This event has passed.

Alexandria Dog Walk

Name: Alexandria Dog Walk
Start: 2025-04-05T07:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-04-05T11:00:00-04:00
Location: Oronoco Bay Park

April 5 @ 7:00 am - 11:00 am

Welcome to the ALX Dog Walk!

We’re a nonprofit on a mission to make sustainable and plastic-free living fun through #FunActivism—thanks for joining us!

How do we do it? We bring together pups and people for the biggest, barkiest 2-mile dog walk event and Sustainability Festival in the DC, MD, and VA region and emceed by NBC4’s Chuck Bell!

Event Details:

When: Sat., April 5, 2025, 7 AM – 11 AM, walkers check-in, grab a Goodie Bag, a free cup of coffee, baked treats, and enjoy the many tables in the Park. The 2-mile dog walk begins promptly at 8:15 am and followed by a Park celebration!
Where: Oronoco Bay Park, 100 Madison St, Old Town Alexandria, VA.
The Walk: 1,000+ dogs and dog lovers take a 2-mile walk down historic Union St and back along the beautiful Potomac River to Oronoco Bay Park (riverside) – participate with or without a pup! Mayor Alyia Gaskins and Chuck Bell along with Girl Scouts with Sustainability Matters and our friends at Pawfectly Delicious Dog Treats will all help lead the Walk! Plus, performers from The Alexandria Singers and a trio from the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra will surprise and delight!
Goodie Bag for Participants: Walkers receive a draw-string back pack with a sustainably sourced t-shirt and dog bandana, and eco-friendly treats.
The Dog Show: Dogs compete for a $100 gift card for these categories: Twinsie (dog that most resembles its owner!); Best Personality; and, Best Groomed.
Sustainability Festival : Walkers explore a Sustainability Festival featuring eco-friendly goods and services, plus a huge exhibit of plastic-free products.
Plastic Art Competition: Artists display their works of art made of plastic and receive awards (they’ll also be selling other art too). Wait till you see their artwork!
Spring2Action Nonprofit Village (Click HERE!): Up to 40 local nonprofits showcase their work, just before ACT for Alexandria’s Giving Day (April 9th).
Other Festival Activities: Participants enjoy the dog obstacle course, DJ tunes & bubbles, family and kids’ games, photo booth, and more.
Free Ethically Sourced Coffee: Hypergoat Coffee Roasters provides coffee to the first 400 walkers with a mug! We’re a plastic-free event, and remember to bring your own water bottle!
Healthy Bake Sale: Morning treats on hand and hosted by and benefitting The Board of Lady Managers of INOVA Hospital.
Register Here!: It’s our annual tradition to offer the first 100 military (active/retired) a complimentary registration – use the promo code MILITARY and present your ID at check-in. We also offer student and group discounts. Kids 12 and under participate for free.

also appears in

Fairfax County Local Lore Virginia

Virginia Vanity Plates: What’s the Deal?

by The Local Girl December 30, 2024

The Local Girl December 30, 2024

Chances are good that if you’ve spent any time driving in or through Virginia, you’ve tried to decipher the meaning behind another driver’s vanity plate. It could be a terrible pun, an inside joke, an homage to a favorite sports team, or all of those in one message. Out of all 50 states, Virginia leads the country in the number of vanity plates issued. Read on for more about this fun bit of trivia.

All About Vanity Plates

A vanity plate is a custom, personalized message instead of the randomly assigned letter and number combination issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). In Virginia, the plates are available for cars and motorcycles in addition to trucks. Customers have a wide range in terms of what they can select, but the Commissioner has the discretion to deny the application. As the guidelines for what is acceptable change over time, a previously approved plate may be recalled.

A 2022 survey of rejected plates by Virginia Public Media (VPM) found that most of the rejected plates were against the stated guidelines or too offensive to be appropriate. Any application that is on the border of being approved is sent to a special committee made up of a cross-section of DMV employees who evaluate the application. Denied applicants can appeal, and sometimes take their rejections to court.

The state of Virginia also offers over 200 specialized plates, which honor anything from local colleges and universities to military service to hobbies. And, if none of those fit the bill, residents can submit their own design for consideration.

Between the personalized identifier and the specialized plate, it’s possible to have a license plate that is truly one-of-a-kind. The DMV also offers souvenir plates, so if you want one version for your actual vehicle and something fun for your office or bookshelf, it’s possible. Businesses can work with the state to get their own plates, bringing new meaning to the phrase ‘mobile marketing.’ Some plates have revenue-sharing benefits for charity such as the Blue Ridge Parkway version and the Wildlife Eagle version.

As for why there are simply so many vanity plates in Virginia, it’s a matter of cost. The additional fee for personalization is $10 per year in addition to traditional registration costs. The DMV’s website for creating personalized plates is too fun to be considered a government resource. Endless combinations of specialized plates and messages await.

There’s a Facebook group dedicated to sharing vanity plates. One Virginia graduate student created a dedicated Instagram page about sharing Virginia’s vanity plates.

Details

Date:: April 5
Time:: 7:00 am - 11:00 am
Event Categories:: Kid-friendly, Lifestyle, Pets
Event Tags:: alexandria, Family Fun, Kid-friendly, pets, virginia, weekend
Website:: https://alxdogwalk.com/

Venue

: Oronoco Bay Park
: 100 Madison Street
Alexandria, VA + Google Map
: View Venue Website