Parade And Festival The Highlight Of Memorial Day Weekend Events In Falls Church

FALLS CHURCH, VA — The upcoming parade and festival over Memorial Day weekend is a decades-long tradition kicking off the unofficial start of summer.

The Falls Church Memorial Day Parade and Festival are highlights of the three-day Memorial Day Weekend — May 29 this year. The event kicks off with a 3K Fun Run at 9 a.m., followed by an 11 a.m. Memorial Day Ceremony, 12:30 p.m. performance by the Falls Church Concert Band, and 2 p.m. parade. The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with food, vendors and more on City Hall and Community Center grounds.

Below are some other events and parades nearby.

• Memorial Day Open House at VFW Post 9274: May 28
• National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery: May 29
• National Memorial Day Concert Series in Washington, DC: May 26-29
• National Memorial Day Parade in Washington, DC: May 29
• Rolling to Remember: May 28
• ViVa Vienna festival: May 27-29
• Blast Off! with “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band: May 28
• Art in Nature Festival at National Botanic Garden: May 27-28
• Superheroes Host Kid's & Family Memorial Day Festival in Tysons: May 28

Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial kickoff to summer in Vienna. Below are more ways to spend the weekend:

• Make a splash when Upton Regional Park's Ocean Dunes Waterpark opens for the season on May 27
• Visit the Falls Church Farmers Market on May 27
• See a show at State Theatre
• See Audrey The New Musical at Creative Cauldron

The history of Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, dates back to 1868, when Gen. John A. Logan called for a day of remembrance to honor the Northern lives lost amid battle during the Civil War that had ended just a few years earlier, according to History.com. As time passed, more and more people called it Memorial Day, and it became a federal holiday in 1971.

Waterloo, New York, is considered the birthplace of Memorial Day. The town’s observance on May 5, 1866, predated Logan’s call for a day of remembrance. Local businesses closed and residents decorated the graves of fallen soldiers with flowers and flags.

Until World War I, the holiday honored only those soldiers who died while fighting for the Union in the War, as Southern states honored their war dead on a separate day. After the 116,000-plus American deaths in World War I, the tradition changed to remember all who have died while serving in the military.

Every year, a national moment of remembrance is held at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day. No matter where they are or what they’re doing, Americans are asked to pause for one minute in silence to remember military personnel who have given their lives in service to their country. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the midday time was chosen because it’s a time when many Americans will be enjoying their freedoms on a national holiday.