News Briefs
Nominations Open for the 2025 Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award
The City of Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission and AlexRenew, the public wastewater treatment authority serving the City of Alexandria, are accepting nominees for the 2025 Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award. This award recognizes members of the Alexandria community who demonstrate a commitment to protecting the environment and preserving local natural resources. Nominations must be received by Friday, March 14, 2025.
The City of Alexandria will celebrate Earth Month 2025: Steps to a Greener Alexandria with activities throughout the month of April and will announce the Pickering Award winner during the Del Ray GardenFest on Sunday, April 27, 2025.
The award was established to honor the legacy of the late Ellen Pickering, a former member of both the City Council and the board of AlexRenew. Pickering, a long-standing advocate for environmental conservation, worked to ensure that the Potomac River waterfront was accessible to the public and not reserved for private interests. She also helped create the Mount Vernon Trail between Alexandria and Washington, DC, and managed the installation of 1,000 resident-donated cherry trees during her tenure as chair of the Alexandria Beautification Commission.
To be eligible for the Pickering Award, nominees, which can include residents, groups, clubs, organizations, or corporate neighbors, must live or operate within the City of Alexandria. The actions of the nominees must have a direct impact on protecting the natural environment and its resources within the City of Alexandria.
The Award Committee includes representatives from AlexRenew, the Alexandria Environmental Policy Commission, and the Pickering family. Each year, the committee awards an individual or organization for their work caring for our environment in active, demonstrable ways.
Visit the Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award page for more information, including eligibility criteria, nominating requirements and the selection process.
Final Public Presentation: Murray-Dick-Fawcett House Comprehensive Plan
Date: Monday, Feb. 24, 2025; Time: 6–7 p.m.
Join the Office of Historic Alexandria and Glavé & Holmes Architecture via Zoom for the final presentation of the Murray-Dick-Fawcett House Comprehensive Plan. Learn about plans for the site’s preservation, interpretation, and future as a City-owned museum at this final public presentation.
The Murray-Dick-Fawcett House, located at 517 Prince Street, was purchased by the City in 2017. The 1770s structure has been recognized as a unique architectural example of a frame middle-class home that remained largely unaltered over time.
The final report and a recording of this presentation will be available on the project website.
Learn more: Comprehensive Plan – Murray-Dick-Fawcett House https://www.alexandriava.gov/museums/comprehensive-plan-murray-dick-fawcett-house Register for the virtual presentation: Zoom Webinar Registration https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_suPUWyE-Qm29NPhDKOZqqA#/registration
The Courage to Be Concert: Washington Revels Jubilee Voices
On Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025 at 2 p.m. at The Lyceum: Alexandra’s History Museum, the Office of Historic Alexandria’s Division of African American History will present a concert — The Courage to Be by the Washington Revels Jubilee Voices.
The concert is free and open to the public as part of the City’s Black History Month Programming.
The Washington Revels Jubilee Voices, under the direction of Andrea Blackford, interprets African American culture and traditions through a blend of music, spoken word and dance. Join the Office of Historic Alexandra for The Courage to Be, a free concert of traditional music on Sunday, Feb. 16 at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington Street.
Days of Remembrance, Victims of the Holocaust
The City of Alexandria will observe the Days of Remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust on Thursday, April 24, 2025, at 12 p.m. noon in Market Square, 301 King St.
The City of Alexandria hosts the annual ceremony as part of the weeklong commemoration of the national Days of Remembrance, observed from April 20 through April 27.
This is the 36th year the City has held the Days of Remembrance ceremony. The event is free and open to the public. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the City Council Chamber, located on the second floor of City Hall, 301 King St.
The guest speaker will be Richard Breitman, distinguished professor, writer, and a leading historian on the Holocaust. Breitman is the author or co-author of fourteen books, including The Architect of Genocide: Himmler and the Final Solution and FDR and the Jews, which won the 2013 National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies. He also served as editor of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies journal for 25 years and has conducted extensive research on classified World War II documents.
During the ceremony, Mayor Alyia Gaskins and members of City Council will light a candelabrum that the late Holocaust survivor Charlene Schiff and her husband, Ed, donated to the City.
The 54-inch high, solid brass candelabrum was donated in memory of Charlene Schiff’s parents and sister, and the six million Jews and millions of others who perished in the Holocaust. The Schiff candelabrum is also made available to schools and civic groups studying the Holocaust.
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum leads the nation in the weeklong Days of Remembrance commemoration.