Happy Birthday Alexandria!

On Saturday, July 8, 2017, from 5 to 10 p.m., celebrate America’s 241st birthday and Alexandria’s 268th birthday along the Potomac waterfront at Oronoco Bay Park. Bring lawn chairs, blankets and a picnic and enjoy live music by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, patriotic birthday cake, food vendors and a dazzling fireworks display. As George Washington’s hometown, Alexandria is a patriotic hotspot, filled with tours by bike, boat and foot, historic sites and art galleries, plus restaurants and boutiques to explore before heading to the waterfront for the grand celebration.

Schedule of events:

5 p.m. – Performance by Ocho de Bastos; refreshment sales

6 p.m. – Performance by the U. S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps

7:30 p.m. – Welcome by Mayor Allison Silberberg, poetry reading by Alexandria Poet Laureate Wendi R. Kaplan, and acknowledgements

8 p.m. – Distribution of birthday cake by the Mayor and Members of City Council

8:30 p.m. – Performance by the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra; Jon Kalbfleisch, Guest Conductor, accompanied by the Continental Color Guard presenting during the National Anthem

9:30 p.m. – Grand Finale fireworks display featuring Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture,” with cannon support by the Presidential Salute Battery of the 3d United States Infantry Regiment (“The Old Guard”), Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia

*Photo from Patch.com and Victor Wolansky