The Pike was swinging and swaying as the largest crowd ever turned out for the 13th Annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival on June 21.  Great music, delicious foods, and hot and sunny weather combined to make it the perfect way to celebrate the first day of summer. Even the predicted thunderstorms knew better than to rain on the Pike area’s favorite street party.

Festival goers enjoyed six hours of music (click here for musician photos) by Danny Blew & the Blues Crew, Karl Stoll & the Dangerzone, Melanie Mason Band, Tom Principato, Memphis Gold, and Roomful of Blues. A limited number of souvenir Blues Festival t-shirts are available for $10 each.  Call CPRO at 703-892-2776 to buy yours today. To view the t-shirt graphic designed by Mark Beeson of Beeson Creative Group click here.

Please help us thank the following sponsoring organizations for helping to make the Blues Festival possible: local pet services company Dog Paws University; Yuengling Beer; the Washington Forrest Foundation; Arlington Commuter Service’s PikeRide and Car Free Diet; Silverwood Associates; Woodfield Investments; Fillmore Garden Apartments; B.M. Smith & Associates;  Westmont Gardens,  Oakland and Dorchester Apartments of Columbia Pike; Eye Site Optometrists; Columbia Pike Plaza/  Rakusin & Becker Management; DSF Advisors; and Heritage Property  Company LLC. CPRO would also like to thank the following in-kind sponsors: Comcast; OnTap Magazine; the Arlington Connection; Beeson Creative Group; Left Noodle-Right Noodle; the William J. Reap Co.; BB&T Bank, the Ethiopian Community Development Council, the Arlington Cinema ’N Drafthouse; Sign*a*rama of King Street; and the Sheraton National Hotel.

 

 

Click here for other photos of the Blues Festival!

 

As the summer continues more fresh, ripe produce is coming in from local Farmers whose prized fruits and vegetables are available every Sunday from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in Pike Park, at the corner of S. Walter Reed Dr. and Columbia Pike. This year, in addition to old favorites like Creek Side Produce, Twin Springs Fruit Farm, Smith Fresh Organic Meats, Bonaparte Breads, and Toigo Orchards, an exciting array of new vendors have joined the market.  These include organic Stoneybrook Farms, as well as local producers of milk, butter, yogurt, salsas, and tea. These join the Virginia Chocolate Co., The Jam Jar, Hondo Coffee, Union Street Soapworks, and other vendors who are happy to be coming back to the Pike for another year.

For a full list of vendors at the Columbia Pike Farmers Market go to: http://www.columbiapike.org/MARKET/index_E.html 

On Saturday, April 12 nearly 1000 local residents flocked to the Walter Reed Community Center (2909 16th St. S.)  to gain valuable information about a wide range of home improvement products and services  offered by more than 60 exhibitors.

Experts in all types of remodeling projects, replacement windows and doors, basement finishing and waterproofing, decks, flooring, paving, masonry, and much more were on hand. Moreover, a number of exhibitors featured solutions for building "green" and for making homes more energy efficient.  In addition, the County’s Fresh AIRE initiative gave away compact florescent light bulbs to the first 250 people to visit their booth. Also, many Home Show attendees took advantage of one or more of the 9 free classes and seminars that were offered. Non-profits such as Habitat for Humanity and Arlington Home Ownership Made Easier (AHOME) enjoyed the opportunity to meet so many area residents and spread the word about their programs. Jorge Laura of the County’s Housing Division ensured that representatives of a number of the County’s departments and programs participated. "It’s important that we be here to explain things like how to obtain residential building permits and how the County can help with a variety of housing issues," said Laura.

The 2^nd annual Arlington Home Show & Expo was presented by the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) in partnership with Arlington County’s Housing Division. “We are pleased to be able to put on this event in Arlington as a service to local residents, and to help highlight the good work of local companies in the home improvement field,” said Jim Whittaker, CPRO’s Executive Director.  Ann Bayer, the artist and owner of Barcroft-based Faux and Fleur Design said "We are delighted to be here. This is a great way to introduce ourselves to people who might be interested in decorative finishes for their home or business."

Whittaker also was happy with how well the community center accomodated the event. "This is a great facility, and we want to thank the folks in the Parks and Recreation department, and Jesse Barnes and his team at the Walter Reed Community Center for their outstanding support of this event," he said.

For more information about the show, including a full list of exhibitors, sponsors, classes and seminars, click  "Arlington Home Show & Expo" from the Site Contents list at the left. 

Those who might be interested in participating in next year’s Home Show as a sponor or exhibitor should contact the CPRO office (703-892-2776) to get on the 2009 invitation list.

