Courtesy City of Alexandria
Alexandria received nearly 3x as much rain as average in the month of September, flooding lower King Street, residents’ yards and several roadways repeatedly.
The 9.7 inches of rain that fell at Reagan National Airport in September has led Visit Alexandria and other organizations to delay the planned October opening of the new waterfront park in Old Town.
Visit Alexandria announced the Portside in Old Town Festival planned for Oct. 12 – 14 has been moved, and the organization has adjusted planned activities throughout the month celebrating and showcasing the park. Portside in Old Town will now take place at Waterfront Park and the Alexandria City Marina while construction on the park continues.
“Due to extraordinary weather circumstances causing flooding that delayed construction, the new park space at the foot of King Street will not be ready to open to the public until later this fall, but the Portside in Old Town Festival scheduled for October 12 to 14 will continue as planned as the launch of the new Portside in Old Town waterfront programming series,” according to Visit Alexandria officials. “The festival will take place in the adjacent waterfront spaces close to King Street: Waterfront Park and the Alexandria City Marina. The park delay has also impacted events during subsequent weekends in October, including the location and reduced dates of the Waterfront Beer Garden by Port City Brewing Company. See below for complete details to update your content.”
A complete schedule for the Oct. 12 – 14 festival is available at PortsideinOldTown.com.
Portside Winter Holiday Season
Portside Holidays will include pop-up happenings such as story time with Santa, a community sing-a-long, a hot chocolate bar, a Pacers holiday run meet-up, plus activities at major events such as the Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights, Waterskiing Santa show, and First Night Alexandria on New Year’s Eve.
Coming up next year, 2019 will bring more fun and photo-ops with a visit from the six-foot-tall Virginia is For Lovers LOVE letters in February and a temporary public art installation from New York City studio SOFTlab in place March through November.
Later in 2019, the tall ship Providence will arriving as a permanent attraction. This tall ship replica, which has appeared in the Academy Award-winning film Master and Commander and in the international blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean, is a full-scale replica of one of the U.S. Continental Navy’s first warships, which was captained by John Paul Jones, the father of the U.S. Navy, under the leadership of General George Washington.
The public can look forward to public tours, chartered cruises, educational programs and beer cruises presented in partnership with Alexandria’s own Port City Brewing Company. Free, ongoing Portside in Old Town programming continues through 2019.
Find the full Portside in Old Town programming and festival schedule and parking information at PortsideInOldTown.com.
About the King Street Corridor Initiative
Portside in Old Town programming is part of the King Street Corridor Initiative, a public/private partnership focusing on programming, beautification and marketing, spearheaded by the City of Alexandria and Visit Alexandria.
Founding private sector partners include Lead Partners: Alexandria Restaurant Partners, Alexandria Hotel Association, Carr Hospitality and TTR Sotheby’s; Community Contributors: EYA and the Tall Ship Providence Foundation; and Neighborhood Partners: Asana, Augie’s Mussel House, Chadwicks Restaurant, Pizzeria Paradiso, Port City Brewing Company, Potomac Riverboat Company, and Urbano 116.
The King Street Corridor Initiative will be further supported by a $25,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program for the launch of Alexandria’s expanded waterfront and downtown experience.
City of Alexandria partners include the Department of Project Implementation, Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities, Office of Historic Alexandria, and the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services.The expanded park space at the foot of King Street is a major milestone in the City of Alexandria’s long-term waterfront plan. To learn more, visit AlexandriaVA.gov/Waterfront.
