By Bob Tagert

Here it is February already and winter has finally set in. Part of me hopes we used up our quota for snow in January but I do admit that I like being out in it so the other part of me hopes we get another round (without the 20 degree temps) at some point in the next couple of months.

February means that the oldest and largest George Washington Birthday Parade in the country takes place on Presidents Day, February 19^th right here in Old Town. This is always a fun event and a great chance for the kids to see something special. As you can tell from the Calendar in this issue, there is a lot of activity all month taking place around “Presidents Day” for George, whose birthday is actually on the 22nd. Ever wonder why we don’t include President Lincoln this month as well. His birthday falls on the 12^th. Guess since he wasn’t born here or have a huge complex in the area, he doesn’t get billing. If you have an interest in the history of Presidents Day, check out the column about it in this issue.

February 14th brings us Valentine’s Day and Lori Welch Brown has penned a very clever column about the machinations people go through on this day in her Open Space column. Sarah Becker gives you some insight to the history of the holiday as she intertwines President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn’s love story in A Bit of History.

And, obviously, the bulk of you will be looking for places to take your sweetheart for dinner. Clearly there are numerous great restaurants in Alexandria to visit on Valentine’s Day. You may want to consider the subject of this month’s Dining Out column, Elaine’s. This is one of Old Town’s newest and unique restaurants as it brings a bit of Alexandria, Egypt to our fair city.

If you want to get out of town for a little romance, another great destination is Barrel Oak Winery (see their ad on inside back cover) where February is for “wine” lovers. And, in all fairness, there are lots of Valentine events happening at the bulk of the wineries within a 1-2 hour radius of Old Town.

February also is Heart Awareness month. This is something dear to me as I have three stents in my heart. In From the Trainer this month Ryan Unverzagt teaches us about this magnificent organ…the heart. In keeping with that theme, Nicole Flanagan writes about how cold weather affects the heart in her Fitness column.

The photo of me sitting in that comfortable chair next to the fire place was taken at the beautiful River Bluff Farm Bed & Breakfast in Quicksburg, Virginia. River Bluff is our Road Trip destination this month. This place is both rustic and a bit elegant at the same time. I really don’t know how to explain it.

It’s bad enough that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, March will be upon us in no time as well. That leads me to mentioning Alexandria’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. I have seriously questioned WHY do we have it on the first Saturday of March every year? Why not closer to the 17^th? Well, I was told that the organizer of the first parade, Pat Troy of Irelands Own fame, put out the edict that he wanted to have the FIRST St. Patrick’s Day parade in the DMV each year. It will be held on March 2^nd. Look for more details on the parade in the Calendar section.

While we are on the subject, our congratulations go out to Mike aka Mango Mike Anderson who will be the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick’s Parade 2024. I have known Michael for over 35 years. He has been in the service business pretty much his whole life starting with bartending in Washinton, D.C. in the 60’s &70’s and then opening his own restaurants in Alexandria. Currently, Mike and his wife Donna, with the help of their daughter Danielle Mammel and son-in-law David Mammel, own and operate HomeGrown Restaurant Group, a six-restaurant group located within the Carlyle and Del Ray neighborhoods of Alexandria. The group includes Pork Barrel BBQ, Holy Cow, The Del Ray Pop Up Bar, Tequila & Taco, Sweet Fire Donna’s and Whiskey & Oyster.

February is also Black History month. We were unable to publish the activities taking place in Alexandria due to not getting the information prior to our print deadline, however, please check them out in the online version on our website. They will be posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages as well.

Last, but not least…It is Leap Year so we have an extra day to kick our heels up in February! Can you believe it has been 4 years since we’ve had one?? 😊