Alexandria August 2019 Events
Love Your Summer in Alexandria
New this year, book the Love Your Summer in Alexandria hotel package in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Virginia is for Lovers tourism slogan. Already one of the most affordable times of the year to visit, a summer trip just became even more enticing with 17 Alexandria hotels offering rates starting as low as $89 per night and including more than $200 in perks like free overnight parking and two-day unlimited ride water taxi passes for two through Labor Day.
3rd
Friendship Firehouse Festival
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Admission: Free
Friendship Firehouse Museum
107 S. Alfred Street
703-746-3891
alexandriava.gov/FriendshipFirehouse
The Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association (FVFEA) holds its annual Firehouse Festival each year on the first Saturday in August. The popular family event features antique fire apparatus, craft booths, displays by Alexandria merchants and live music. In addition to the day’s outdoor events, festival participants will enjoy visiting the Friendship Firehouse Museum, originally built as a firehouse in 1855. The FVFEA is now a philanthropic organization focusing on fire-fighting history and fire safety. It remains active in community events, including the annual Festival and supports historic preservation of the building and its collection. Food and beverages are available. Children will receive free fire helmets and are treated to a supervised visit inside the City of Alexandria’s fire trucks.
3rd
The Real World Science Behind Harry Potter: Adults Only
5:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Admission: $20 per person
Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum
105-107 S. Fairfax Street
shop.alexandriava.gov
Bring your friends for a fun night featuring all things “Harry Potter.” Explore the Muggle science and medicine of Harry Potter with tour guides, raise a toast to Harry’s birthday with a magical cocktail and allow Professor Severus Snape to ensnare your senses as he demonstrates his magical skills. Tickets are available starting July 1, and advance purchase is recommended, as space is limited.
16th – 25th

Alexandria Summer Restaurant Week
Neighborhoods throughout Alexandria including Old Town, Del Ray, Carlyle and Eisenhower and the West End
For 10 days and two weekends, more than 70 restaurants in Alexandria, Virginia, will offer a $35 three-course dinner for one OR a $35 dinner for two during Alexandria Summer Restaurant Week,August 16-25, 2019. More than 35 restaurants will also offer lunch menus at $15 or $22 per person in addition to the dinner specials. Brunch lovers can enjoy brunch menus for $15 or $22 per person at nearly 20 restaurants. AlexandriaRestaurantWeek.com – 703-838-5005
17th
Cinema Del Ray Outdoor Movies
7 p.m.; films begin at dusk
Admission: Free
Mt. Vernon Recreation Center Field
2701 Commonwealth Avenue
facebook.com/cinemadelray
Bring family, friends, neighbors and a blanket to watch family-friendly open-air movies including Peter Pan, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Smallfoot (in Spanish with English subtitles), How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and Incredibles 2 at Cinema Del Ray, sponsored by The Jen Walker Team.
24th
Alexandria Irish Festival
11 am – 7 pm
Waterfront Park
1A Prince Street
Join the Ballyshaners and their local sponsors for one of Alexandria’s biggest outdoor parties. Eat, Drink and Be Irish with food and beer truck, pipe bands, Irish dancers, vendors, craft jewelry and much more. For more information log on to Ballyshaners.org
Find more summer events at VisitAlexandriaVA.com/Summer.
ABOUT ALEXANDRIA, VA
Named the #1 Best Value U.S. Travel Destination 2018 by Money magazine, a Top 5 Best Small City in the U.S. 2018 by the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards and one of the South’s Prettiest Cities 2018 by Southern Living, Alexandria hums with a cosmopolitan feel and a walkable lifestyle—a welcoming weekend escape next to our nation’s capital. A nationally designated historic district founded in 1749, Old Town Alexandria is home to more than 200 independent restaurants and boutiques alongside intimate historic museums and new happenings at the waterfront. At the heart of it all is bustling King Street, a walkable mile recognized as one of the “Great Streets” of America. New restaurants tucked in to 18th- and 19th-century architecture still intact from the city’s days as George Washington’s hometown ignite historic and off-the-beaten-path neighborhoods as the waterfront district evolves with new energy. Learn more at VisitAlexandriaVA.com.