Wake Up Wednesdays are happening every Wednesday through September from 7-9:30 a.m. at the Duke Street Tunnel Connecting Carlyle to King Street Metro. Free coffee with a purchase of a donut, entertainment from local performers. www.alexandriava.gov/CarlyleFun
Alexandria — Friday/Aug. 4
Free Fitness Classes. Fridays, noon-1 p.m. and Sundays, 9:30-10:30 a.m. through the month of August in John Carlyle Square Park, 300 John Carlyle St. Local studio fitness instructors including Xtend Barre, Pure Barre, Mind the Mat, Pilates Pro Works, and USPTO Fitness Center. The series will include a range of classes including yoga, tai chi, Zumba, barre and kickboxing. Visit www.alexandriava.gov/CarlyleFun for more.
Saturday/Aug. 5
Friendship Firehouse Festival. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the 100 block of South Alfred Street between Prince and King streets. The Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association will hold its annual Friendship Firehouse Festival. Call 703-746-3891 for more.
Tree Fest at River Farm. 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at River Farm, 7931 E. Boulevard Drive. The American Horticultural Society and TREE Fund present a morning celebrating trees. Call 703-768-5700 for more.
English Garden Floral Design Workshop. 9:30-11 a.m. at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road. Create the look of a summer English garden for the home using an assortment of cut flowers, greens and garden materials. Ages 16+. $38 for the program plus $25 supply fee. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakesusing code 2903883301 or call 703-642-5173.
Tavern Open House. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St. Features the site-specific public art installation “Centennial of the Everyday,” public-art exhibition. Call 703-746-4242 or visit www.gadsbystavern.org.
Historian Lecture. 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Watson Reading Room at the Alexandria Black History Museum, 902 Wythe St. WWII B-I US Navy Band 75th Anniversary round table discussion and presentation. E-mail black.history@alexandriava.gov, or call 703-746-4356.
Meet the Artist. 3-5 p.m. at The Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., Studio 312. New Photographs by Sarah Hood Salomon exhibition runs July 31-Sept. 3. Call 703-683-2205 for more.
Meet the Artists. 5-8 p.m. at the Torpedo Factory, 105 North Union St., Foundry Gallery. The artists Fierce Sonia of the Torpedo Factory and Ric Garcia will be opening their show Dynamic Duo. Exhibition will run Aug. 2-27. Visit torpedofactory.org.
Country-Western Dance. 6-9:30 p.m. at Lincolnia Senior Center, 4710 N. Chambliss St. The Northern Virginia Country-Western Dance Association dance, couples and singles of all ages welcome. Admission for NVCWDA members $10; non-members $12; children under 18 accompanied by a paying adult $5. Smoke-free, alcohol-free. BYO refreshments. See www.nvcwda.org or call 703-860-4941.
Saturday Cinema at Carlyle. 8:14 p.m. on John Carlyle Square, 300 John Carlyle St. Caddyshack is the second of this series. Free. Visit www.AlexandriaVA.gov/CarlyleFun for more.
Sunday/Aug. 6
Afternoon Teas with a Difference. 3-4:30 p.m. at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road. Celebrate Britain’s National Afternoon Tea Week with a “Royale Tea,” offering your choice of a glass of champagne at the beginning or sherry at the end of afternoon tea. $42. Adults 21 yrs.+. Call 703-941-7987 or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/greenspring.
Chamber Music Concert. 3 p.m. in The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St. Shane Iler presents an afternoon of music by Brahms on the horn, the violin, and the piano. Free. Visit www.wmpamusic.org for more.
Frank Sinatra Tribute. 7:30 p.m. at the Carlyle Club, 2050 Ballenger Ave. Tony Sands is Frank Sinatra in "It was a Very Good Year." $25. Call 703-548-8899 for more.
Monday/Aug. 7
Purple Heart Day. 10:30 a.m. at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, 3200 Mount Vernon Highway, Mount Vernon. Medal of Honor recipient Capt. Florent Groberg of the United States Army will give the keynote address. Music for the ceremony is provided by the U.S. Marine Corps Band Brass Quintet. A wreath will be on view at the Purple Heart Memorial, located outside of the entrance to the estate. Visit www.mountvernon.org.
Meet the Author. 7 p.m. at The Athenaeum, 201 Prince St. An Evening with KaNikki Jakarta: Books and Poetry. Visit www.nvfaa.org or call 703-548-0035.
Tuesday/Aug. 8
Simpson Gardens Stroll. 11 a.m. at Simpson Park Demonstration Gardens, 420 E. Monroe St. Stop by and chat with the VCE Master Gardeners who maintain the Simpson Park Demonstration Gardens and see what is in bloom. Have all your gardening questions answered too! No registration necessary. Visit mgnv.org/events/mgnv-events/ for more.
Wednesday/Aug. 9
Wake Up Wednesday. 7-9:30 a.m. at the Duke Street Tunnel Connecting Carlyle to King Street Metro. Free coffee with a purchase of a donut, entertainment from local performers. Every Wednesday through September. www.alexandriava.gov/CarlyleFun.
Summer Reading Puppet Show. 10-11 a.m. at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road. Young story lovers are entertained by a puppet show presented by Carousel Puppets. Ages 3+. Visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/parktakes or call 703-642-5173.
Saturday/Aug. 12
Garden Stroll and Ice Cream Social. 10 a.m.-11:30 at Green Spring Gardens, 4603 Green Spring Road. Stroll the summer gardens with a Master Gardener docent, then cool down at an ice cream social in the 1784 Historic House. $12. Call 703-941-7987 or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/greenspring/.
Art of History. 10 a.m.-noon at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St. Art-focused tour of the “Centennial of the Everyday,” that views history through the lens of contemporary art. $15. Call 703-746-4242 or visit www.gadsbystavern.org.
Aug. 12-13
8th Annual Alexandria Summer Sidewalk Sale. Various times, participating stores throughout Old Town and Del Ray. Visit VisitAlexVA.com/SidewalkSale for more.
Sunday/Aug. 13
An Outlandish Geek Tour. noon-1 p.m. at at the Apothecary Museum, 105-107 S. Fairfax St. Learn about a few of the herbal medicines featured in Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” series of novels, from cascara to dauco seeds. Tour recommended for adults only. $15. Visit www.alexandriava.gov/Apothecary or call 703-746-3852.
Summer Chamber Music Series. 3 p.m. Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic Association at The Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St. Join trombonist Tyler Castrucci, along with violist William Neri, and cellist Molly Jones for an afternoon of chamber music. Free. Visit www.wmpamusic.org for more.
Medical Music Group. 4 p.m. at Rachel M. Schlesinger Concert Hall, 4915 East Campus Drive. “Music You Can’t Refuse,” concert. $20-50, veterans and students free. Visit www.nvcc.edu/schlesingercenter/ or vanmmg@hotmail.com.
Documentary Film Tour. 7:30 p.m. at The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria. Hosted by Calek and SIR NOFACE Producer Justin Holstein, the "SIR NOFACE LIVES" tour offers attendees the chance to be among the first to see Calek's mind-bending SIR NOFACE documentary, which chronicles the Australian Government-sanctioned paranormal investigation of Cockatoo Island. Visit sirnoface.com for more information.
Tuesday/Aug. 15
Genealogy Talk. 1-3 p.m. at the Hollin Hall Senior Center, 1500 Shenandoah Road. Learn how to use various record groups to find your pre- and post-Civil War Virginia ancestors and their plantation from genealogist Char McCargo Bah. Visit www.mvgenealogy.org for more.