A Scottish Christmas in VirginiaAlexandria celebrates its heritage and the holidays in bonnie styleBy Angela Fox
In between all the festivities we found time to shop and dine along King Street. We had an exceptional dinner of fresh seafood at the Warehouse Bar and Grill one evening and lunch at the Bittersweet Café, which offers a selection of homemade soups, salads and sandwiches – plus a wonderful hot and cold buffet sold by the pound. Just pile your plate with veggies, hot casseroles and entrees, salads and more and they’ll weigh your plate (not you, thank heavens) and charge accordingly. Be sure to sample a chocolate cream cheese cupcake or other delectable item from their bakery, too. Alexandria has hotels and inns to suit every taste and budget but for convenience, comfort and service, you can’t beat Hampton Inn Old Town, located right on King Street just two blocks from Metro stop and a short walk or DASH About (the free weekend shuttle) bus ride to everything in Old Town.
Other uniquely Alexandria celebrations include George Washington’s Birthday, a citywide event honoring the city’s favorite son, February 19-21, 2005. Highlights include the Birthday Celebration at Mount Vernon, Washington’s country estate a short drive (or Metro and bus trip) from Old Town, on February 21. Admission is free on this day to the historic home with a wreath-lying ceremony at 10 a.m. followed by musical performances. Another top event is the Birthday Parade through Old Town, the largest parade anywhere honoring our first president, with marching bands, floats, military and reenactment units, Masonic groups, equestrian entries, antique cars, and of course, George and Martha Washington. Photographs by Virgil Fox FOR MORE INFORMATION Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association |
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In 1669, Scotsman John Alexander purchased the land of present-day Alexandria, VA from an English sea captain for six thousand pounds worth of tobacco and liquor. It’s a real estate deal that rivals the purchase of Manhattan from Native Americans for a handful of beads. Today Alexandria boasts some of the priciest homes in the area and a prized location on the western shore of the Potomac River just a short Metro subway ride from the monuments and museums of Washington DC. But with fashionable boutiques and gourmet restaurants vying for attention with historic sites and rows of beautifully renovated Colonial homes, Alexandria is a destination unto itself as my husband and I recently discovered.
Early December is one of our favorite times to travel – the Thanksgiving crush is over and the Christmas one has yet to begin. Yet every destination is decorated for the holidays and festive events abound. This is especially true in Alexandria, a city that celebrates Christmas in high Colonial style all month long. King Street, which bisects Old Town (the historic heart of the city dating from 1749), is a mile long display twinkling white lights, wreath-hung doorways and decorated shops and restaurants. At one end is the towering George Washington Masonic National Memorial (patterned after the lighthouse in Alexandria in ancient Egypt) and at the other the Potomac River, with its marina, shops, eateries and the Torpedo Factory Art Center. 
Our visit coincided with the 34th annual Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend, held the first weekend of December each year in benefit of The Campangna Center, a non-profit organization providing an array of programs for at-risk children. The highlight of the weekend is the Saturday parade honoring Alexandria's Scottish heritage with more than 100 Scottish clans marching in tartans and playing bagpipes. The men in kilts are joined by living history reenactment units, dog clubs, antique cars and, of course, Santa Claus himself riding on a fire engine. The parade slows down often for fencing and medieval battle exhibitions and musical performances from the marching bands, making it possible to nip into a café for a coffee and return without missing a beat. The dog clubs, with both two-footed and four-footed participants, are among the most popular groups in the parade. You’ll see breeds like Scottish Deerhounds, Scottish and Cairn terriers, Irish wolfhounds, West Highlands and many more, all decked out in plaid collars, coats and bows.
After the parade we joined the Designer Tour of Homes, featuring six charming, architecturally interesting homes decorated for the holidays. It was a rare treat to peek inside these private homes, many built over 150 years ago and all exquisitely restored and furnished. Next it was on to a Revolutionary War encampment at Carlyle House, a Georgian Palladian manor house built in 1752 by Scottish merchant and city founder John Carlyle. The men and boys in uniform and women in Colonial dress painted a vivid picture of military life over 200 years ago. We capped off the day with the 5th annual Holiday Parade of Boats, Alexandria's twist on holiday lights competitions. In this parade more than 50 brightly lit sailing and powered leisure boats cruise along the Potomac River past the city's historic waterfront. Themes range from patriotic to tropical to our favorite, a Viking ship motif. 
Earlier in our visit we had taken an excellent walking tour of Old Town with Wellington Watts, owner of Alexandria Colonial Tours, which offers a variety of tours from the historical to the ghostly. Highlights of the walking tour include Christ Church, a beautiful English country-style church built between 1767-1773 and attended by George Washington and Robert E. Lee and Gadsby's Tavern Museum, which consists of a 1785 Georgian tavern and the 1792 hotel, where guests included George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. The tavern has been authentically restored to its 18th-century appearance and is now a full-service restaurant where we enjoyed a lunch of crab cakes, fish and chips and mulled cider. We also stopped at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House built in 1774 and the site of memorial services for George Washington. A memorial to an unknown soldier of the American Revolution is in the churchyard.
Alexandria celebrates New Year’s Eve in grand style as well, being one of dozens of communities across the United States, Canada, and Australia that rings in the New Year with First Night, a family-oriented, alcohol-free tribute to the arts. On Dec. 31, Old Town is transformed into a musical fantasyland starting at 6:00 p.m. and culminating in a fireworks finale at midnight at the George Washington Masonic Memorial. With purchase of a First Night Button (around $10) you gain admission to an array of performances and exhibitions featuring the best in theatre, dance, music and the visual arts.