Thank you, Rosslyn!
As we look forward to a new year, we want to thank YOU, our amazing Rosslyn community. Whether you joined us for virtual trivia, took your office outside with O2, supported local restaurants or connected in another way, we’re thankful for you!
Here’s a look back at the bright parts of the year that we’ll carry with us into 2021.
2020 started with LOVE
In February and June, we brought LOVE to Central Place Plaza with the return of the “LOVEwork” letters, courtesy of Virginia Tourism. This year, the letters included a special message of love and inclusivity. These letters served as a reminder that “Virginia is for Lovers,” and we can’t have a neighborhood that’s safe, clean and connected until every member is treated fairly, equally, and with love.
We launched Rosslyn Ready to support our entire community
With our Rosslyn Ready program, we added over 1,000 new signs, stickers, banners, and instructional materials around the neighborhood encouraging physical distancing and mask use, and provided free business resources and materials to the entire region. Businesses can still access digital resources and webinars where experts cover topics ranging from space management and workplace culture, cleaning protocols for sanitizing the office, navigating the changing world of employment regulation, legal considerations, and more. Here’s what the Washington Business Journal had to say about Rosslyn Ready.
You supported our local restaurants with #RosslynRewards
With the impact COVID-19 has had on the food service industry, we introduced our #RosslynRewards program to encourage and reward our community for their support of our restaurants. By using the hashtag #RosslynRewards on social media, participants received a $5 reward for every $10 spent at participating restaurants. We were thrilled that so many of you participated!
We learned that trivia brings competition AND connection
This summer, we introduced virtual trivia to help you wrap up the work day and add a little friendly competition into your homes. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, the Rosslyn community connected virtually to play themed games of trivia and win prizes. Due to popular demand, we brought it back in the fall with “Rosslyn Rivals: Company Team Trivia” to help your team stay connected while working remotely, which concluded with three hard fought Championship Rounds. Shoutout to the powerhouse team at Georgetown Law, our grand champions!
You took your office outside with O2 in Gateway Park
As the year wore on, we recognized a need for a collaborative workspace that Rosslyn’s professionals could count on to be a safe and productive environment. Cue O2, our pop-up outdoor office space in Rosslyn’s Gateway Park that inspired true blue-sky thinking for everyone in the neighborhood looking for an inspiring change of scenery. Learn more about the ideation behind O2 from BID President, Mary-Claire Burick, here, and read up on what made this space unique from The Washingtonian. In case you missed it this year, we hope to bring O2 back for our community to enjoy next spring!
We kept the spirit of Rosslyn Jazz Fest alive
Rosslyn’s annual Jazz Festival is one of our favorite events of the year, so we got creative in finding a way to bring you good music and food in a way that was safe and enjoyable. We introduced Jazz Supper Clubs, which were curated experiences at Rosslyn restaurants that reinvented our usual festival format to one that supported both in-person and virtual attendance. And if you didn’t make it this year, you can still watch these performances via Facebook or YouTube!
We adapted our Rosslyn Reads festival to bring books back to the Plaza
Our Rosslyn Reads Pop-up Book Sale, in partnership with Carpe Librum, brought books back to Central Place Plaza and raised money for a good cause. While the sale looked a little different than our annual book festival, it still included over 8,000 gently used books, CDs, DVDs and vinyls, with proceeds benefiting D.C. based organization, Turning the Page, aiding under-served students in the community.
Rosslyn Cinema became the perfect fall activity
We brought the free Rosslyn Cinema back with a full line up of your favorite movies to enjoy outdoors on the lawn in Gateway Park. Through a reservation system, limited capacity and sectioned seating areas, we were able to modify this community favorite safely and effectively. We learned that you all love those 90s classics, with tickets gone just minutes after release!
We closed out the year with some holiday cheer!
With 2020 coming to a close, we wanted to bring an added sense of holiday spirit to the neighborhood to set the tone for the new year. We took our holiday program to a new level, and brought you Rosslyn Cheer like never before! Our new Holiday Buying Guide gave ideas to help you shop local for everyone on your list, which inspired our curated gift baskets, with proceeds going to benefit AFAC. Through our holiday clothing drive, you all supported A-SPAN and donated 5,715 pounds of winter clothing to people in need in our community. That is something to be proud of (we certainly are!). And through January 11, be sure to explore Rosslyn Wanderland for a fun, touchless and interactive holiday experience around the neighborhood.
At the Rosslyn BID, we’re continuously inspired by the resilience and adaptability of all members of our community, including our residents, employees, business owners and restaurants.
We look forward to taking this spirit and creativity with us into 2021. Happy New Year, Rosslyn!