Memorial Day weekend is nearing, but the holiday honoring people who died while serving in the U.S. military and marking the unofficial start of summer will be different this year due to COVID-19.

Both the City of Falls Church and Town of Vienna have canceled their in-person events, opting instead to have online videos to recognize the holiday.

Instead of the annual parade and festival, Falls Church will offer virtual activities like a pre-recorded Memorial Day Ceremony, according to an email from the city.

The recording “will air on Monday, May 25 at 11 a.m. on the Falls Church Community Television Channel (Cox 11, RCN 2, Verizon 35) and available to watch on the city’s YouTube channel,” the email said.

More from the city:

A special Memorial Day edition of the Virtual Community Center — the Recreation and Parks Department’s bi-weekly newsletter — will debut Friday, May 22 with exclusive content including a Q&A with this year’s (and next year’s) Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal, Lindy Hockenberry; a spotlight on the veteran who hosts our Senior Center Military History Forum; and stay-at-home Memorial Day themed activities for all ages.

Meanwhile, Vienna won’t have its annual ViVa Vienna event, which is hosted by the Rotary Club of Vienna. Instead, the town will have a video celebration.

“The town has worked with American Legion Post 180 to create a video that captures virtually the ceremony it hosts each year at Flint Hill Cemetery to honor those who have died in military service,” according to an email from the town. “The virtual ceremony will be broadcast several times over the weekend on TVCN (channel 27 on Cox and 38 on Verizon Fios).”

Government services will be closed on Monday (May 25) in both the city and town due to the holiday.

People in the Tysons area can also get outside and go to Fairfax County’s parks, which reopened earlier this week.

File photo