Happy Thursday, Northern Virginia!
In today’s update:
🎉 Check out March’s standout events worth adding to your calendar. March is shaping up to be a busy month around NoVA and DC. From the Cherry Blossom Festival to the Lady Gaga concert, there’s something happening almost every week.
🏀 A massive new Dick’s House of Sport is on the way to Tysons Corner Center (and it’s not your typical retailer). The planned store could take over the old Lord & Taylor space with interactive features like rock climbing walls and golf simulators.
💰 George Washington University sold its 122-acre Ashburn campus to an Amazon Web Services subsidiary for $427 million, placing the property in the middle of the world’s largest data center market.
Scroll down and enjoy!
—Chris Colgan
Click to see it:
Best Things To Do This Weekend
in the NoVA/DC Area
The Ballyshaners St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Begin your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations early at this longtime Old Town Alexandria tradition. Expect Irish pipe bands, dance schools, community groups, and plenty of festive energy filling the streets.
📍 Location: Old Town Alexandria, Alexandria
📅 Date: Mar 7 | 12 PM
🎟️ Tickets: Free
MORE INFO→
Joyride ’80s Mixtape Live
Bust out your leg warmers and neon scrunchies for a nostalgic night of ’80s hits. Joyride ’80s Mixtape brings high-energy performances and a dance-filled celebration of the decade’s biggest classics.
📍 Location: Capital One Hall, Tysons
📅 Date: Mar 7 | 7 PM
🎟️ Tickets: Starting at $28.50
MORE INFO→
Harlem Globetrotters
This legendary exhibition basketball team celebrates a century of entertaining fans with jaw-dropping tricks, comedy, and incredible athleticism in a family-friendly show.
📍 Location: EagleBank Arena, Fairfax
📅 Date: Mar 8 | 3 PM
🎟️ Tickets: Starting at $50
MORE INFO→
⭐ Sponsor Our Super Mario 2 Movie Event!
Join us this April for a fun, high-energy client appreciation movie event featuring the Super Mario 2 Movie. We’re looking for amazing local businesses to partner with us as sponsors and get great exposure in front of Northern Virginia families.
Interested in sponsoring? DM us on Instagram @chriscolganteam or reply to this email and we’ll share the sponsorship tiers! 🍄⭐🪙
🎥 Something ABNORMAL is Happening in the Northern VA Housing Market
The Northern Virginia housing market is breaking every rule in the book — and if you're thinking about buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia in 2026, you need to see this data before making any decisions.
🎉 The Best Events Happening This March in the NoVA/DC Area
March is one of those months where the calendar fills up fast around Northern Virginia and DC. Warmer days start creeping in, big events come back, and suddenly there’s something interesting happening almost every week.
If you’re looking for a few good reasons to get out of the house this month, these are some of the events worth putting on your radar:
Local Traditions & Festivals
Ballyshaners St. Patrick’s Day Parade
A classic Alexandria tradition. Expect Irish pipe bands, dance schools, community groups, and plenty of St. Patrick’s Day energy filling the streets of Old Town.
📅 March 7
📍 Old Town Alexandria
🎟️ Free
🔗 ballyshaners.org
National Cherry Blossom Festival
One of DC’s most iconic seasonal events returns with weeks of celebrations. Highlights include the Kite Festival (March 28), Petalpalooza (April 4), and the Cherry Blossom Parade (April 11).
📅 March 20 – April 12
📍 Various locations across Washington, DC
🎟️ Varies by event
🔗 nationalcherryblossomfestival.org
Major Concerts Coming to DC
bbno$
The viral rapper behind hits like Lalala and Edamame brings his energetic pop-rap show to DC
📅 March 12
📍 The Anthem, Washington, DC
🎟️ From $53
🔗 theanthemdc.com/bbno
Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga’s Mayhem Ball tour makes a stop in DC for two nights of arena-level pop spectacle.
📅 March 23–24
📍 Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
🎟️ Resale tickets around $390+
🔗 capitalonearena.com/lady-gaga
FKA Twigs
Following the release of two albums in 2025, the singer-songwriter performs her new music live with Tokischa opening the show.
📅 March 18
📍 The Anthem, Washington, DC
🎟️ From $73
🔗 theanthemdc.com/fka-twigs
Madison Cunningham
A Grammy-winning folk-rock artist performing in an intimate setting at one of DC’s most unique music venues.
📅 March 31
📍 Sixth & I, Washington, DC
🎟️ $35–$40
🔗 sixthandi.org/madison-cunningham
Sports & High-Energy Events
Harlem Globetrotters
This legendary exhibition basketball team brings its mix of athletic tricks, comedy, and entertainment to Fairfax. A fun event for all ages.
