Ribbon Cutting For Waterfront Park, Art Display Set For Weekend

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The ribbon cutting for the new Waterfront Park and opening of the "Mirror, Mirror" interactive art display is set for Saturday, March 30.

Members of the public can join Alexandria City Council from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to officially open the new park on the Potomac River at the foot of King Street. The celebration will continue with festivities from 2 to 9 p.m. to mark the opening of "Mirror Mirror," a new sound-responsive, interactive public art installation. The event is rain or shine.

The new Waterfront Park is at the site of the King Street Park combined with the adjacent Waterfront Park and former Old Dominion Boat Club building and parking lot. The park features an open plaza, waterfront promenade, shade structures, and a multi-use space that can serve different purposes throughout the year.

Waterfront Park is considered an interim park until the city can begin phase 2 construction. In a few years, the interim park will close to construct flood mitigation infrastructure and other amenities for the permanent park.

"Mirror, Mirror" is an interactive art installation that "responds to sound with illuminated color, bathing visitors in rainbow-hued light as they talk, sing, and play," according to a city statement. Commissioned by the city, the installation is eight feet tall with a 25-foot diameter.

The art exhibit the first for "Site/See: New Views in Old Town," a new annual series of temporary public art installations in Waterfront Park. It was created by SOFTlab, a New York-based design studio led by artist and architect Michael Szivos, and was inspired by the historic Fresnel lens of Alexandria's Jones Point Lighthouse. It will be on display from March through November.