The likelihood of bringing a modern streetcar system to Columbia Pike, which has been in consideration for nearly 5 years, has increased substantially in the past several months, as the project has gained public attention, and funding sources have become more promising.  A the recent Pike Progress Luncheon Arlington County Board member Chris Zimmerman told the large crowd that he is "more confident than ever" that the system will be up and running in "four or five years. Proponents of the system have been encouraged by a unanimous County Board vote that placed the Columbia Pike project on a list of County transportation priorities, the endorsement of the project by the  Arlington Chamber of Commerce, and the designation of $36.9 million for the project by the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. Based on the Authority’s criteria for ranking projects the Columbia Pike Streetcar received the second highest score in the Transit category and the third highest score among all Northern Virginia projects. While the Virginia Supreme Court has subsequently ruled that NVTA does not have the authority to collect the tax money it would use for such projects, Northern Virginia leaders are hoping the legislature will establish a new, and constitutional, way for the region to fund its priority  transportation initiatives.

In addition, the Columbia Pike Streetcar has gained a good deal of media attention of late, as the subject of articles in the Washington Post, Washington Business Journal,  Arlington Sun Gazette, a number of segments on WTOP radio, and a story on Fox 5 News. One reason for the attention here is what’s happening elsewhere in the region and around the country, such as in Portland, Oregon (pictured at the right). "We are beginning to see a streetcar revolution," said Steve DelGuidice, an Arlington County transportation planner, who cites dozens of municipalities that are planning streetcar systems both to efficiently transport more people, and to gain the benefits of new economic development.

The proposal for a Columbia Pike Streetcar System came out of the extensive public planning efforts that produced the community’s vision for a revitalized Pike, the "Form Based Code" which prescribes the kinds of development that can occur here, and the Columbia Pike Street Space Planning Task Force Report. The specific plan for a 4.7 mile line that will run from Skyline to Pentagon City, operate in mixed traffic lanes, and be supplemented with buses during peak periods, was endorsed by the Arlington and Fairfax County Boards in April and May of 2006.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the Columbia Pike Streetcar

Click here for Map of Proposed Streetcar Line

  Mother Nature, proving she is a big fan of Columbia Pike, provided a remarkably warm, sunny, and beautiful day on October 21, and a great crowd gathered for a grand multicultural celebration and the start of a new tradition on the Pike.  County Board Vice Chairman Walter Tejada addressed the early afternoon festival-goers and said the event is an example of the vibrancy of the Columbia Pike Community and an indication of how Arlington welcomes its diverse population. The international food festival featured a wide variety of delicious fare from area restaurants including Atilla’s Restaurant (Middle Eastern), Dama’s em>(Ethiopian), San Vicente Restaurant (Salvadoran and TexMex), Taj Palace (Indian), Salvo’s Pizza Pantry (Italian), and excellent Thai cooking by Krit Yampai, Southern American fare from Big Daddy’s BBQ,  and baked treats from Shoe Box Oven. CPRO partnered with the Arlington County Multicultural Advisory Commission to bring the sights and sounds of more than a dozen performing groups to the event including the Mariachi band Asi es mi tierra, the Asian dance group Sutera Malaysia, the Arlington Dance Theater, Mexican Folklorica,  Hawaiian dancers from Halou-o-aulani, the Guatemalan Folkloric group WUQXINCAN, local barbershop quartet the Arlingtones, Bolivian dance group Santiago de Anzaldo, the  Fil-Am Heritage Dance Ensemble, the Panamanian Grupolfawa, the Columbia Pike Community Chorus, and more.

Vendors were busy showing and selling arts and crafts and other goods while civic and non-profit groups provided information about their activities and services. Edgemoor Real Estate Services and the architecture firm of Davis Carter Scott, who will redevelop the Arlington Mill Community Center Site as the County’s private partners, were on hand to discuss the exciting project. Meanwhile, representatives from Arlington County and transportation consultant DMJM Harris talked to festival-goers about plans for a modern streetcar system for Columbia Pike. One special feature of the Festival was its community health fair component where local health service organizations and health care providers offered information and free vision, blood pressure, and dental health screenings. Our lead sponsors for the event were the Washington Forrest Foundation, and Edgemoor Real Estate Services/ Davis Carter Scott. Our other sponsors are PikeRide; Giant Food; Virginia Commerce Bank; Silverwood Associates; Elite Electrical; The Dorchester, Westmont, and Oakland Apartments; B.M. Smith & Associates; Columbia Pike Plaza;  Woodfield Investments; Beeson Creative Group; Brown’s Nissan; and BB&T.

To view more photos click on "A Great Time at Taste of the Pike!" at the top of the right hand column of this web page, as well as the three links below it.