📅 March 8
📍 EagleBank Arena, Fairfax
🎟️ From $50
🔗 eaglebankarena.com/harlem-globetrotters
Rock ’n’ Roll Running Series
Runners move through DC landmarks while live bands play along the route. The event also raises funds for St. Jude.
📅 March 21
📍 Washington, DC
🎟️ $99 (5K) | $170 (Half Marathon)
🔗 runrocknroll.com/washington-dc
Theater, Art & Pop Culture
Awesome Con
DC’s version of Comic Con with cosplay, celebrity appearances, comics, gaming, and pop culture panels.
📅 March 13–15
📍 Walter E. Washington Convention Center
🎟️ From $60
🔗 awesome-con.com
Guards at the Taj
A darkly comic play set during the construction of the Taj Mahal, exploring loyalty, friendship, and morality.
📅 March 26 – April 19
📍 NextStop Theatre Company, Herndon
🎟️ $45
🔗 nextstoptheatre.org/guards-at-the-taj
Tina: The Tina Turner Musical
A jukebox musical telling the story of Tina Turner’s rise to global fame, featuring many of her biggest hits.
📅 March 20–22
📍 Capital One Hall, Tysons
🎟️ From $83
🔗 capitalonehall.com/tina
Colin Fraser: In the Moment (Opening Reception)
A solo exhibition featuring landscapes and still lifes by Sweden-based painter Colin Fraser.
📅 March 27
📍 Principle Gallery, Alexandria
🎟️ Free
🔗 visitalexandria.com/colin-fraser
🎥 This is Going to Change Northern Virginia in 2026 | NoVa Network Ep 25
🏀 Dick’s House of Sport Plans Massive New Store at Tysons Corner Center
Driving the news: Dick’s House of Sport is heading to Tysons Corner Center, bringing a new style of retail that mixes sports shopping with hands-on activities.
The large-format store is expected to open in fall 2027 and could reshape how visitors use the mall.
Details:
Fairfax County issued an interior demolition permit tied to the project.
The store could take about 196,403 square feet at 7951 Tysons One Place.
That location sits in the former Lord & Taylor wing, which closed in January 2020.
Dick’s House of Sport is an expanded retail concept with interactive features like rock climbing walls and golf simulators.
Traditional Dick’s Sporting Goods stores already operate nearby at Fair Oaks Mall and Springfield Town Center.
Why it matters: A store of this size brings more activity and visitors to Tysons. Interactive features encourage people to spend more time at the mall, which can support nearby shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues in the area.
Worth noting: A similar store opened at Freehold Raceway Mall in New Jersey in 2025. Macerich reported that the location increased traffic to that wing of the mall and boosted overall visits.
What’s next: The company has not confirmed the final store layout or timing details yet. Meanwhile, Tysons Corner Center continues to add new tenants, including entertainment venues and restaurants.
Expect more details to emerge as construction moves forward ahead of the planned 2027 opening.
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💰 Amazon Buys GW’s Ashburn Campus for $427M in Major Data Center Alley Deal
Driving the news: George Washington University sold its 122-acre Virginia Science and Technology Campus (VSTC) in Ashburn to an Amazon Web Services subsidiary, Amazon Data Services, for $427 million.
The deal places the property directly in the middle of Northern Virginia’s well-known “Data Center Alley,” one of the largest data center markets in the world.
Details:
The campus sale equals about $3.5 million per acre.
GW can continue operating programs at the site for up to five years under the agreement.
The campus currently hosts about 20 academic programs, including nursing, engineering, physics, and chemistry, along with research labs and administrative buildings.
A portion of the proceeds will fund a new university endowment, while another portion could support one-time bonuses for eligible faculty and staff.
The property originally began with a 50-acre donation in 1991 from developer Robert H. Smith, and expanded through several land purchases over the years.
The big picture: Loudoun County sits at the center of Northern Virginia’s booming data center industry. The area hosts more than 53 million square feet of data centers either operating or under development and roughly 3,500 technology companies.
Between the lines: Universities across the U.S. are reviewing real estate assets as budgets tighten and enrollment shifts.
For GW, the campus sale offers new funding for research, teaching, and student aid while addressing financial pressures that led to hiring freezes and spending cuts last year.
What’s next: GW leadership will spend the next several years planning the future of programs currently housed in Ashburn while establishing the new endowment funded by the sale.
Amazon has not yet announced its plans for the property, though its location in Data Center Alley makes it well suited for technology infrastructure.
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