Memorial Day is coming up next Monday (May 26) with several commemorations and festivities planned around the region to mark the long weekend.
One of the biggest local events is ViVa Vienna, an annual celebration organized by the Rotary Club of Vienna.
The celebration runs from Saturday, May 24, through Monday, May 26. The event in downtown Vienna includes a variety of food, retail, and artisan vendors, along with carnival rides.
“This event, a time of family fun and pleasure, serves as a major fund raising opportunity for the Rotary Club so that it may, in turn, provide support for charitable, educational, and community groups the following year,” the event listing said.
Falls Church, meanwhile, is hosting a Memorial Day parade and festival on Monday, May 26. The celebration is set to kick off at 9 a.m. with a parade down Park Avenue at 2 p.m.
Over in Fairfax City, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8469 and American Legion Post 177 will hold a Memorial Day ceremony at 3939 Oak Street at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, May 26. The service, open to the general public, will feature a reading of the names of all Fairfax County fallen veterans since WWI.
Meanwhile, many area restaurants are planning promotions for the holiday weekend, which serves as an unofficial start of summer. The Reston-based company Thompson Restaurants, for example, will offer brunches and 10% off all meals for active military service members at all locations (Big Buns, Matchbox, Milk and Honey, Makers Union).
Other events around the region include:
Saturday, May 24
- 2025 Spring Memorial 5k/10k (7500 Accotink Park Road) — Bishop’s Events is hosting a series of races at Lake Accotink Park in Springfield in partnership with the EOD Warrior Foundation.
- Brunch at Pisco y Nazca (1871 Explorer Street) — From Saturday, May 24, through Monday, May 26, Pisco y Nazca in Reston Town Center is offering mimosas and sangria alongside a prix-fixe menu.
- Memorial Day Beer Olympics (7581 Colshire Drive) — Shipgarten in Tysons will kick off the weekend with food, samples from local breweries and a variety of contests from 1-6 p.m.
Sunday, May 25
- Memorial Day brunch at SYN Rooftop Bar & Lounge (1975 Opportunity Way) — The lounge atop Reston Town Center’s Marriott hotel recently added brunch to its menu. Smoked salmon eggs benedict, steak and eggs, and more are available from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
- Memorial Day Weekend Bash (697 Spring Street) — Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon is holding a joint 28th anniversary and Memorial Day celebration with live music from noon to midnight and a bike show at 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Motorcyclists participating in the annual “Rolling to Remember” rally can get a complimentary breakfast starting at 8 a.m.
Monday, May 26
- Memorial Day Observances at Chestnut Grove Cemetery (831 Dranesville Road) — The Town of Herndon’s Memorial Day ceremony will start at 10 a.m. Local American Legion Post 184 is also sponsoring an Avenue of Flags that will be set up from dawn to dusk, as weather permits.
- Memorial Day Ceremony in Great Falls (9830 Georgetown Pike) — The Freedom Memorial behind Great Falls Library will honor those who died serving the U.S. military. This year’s keynote speaker will be Vietnam War veteran and former CIA agent Bob Wallace.
- Memorial Day Remembrance Ceremony (1633 Davidson Road) — The public is invited to American Legion Post 270’s annual Memorial Day ceremony at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial Grove on the McLean High School campus. An open house reception will follow the ceremony at the Legion Hall (1355 Balls Hill Road).
- Memorial Day fundraiser at Kook Dogg Cafe (12100 Sunset Hills Road) — Kook Dogg Cafe in Reston is raising funds for the Northern Virginia Veterans Association from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Any donation to the veteran nonprofit brings a free pulled pork or jalapeno sausage sandwich, along with a potato salad and cucumber salad.
