tavern (3195 Wilson Blvd) tomorrow night (Thursday, April 12). From 4:00 p.m. until close, the restaurant will be offering two specialty cocktails from its opening menu — the “Pursuit of Happiness” and the “Industrial” — for $5. Starting at 9:00 p.m., at the bar and lounge, Liberty Tavern will also be offering complimentary Liberty pizza, Lyon Hall frankfurters and Northside Social confections.
There’s no cover charge for the event. All three eateries first opened their doors in April — Liberty Tavern in 2007 and Lyon Hall and Northside Social both in 2010.
Soccer Field to Close for Summer — The synthetic turf field at Virginia Highlands Park, used extensively for soccer games, is expected to be closed for much of the spring and summer so that the turf can be replaced. [Sun Gazette]
Church to Celebrate 50th Anniversary — St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (4250 N. Glebe Road) will be holding a concert next weekend to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The concert, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 12. [Falls Church News-Press]
Parks Department Shortens Name — The Arlington County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources is now just the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation. The “Cultural Resources” part of the name was dropped after the Cultural Affairs Division (and Artisphere) was moved over to the county’s Arlington Economic Development department.
Doctor Threatens Suit Against VSP for ‘Racial Slurs’ — A Florida doctor is contemplating a lawsuit against Virginia State Police for alleged civil rights violations following an accident. The incident started on July 3, 2011, when Dr. Maria Ferrer crashed her car into an HOV gate on I-395 in Arlington. Dr. Ferrer says two VSP troopers arrived on scene and, at one point, used racial slurs before citing her for traffic violations. [NBC Washington]
The library, which was built in 1961, will host a event on Saturday that will include face painting, balloons, vintage photographs and free birthday cake.
Before the family-friendly fun kicks off, there will be a performance by a local singer from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m., and a brief ceremony featuring a talk by Arlington and Cherrydale historian Kathryn Holt Springston from 11:00 to 11:30 a.m.
If you haven’t seen it already, Nathan took out an ad on our homepage today to say “Happy Anniversary” and “I love you, always and forever” to his lovely wife. The ad links to a YouTube video of the Etta James classic “At Last” — the first song they danced to at their wedding.
Happy anniversary to both of you.
The annual Lyon Park-Ashton Heights house tour will be held this weekend.
This year’s event will mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of Ashton Heights. The tour will feature homes built between 1904 and 2009. Along the way there will be antique cars, retro costumes, old documents and demonstrations of green technology.
