Pentagon Row Concert Series Starts Tonight — The summer concert series at Pentagon Row starts tonight with Philadelphia-based cover band Kristen and the Noise. The concerts are held every Thursday night from 7:00-9:00 p.m., through Aug. 21. [Pentagon Row]
District Taco Coming to Bethesda — Local, Arlington-based Mexican restaurant chain District Taco plans to open a location in Bethesda in 2016. The Bethesda location is expected to be District Taco’s first in Maryland. [Bethesda Now]
Opower Sets IPO Price — Courthouse-based Opower is expected to start selling shares on the New York Stock Exchange today. The company set the price for its initial public offering at $19 per share. [Washington Business Journal]
A Brief History of Fairlington — Arlington’s Fairlington neighborhood was built by the U.S. government in the 1940s in response to a housing shortage caused by World War II. It’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places. [Washington Post]
Bracket Room’s owners had applied for a live entertainment permit, but decided within the past couple of weeks to withdraw the application. They made the decision based on noise complaints from neighbors living in Lyon Place apartments — located directly above the sports bar — who say the existing music is too loud.
“We’ve had a lot of issues with the tenants in the building from the beginning,” said Co-owner Jeff Greenberg. “The residents were calling the police when we first opened, which I hear really happens to everybody. But we don’t want to upset the people in the building or the landlord.”
From 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., visitors can partake in the street festival with food, beer and wine, local vendors and businesses.
On three stages, 24 bands and five dance companies will play continuously throughout the day. Before the festival begins, there will be a 10K/5K/Kids Dash in the morning, organized by Pacers.
Rosslyn Jazz Fest Street Closures — A number of lane and street closures will be in place for most of the day on Saturday for the 2013 Rosslyn Jazz Festival. The festival itself runs from 1:00 to 7:00 p.m. The closures will be in place from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., in the area of Gateway Park. [Arlington County]
Road Closures for 9/11 5K Race — Several roads in the Pentagon City area, including parts for Route 110, Army Navy Drive, Washington Blvd and S. Joyce Street, will be closed Saturday night for the annual Arlington Police, Fire and Sheriff Memorial 9/11 5K race. The closures will first go into effect at 5:45 p.m. [Arlington County]
Local ‘Stacking’ Champ Gains International Fame — William Polly, the 12-year-old Thomas Jefferson Middle School student who’s a Sport Stacking champion, is gaining international notoriety. This summer he filmed a television commercial for a South African orange soda, and next week he will attempt to break his own world record during the taping of a Guinness Book of World Records TV show in Beijing. [Washington Post]
Arlington GOP Renovates HQ — The Arlington County Republican Committee is putting the finishing touches on its new headquarters. Located on the ground floor of an apartment building at 405 S. Glebe Road, the office is expected to reopen after Labor Day. The local GOP is also planning a door knocking campaign for gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli on Sept. 7. [Sun Gazette]
Moran, Wolf Visit Gitmo — Last Friday, Reps. Jim Moran (D-Va.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) visited the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, where suspected foreign terrorists are held and interrogated. Moran, who has said that keeping the facility open “is not worth the damage it continues to inflict on our international standing,” said after the trip that he hopes to work out a compromise with Wolf, who supports keeping the facility open. [Sun Gazette]
Shirlington Oktoberfest Date Set — This year’s Shirlington Oktoberfest, the largest of its kind in N. Va., will take place on Saturday, Oct. 5. Over 50 breweries will be represented. [Shirlington Village Blog Spot]
The concert series has been an annual tradition at the 70-acre park in North Arlington just off the GW Parkway, providing free outdoor performances of local and regional acts in a family setting, said Park Manager Roy Geiger.
“It’s a kick-back-and-relax time,” Geiger said. “You’ve got whole families coming down, kids in strollers, all ages up to senior citizens. So along come the blankets, lawn chairs, picnic baskets and even some dogs sitting there quietly.”
The Rosslyn Business Improvement District, which puts on the annual event — now in its 23rd year — announced its Sept. 7 lineup this week. It includes Sanchez, a Grammy award winner, joined by saxophonist and clarinetist James Carter, performing a tribute to John Coltrane.
Opening the show will be a local band, the Kenny Rittenhouse Septet. Rittenhouse is a professor of jazz trumpet at George Mason University and performs in the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra.
Revelers can listen to The Verve Pipe while waiting to watch the fireworks display on the National Mall, which is expected to begin at 9:10 p.m. The band is known for its 90s hit “The Freshmen.”
The event runs from 3:00-10:00 p.m. next Thursday. Live entertainment kicks off at 3:30 p.m. with WAMMIE award winning band “The Grandsons,” followed by the Army Voices ensemble from the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own” and then D.C. area party band “Jeff from Accounting.”
Sunny and pleasant weather and a big-name headliner attracted the largest crowd yet to the Columbia Pike Blues Festival over the weekend, organizers said.
We’re told more than 7,000 people turned out for the 18th annual Blues Festival, which is held on S. Walter Reed Drive just north of the Pike. Guitarist G.E. Smith, of Saturday Night Live and Hall & Oates fame, headlined the event.
Fish and Wildlife Office to Leave Arlington — On the heels of the decision to move the National Science Foundation from Arlington to Alexandria, the General Services Administration is expected to announce soon that the Fish and Wildlife Service is leaving, as well. The Dept. of the Interior agency, which occupies three office buildings in Ballston, is “seeking a less expensive space option outside Arlington.” [Washington Business Journal]
Restaurant Fire in Crystal City — A fire broke out in the kitchen of Cafe Manna in Crystal City around 5:30 last night. The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the office building at 2345 Crystal Drive. A sprinkler system helped to extinguish the flames before they spread, but the restaurant suffered smoke and water damage.
