By Bob Tagert

When I initially sat down to pen these notes late last week, the daytime temperature was in the mid 70’s and it looked like we were headed into fall even though the first official day isn’t until the 22nd of the month. Well, we all know that was short-lived. The last couple of days have hit the 90’s and it looks like it will round out the first week of the month with some pleasant mid-80 days. The 80 degree days don’t exactly exude fall vibes but the 60 degree nights are a step in the right direction! I started wearing long pants a few days ago but still haven’t put the shorts away.

We have another great issue in store for you in these 48 pages. Our cover sets the mood with our Cover Girl, Ethel, setting the stage for the transition into the new season with her combination of summer sunflowers and fall pumpkin vines. Check out the “About the Cover” on page 6 for her bio.

We are happy to celebrate our very own Little Theatre of Alexandria’s 90^th Anniversary this month. Many thanks to Flash aka Fred Lash for contributing to the write up. You will find this special feature in tandem with Mark Edleman’s On Stage Old Town column. In Gallery Beat, Lenny Campello takes a peek at ‘Gallery Season 2024’ with insight to two DMV artist who are “Comin’ In Hot”! Rounding out the Arts & Entertainment section, Ron Powers reviews Hotel Yorba by The White Stripes in High Notes and Miriam Kramer revisits Matthew Perry’s last book, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing in her Last Word column.

Our Road Trip took us back to Fells Point along the Patapsco River near Baltimore. Actually, it is kind of a suburb for B’More around the corner from the Inner Harbor. Both very fun places to visit and close enough for a day trip!

In From the Bay, Kristin Goodhue relates to the success of Restored Oyster Sanctuaries and we return to Virginia’s Oldest Juried Crafts Fair in To the Blue Ridge. Going beyond, Alex Brittel writes about two new resorts in Jamaica you might want to consider for your next island vacation in Caribbean Connection.

Our Dining Out foray this month took us to the Hummingbird Restaurant in Hotel Indigo. The main entrance is on South Union but the restaurant is located on the Potomac River side near the new River Walk. We opted for a Sunday summer brunch as opposed to dinner and it was the perfect day for it. Sunny with a bit of a breeze and a good day for people watching. On the other end of the dining spectrum, Chef Glenn dug into the fall recipe section of his cookbooks and went full on fall with three of his Crockpot favorites in Let’s Eat.

The Virginia Wine Industry is gearing up for the Fall. The growing season has been challenging this year and now we look toward Harvest. In Exploring Virginia Wines Doug Fabbioli discusses the vintners “Playoffs.” Matt Fitzsimmons’ Grapevine takes a look at ‘Virginia Women in Wine’. This is a group founded by longtime Virginia wine promoter and writer, Nancy Bauer. Many of you may recognize the name since she penned Grapevine for us for several years.

Tim Long rounded out the eats and drinks section with his first 2024 encounter with pumpkin beer in his Let’s Get Crafty column. I’m on the same page with Tim – it wasn’t even the end of August and the promoters are hawking the stuff.

Our two veteran lady writers continue to provide us with stellar columns. In her A Bit of History column, Sarah Becker explores Women’s Equality in 2024 while Lori Welch Brown takes us down memory lane with her “Sex and the City” rewind in Open Space. This and much more await within these pages.

Have yourselves a fantastic Labor Day weekend as you wind down the summer of 2024 with some fun in the sun don’t discount the fact that you may have to dig out those jeans and real shoes just in case some really cool fall weather sneaks in!