It's Christmas Eve and only eight days until 2021! I think this calls for a celebration! Well Alexandria, we've had some ups and downs, some roses and thorns, some highs and lows. But through it all, our community prevailed. I'd say our community definitely made it to the top of Santa's nice list this year… and he won't even have to check it twice!!  Here are a few of the amazing things our community did to get on Santa's Good List:

Closing the streets for outdoor dining

• • • When the weather turned warm and we started to journey out from our lockdowns and quarantines, our community restaurants took outdoor dining to a new level. The 100 block of King Street closed its road off to become a pedestrian zone in order for outdoor dining to expand. In October, the city announced that the pedestrian zone on King would continue into March 2021 for restaurants to winterize their alternative dining options and continue to serve the Alexandria community and adapt to new phases of the pandemic.
  • • Honorable mention: curbside pickup cocktails!

Supporting our local charities

• • • Alexandria's annual giving day, Spring2Action, raised $2.45 million for Alexandria nonprofits in 2020 -- a $386,000 increase over 2019s fundraising. The event happened on April 15th, with 8,450 donors supporting 156 local nonprofits in only 24 hours. What an incredible show of support!
  • • Alexandria was also named one of the country's best GoFundMe supporters!

Local boutiques adapt and thrive

• • • Our local boutiques, many of whom are featured in Alexandria Stylebook, took on the challenge to adapt to customer needs when our usual way of life was altered. This included curbside pickups, online ordering, supporting each other, and accommodating social distance restrictions and phases!
  • • Local businesses also adapted with virtual engagement. We loved Helen Olivia's Online Floral Workshops to not only help us find new hobbies during quarantine but also keep business open to the community.

Alexandria Drive-In

• • • When life shut down, entertainment did too. Seeing a need for family fun and opportunity to benefit local Alexandria charities, The Alexandria Drive-In Theatre opened to provide the community with a place for entertainment and joy in this time of need.

New developments emerge

• • • Alexandria's former coal-fired power plant is in the works to be redeveloped into a mixed-use site. The site's new plan is committed to sustainable and livable communities that will open new doors for housing, offices, dining, and retail opportunities as well as public space along the river.

 Thank you, Alexandria. It's been a long year... but what an incredible year of our community showing its true colors of support, love, new ideas, and creative thinking. Wishing a Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!