Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream is now made with fairly traded chocolate, and to celebrate, Ben & Jerry’s Old Town Scoop Shop will be dishing out free samples of chocolate ice cream at Ten Thousand Villages from 1-3 pm on Saturday, September 4, World Chocolate Day.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center, The Art League, and Multiple Exposures Gallery are partnering with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) to kick off their national campaign “Keys From the Crisis.” Through a variety of art related activities, the art center will help the NCRC tell the story of the foreclosure crisis to the public in a very visual way.

In 1950, Alexandrian Earl Lloyd became the first African American to play basketball in the National Basketball Association. The Parker Gray High School graduate later won a championship with the Syracuse Nationals, coached the Detroit Pistons, and, in 2003, was inducted in the NBA Hall of Fame. On Friday, Lloyd, 82, returned to Alexandria to discuss his recently released autobiography “Moonfixer”.

Rain or shine – The City of Alexandria’s Annual Cambodian Community Day Festival Succeeds

August in Alexandria means ethnic festivals and other outdoor fun for the whole family. Last weekend, visitors and Alexandrians enjoyed the first Alexandria Youth Arts Festival, an Alexandria Chamber of Commerce sponsored sidewalk sale and the 2010 Irish Festival.

The Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Target Gallery will be presenting an all media juried exhibition, Systems Failure. The exhibition will run from August 21 through September 26 with two special events. The first ‘meet the artists’ reception will be during our Second Thursday Art Night, September 9 from 6-8pm and the closing reception will be with our juror Sarah Tanguy for a Juror’s Discussion of the exhibition on September 23 beginning at 7pm.

Del Ray Artisans (DRA) is pleased to present the 7th annual Board Showcase titled From Our Perspective. The Board Showcase is unique in that Board members are invited to display their works in return for their service to DRA. Over 200 years of photographic experience is represented in From Our Perspective. The show opens on September 3rd and the Meet the Artists reception will be held on Friday, September 10th from 7 – 10 pm.

Thomas Jefferson’s legacy lives on at Gadsby’s Tavern. The local museum recently acquired a letter written by the third president, which is now on display with a small exhibit in the museum’s ballroom.

On Saturday afternoon, the Friendship Fire Company commemorated its 236th anniversary. The brave generations of firefighters from the Friendship Firehouse at 107 Alfred Street were remembered with cake, vendors and free little red plastic fire helmets with white strings.

On Monday morning, the Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities hosted a meeting on the corner of King and Fayette Streets, the site of a new sculpture that will be installed in the upcoming weeks. The work, by architect John Van Alstine, was a gift from the Alexandria Sculpture Festival and was approved by City Council in 2008.