Give creatively this year and give art. Torpedo Factory Art Center is the region’s best place to find unique gifts, from handmade jewelry and ceramics to paintings and custom ornaments. Shop small and buy local from nearly 200 artists on all three floors. Hours are extended until 8 pm.
Enjoy live music, surprises, artist meet-and-greets, and highlights from other small businesses including The Board Bus, Together We Bake, Red Hook Lobster Pound, Sugar Shack Donuts Alexandria and more.
Free Gift Wrapping Station
As part of Alexandria’s Small Business Saturday festivities, Safe Space NOVA and NOVA Pride present a free gift wrapping station in the Torpedo Factory Art Center’s Main Hall from 12 pm to 8 pm. Volunteers from Safe Space NOVA and NOVA Pride will be available to wrap all of your holiday gifts at no charge while you “Shop Small” in artist studios.
Donations will go to help support LGBT youth causes.
The gift wrapping station is a partnership of Safe Space NOVA, NOVA Pride, Visit Alexandria and the Torpedo Factory Art Center.
Participating Businesses:
Sugar Shack Donuts and Coffee
Together We Bake
The Board Bus
Red Hook Lobster Pound DC
Participating Organizations:
Visit Alexandria
Safe Space NOVA
NOVA Pride
Live Jazz by:
Hour-long Music Sets all Afternoon, starting at 3 pm, 4:30 pm, and 6:30 pm
Schedule of Events:
12 pm – 4 pm: Safe Space NOVA Gift Wrapping
12 pm – 8 pm: The Board Bus parked on Union Street
12 pm – 8pm: Red Hook Lobster Pound DC
12pm – 8pm: Sugar Shack Donuts and Coffee
12pm – 8pm: Small Business Saturday Selfie Station
3 pm – 7 pm: Together We Bake
3 pm – 7:30pm: Hour-long Jazz sets with Project Natale (3pm, 4:30pm, 6:30pm)
4 pm – 8 pm: NOVA Pride Gift Wrapping
5 pm – 7:30 pm: DIY Penguin-Making sculptures with Lisa Schumaier (Studio 16)
Sugar Shack Donuts and Coffee
Sugar Shack Donuts opened its first shop in June of 2013 in a small corner building in Richmond, Virginia’s Carver community. We believe that fresh products are the best products. We believe that communities are strongest when tied together. We believe that people are making a shift back to hand crafted products. Community is one of our most valued beliefs here.
Red Hook Lobster Pound DC
Each day, Red Hook Lobster Pound, DC serves up lunch to hundreds of Washingtonians providing a taste of Maine that everyone enjoys. Everyone is raving about “The Lobster Truck.”
Together We Bake
Together We Bake is a comprehensive workforce training and personal development program for women in need of a second chance. We help women gain self-confidence, transferable workforce skills, and invaluable hands-on experience, which will allow them to find employment and move toward self-sufficiency.
The Board Bus
The world’s only, fully-stocked, walk-in, mobile skateshop – featuring skateboarding equipment and apparel from local and national brands.
NOVA Pride
A young, grassroots, 100% volunteer-run organization, NOVA Pride provides a unified voice for, and a local base to, LGBTQ+ Northern Virginians – enhancing our visibility and relevance in the DMV region. NOVA Pride brings a sense of community to families, youth, and people of all scenes and sexualities through its year-round activity, including an annual festival every fall.
Safe Space NOVA
Safe Space NOVA is dedicated to providing a safe, accepting, and supportive environment to combat social stigmas, bullying, and other challenges faced by LGBT+ youth.
Project Natale
Project Natale is a band of brothers playing brotherly music that has gained world respect as jazz players infusing the old and new to creating a sonafication of their own. Over the subsequent decade, there was a unison struck when legends Carl Cornwell (tenor saxophone) and Bob Butta (piano) found a home as regular performers with the Project. Past performances include the Kennedy Center, Twins Jazz Lounge, Blues Alley, D.C. and Baltimore Art Galleries, Wine Festivals, Jazz Concerts, private affairs, and lounge and restaurant venues.
