Expect parking to be at a premium in Clarendon Saturday afternoon as the Market Common shopping center holds its 10th annual Winter Wonderland event.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in attendance from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., and there will be entertainment and activities for all ages.
Contrary to popular belief, the Friday after Thanksgiving is not the busiest shopping day of the year. Americans actually buy more in the days leading up to Christmas.
But Black Friday is one of the biggest “traffic” days of the year at shopping centers, as consumers, unburdened by work or the need to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner, head out to the mall just for the sake of getting out and doing something. And of course there are those doorbuster specials, too.
The complex is being torn down to make way for a new mixed use development, and the demolition work is expected to begin at some point within the next month.
Construction crews will first salvage the shopping center’s limestone facade, for re-use in the new development. Then, the demolition will begin.
Ebbin introduced the bill to the Virginia House of Delegates in 2009 and 2010, each time unsuccessful. He’s hoping for a different result in the upcoming 2011 legislative session.
If enacted into law, the bag fee would protect the environment, Ebbin said. Locally, he added, it would help make waterways like Four Mile Run cleaner.
Since Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, Arlington must first ask the state legislature for permission to pursue policies not specifically allowed by state law. In past years, the state government has been reluctant to grant Arlington any new taxing power.
Arlington will make its unlikely bag request during the General Assembly session starting Jan. 12.
The always-entertaining event, taking place from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 25, will feature “food, music, art, fitness classes, kids’ activities, health screenings and more.”
Among the more than 15 local restaurants that will be selling food at Clarendon Day are Whitlow’s, Hard Times Café, Rocklands BBQ, Screwtop Wine Bar, Northside Social, Bakeshop, Liberty Tavern, Lyon Hall, and Kabob Bazaar.
Fairlington’s Timeless Qualities — The Washington Post profiles Fairlington, which was recently battered by severe thunderstorms (though mention of the storms is conspicuously absent from the article). If it weren’t for the modern cars parked around the neighborhood, the Post says, one could easily mistake Fairlington for a scene out of the 1950s.
Boutiques to Check Out — Support local business and discover new places to shop. Connection Newspapers has a list of a number of great local boutiques around Arlington.
It’s such an attractive business segment that at least a dozen copy-cat sites have popped up in recent months. Some are blatant knock-offs. Others strive to find a niche.
For Arlington resident Harrison Miller, that niche is charitable giving.
