In the 1980s and ’90s, the “Rally in the Alley,” hosted by Mister Days, was one of D.C.’s most popular annual bar scene events — this weekend it’s being held in Clarendon for the first time since the sports bar left midtown D.C. in 2001.
“We’re bringing the ‘Rally in the Alley’ to Virginia,” said Mister Days found and owner Bobby Lee, who reopened Mister Days Sports Rock Cafe in the Clarendon neighborhood of Arlington in 2024.
Back in the day, the annual daytime rally was held in the alley outside Mister Days’ location between L and M streets Northwest, among midtown office buildings, several blocks south of Dupont Circle.
Lee said the event was always held either the week before or after St. Patrick’s Day, with DJs spinning music and people dancing.
“We probably had 10,000 people in and out,” Lee said. “We had lines going all the way from the alley, out to 18th on one side and out to 19th on the other.”
This year’s ‘Rally in the Alley’ event will be Saturday at 1101 N. Highland Street, from noon to 7 p.m. Tickets cost $15 and are available online.
Lee said the rally will be held at Mister Days outdoor bar, “We have named that ‘The Alley’ — even the sign from the inside says ‘The Alley.’ We haven’t opened that bar yet, but we’re opening it this week for ‘The Rally in the Alley.”
The indoor-outdoor event will also stretch onto adjacent 11th Street, which will be closed to traffic.
“We’ve only taken half a block because I have bigger plans for next year and I don’t want any problems with it,” Lee said.
“I’ve heard from a lot of alumni about this weekend — it’s always been a younger event, but I think we’ll get a bit of everybody this weekend.”
“I’ve been getting calls from old bartenders to do a shift,” he said. “That’ll probably last about 15 minutes.”
Even with the passage of more than two decades, Lee hopes to reunite with a lot of former customers, who still reminisce about the original rallies.
“Although I don’t expect they’ll be dancing,” he half-joked.
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