A Second Location for King Arthur Baking Company. And—The Hirschhorn Museum and the Upper Valley
Plus, a valentine from Opera North.
Raise your hand if you have a friend or two in the Washington DC area. (I have a few.) If so, maybe this news will make their day and have them tying on a clean apron. According to sources including Alexandria Now, a newsletter in Alexandria, Virginia:
King Arthur Baking Company is eyeing Old Town to open a new retail store and baking school.
The upcoming spot will be King Arthur’s second location combining retail and a baking school, joining a flagship location in Norwich, Vt.
And Carey Underwood, Director of Marketing Communications at our local King Arthur Bakery has confirmed. “The King Arthur Baking pop-up at Fairfax Corner will be open through June 2026 . . . We will open a permanent store and school in Old Town in late summer.” Here’s an explanation of why they chose Alexandria, Virginia as the upcoming location:
“King Arthur is a company of bakers, and there’s nothing we love more than connecting with other bakers. Our pop‑ups in Fairfax and Bethesda have helped us build meaningful baking communities in the DMV, inspiring and educating bakers at every level. As we prepare to open a permanent retail store and baking school in Old Town in late summer 2026, we’re excited to continue deepening those relationships and expanding our connection with bakers.
Our new location will offer high‑quality baking essentials, hands‑on education, and a welcoming space where bakers can shop, learn, and share the joy of baking together.”
(Thanks to my friend Marie, who resides in Alexandria, is a King Arthur fan, and an alumna of a Buns and Rolls class at the King Arthur location in Norwich, which was the subject of a previous post, By Bread Alone, available here. Photo, top, via . commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_Arthur_Baking_Company_store_Norwich.jpg. Photo credit: Kenneth C. Zirkel)
HIRSCHHORN MUSEUM: Washington DC
And while King Arthur is sending a piece of the UV to the DC area, the Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden—always a favorite—will (we hope) be sending pieces of itself (literally) here.
BIG NEWS: “50 for 50” will place masterworks from the Hirshhorn collection in all 50 US states and Puerto Rico! 🇺🇸
“50 for 50” is the first loans program to place artworks from a single museum into every state, furthering the Hirshhorn’s mission as the national museum of modern and contemporary art. Through a partnership with Art Bridges, we are excited to begin sharing American art—including works by Alma Thomas, Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, John Singer Sargent, and many more—from the Hirshhorn collection in 2026 for America’s 250th anniversary. “50 for 50” is the largest lending project ever undertaken by an American museum, and together the Hirshhorn and Art Bridges will carry out the greatest number of artwork loans, with the widest geographic reach, for both institutions to date.
I contacted the very nice folks at the Hirschhorn and was told that this program has been in the works for years, and that they hope to have a list ready sometime this summer that will detail which museums, including those in Vermont and New Hampshire, will be receiving the loaned art works. Stay tuned.
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On a different note: Individual tickets are now on sale for Opera North’s Summerfest 2026. If you act now (through February 16), they will give you a 10% discount for Valentine’s Day with the promo code: 2026Valentines10. C’mon people, they’re doing (among others) Fiddler! And speaking of Fiddler, might you be interested in being onstage? Auditions to join the Fiddler cast are scheduled for Wednesday, February 18 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm at the Opera North office, 20 West Park Street in downtown Lebanon NH. Please email your interest and qualifications to: company@operanorth.org
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, Next Avenue, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.