Arlington National Cemetery will lose some of its festive aesthetics on Saturday as volunteers remove holiday wreaths from the cemetery’s hundreds of thousands of graves.
Thousands of volunteers are expected to participate the annual “Wreaths Out” event, disposing of approximately 257,000 wreaths in Arlington as well as 14,000 wreaths at the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery in D.C.
An Arlington high school is once again gearing up to become a hub for community service activities on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On Monday, Jan. 15, from 8:30 a.m. until noon, Washington-Liberty High School will host various in-person volunteer opportunities, such as a donation scavenger hunt, SNAP ambassador training and the assembly of winter hygiene and safety kits, organized by nearly a dozen local nonprofits.
The annual Wreaths Across America event is returning to Arlington National Cemetery next week.
The event will take place next Saturday, Dec. 16, starting at 8 a.m. Members of the public are invited “to lay wreaths at headstones and columbarium niches throughout the cemetery to honor and remember our nation’s service members this holiday season.”
(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) When volunteers hung a starch-stiff American flag on a shed belonging to 89-year-old local veteran William Johnson, he told them how proud he was to have served his country.
“You are so wonderful,” Johnson told the volunteers from Navy Federal Credit Union earlier that day. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”
A small cohort of dedicated volunteers is stepping up to help support low-income homeowners, performing home improvements at no cost.
Since 1988, the nonprofit Rebuilding Together Arlington/Fairfax/Falls Church has worked to ensure low-income homeowners in Arlington and elsewhere in Northern Virginia have safe and accessible living spaces.
(Updated on 1/13/23) Several community service events are taking place in the coming days across Arlington in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King.
County offices may be closed on Monday (Jan. 16), but the county and local organizations are holding events on and around the federal holiday recognizing the civil rights icon’s birthday.
(Updated at 3:15 p.m.) As many as 40,000 people are expected to attend Wreaths Across America at Arlington National Cemetery later this month.
The annual holiday event is set to take place on Saturday, Dec. 17 this year, starting at 8 a.m.
Arlington Rents Continue to Rise — “Apartment rents in Arlington keep on moving upward, maintaining their position as most expensive in the D.C. area and are now well above pre-pandemic rates, according to new data. With a median rental of $2,063 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,469 for two bedrooms, Arlington’s rental rate grew a whopping 2.8 percent from May to June, the sixth highest increase among the nation’s 100 largest urban areas.” [Sun Gazette]
Local Group Donating Thousands of Socks — “The Nursing Professional Development Council at VHC Health decided to have a ‘Sock Hop’ – not a dance party but a sock collection benefiting ‘Doorways,’ an Arlington non-profit helping people out of homelessness, domestic violence and sexual assault. The goal was set at 1,940 pairs – 1940 was the year the Sock Hop started but the generous nurses and staff at VHC Health tripled that number. It’s the biggest sock donation the group has ever received.” [WJLA]
More Bad Driving on I-395 — From Dave Statter: “WATCH THIS! I thought I saw a crash in the distance. Nope. An I-395S driver stopped in the left lane for 30 secs to cross 4 lanes to get to the right hand Boundary Channel exit!” [Twitter]
Drug Take-Back Day Tomorrow — “If you have expired or unused prescription drugs taking up space in your medicine cabinet, Arlington County residents will have an opportunity to safely get rid of them this weekend. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., on Saturday.” [Patch]
A recently-announced partnership between is helping to clear hundreds of invasive plants from Upton Hill Regional Park.
For the past year, work has been ongoing to remove invasive plants from the 27-acre Upton Hill Regional Park located on Wilson Blvd in the Dominion Hills neighborhood. In particular, work has focused on a two acre section of the wooded section of the park with the highest concentration of invasives.
Board Calls Out Youngkin’s Auditor Veto — “The Arlington County Board said Wednesday that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s veto of its police oversight bill was ‘deeply frustrating.'” [WTOP, Arlington County]
Volunteers Clean Up Muddy Trail –From the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail: “Before and after of the Gravelly Point mud puddle which was removed by volunteers on Saturday while edging the trail. Make a difference on the trail when you register for one of our upcoming volunteer events.” [Twitter]
