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Focus on Falls Church is the official City of Falls Church's newsletter, featuring news and events happening here in The Little City.
April 22, 2021
    
In This Issue
  • Memorial Day shakes off the COVID cobwebs and returns to The Little City this year. Kind of. 
  • Early voting for the June 8 Democratic Party Primary Election begins Friday.
  • Plop your profuse prescription pills and patches with the Police at this Saturday's Drug Take Back Day event at City Hall. 
  • By this time next week, we'll (probably) have an Adopted Fiscal Year 2022 Budget. Get caught up before the City Council's anticipated vote on Monday. 
  • Hey you. Yes, you. You're over 16, right? Yeah, that's what I thought. Get the vaccine.
Lead Story
Hey, "Return to Normal" called. It said to put Memorial Day back on the calendar. 

The City of Falls Church's Memorial Day event returns this May. You read that right. Now doesn't that feel good? Like a warm hug of words. Something familiar, anticipated, traditional. No "in lieu of" anything. See for yourself: 
  • The Beyer Auto 3K Fun Run? Check. ✅
  • The Memorial Day Ceremony? Check. ✅
  • Memorial Day-themed activities for all ages? Check ✅
  • The Memorial Day Parade? Check.✅
  • Countless throngs of maskless people crowding around City Hall campus? The multiple Chik'n-on-a-Stik food vendors along Little Falls Street? The twirly rides that made your kid yarf up their Chik'n-on-a-Stik? ...No. ❌❌❌
Okay fine. The City of Falls Church's Memorial Day event kind of returns this May. The pandemic is still very much a thing. But remember where we were this time last year! Just a bunch of angry red X emojis and no happy green arrows anywhere in sight. So keep that warm hug feeling while reading what we do have in store for our 39th Annual Memorial Day Event. 

Memorial Day Scavenger Hunt
May 22 - June 1
We're not saying a Scavenger Hunt can replace or even compete with our customary Memorial Day festivities (chik'n-on-a-stik, you will be mine one day soon), but you've got to admit we're approaching "tradition" territory with our hide-and-go-seek-but-with-signs-in-parks events. The Memorial Day Scavenger Hunt will be the fourth of its kind since things got weird last year, and if the popularity of the past three are any indication, this next one will be our best yet (no pressure, Special Events Coordinator). We're still working on all the specifics, but we're sure you get the gist by now: we give you clues to locations throughout the City; you find them and jot down the corresponding keyword or phrase unique to each location; you enjoy a prolonged rush of dopamine and earn a highly coveted, custom-made Scavenger Hunt t-shirt that will make you the envy of all your non Falls Church friends and family. 

Beyer Auto 3K Fun Run
May 24-May 31 (t-shirt pickup on May 31)
Nature is healing. The Beyer 3K Memorial Day Fun Run returns for its fortieth year in The Little City. Except we want nature to continue to heal, so we're not doing the whole "hey show up with thousands of your friends at this exact time and place to exert your energy while expelling your breath on fellow humans for 1.86411 miles" thing. Instead, you'll choose when and where to run your "fun" 3,000 meters the week leading up to Memorial Day. If you register for the Fun Run online (for free, of course), you can pick up that legendary Fun Run t-shirt that you can add to the 39 others in your closet the morning of Memorial Day (May 31) from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in front of the Community Center. Whether you choose to run there and back is entirely up to you. 

Memorial Day Ceremony
May 31, 11:00 a.m - noon
The cornerstone of every past, present, and future Falls Church Memorial Day event is the Memorial Day Ceremony, where the community comes together to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. The Memorial Day Ceremony includes remarks or performances by the Falls Church Veterans Council, the Falls Church Concert Band, and more. Last year, our community came together remotely to pay tribute. This year, we'd love for you to join us in person for the Ceremony...but only 130 of you, because we still have a pandemic to deal with. You can reserve your spot at this year's Memorial Ceremony (located at the Veteran's Memorial outside the Community Center) online beginning on Tuesday, May 4 (we'll remind you closer to the registration date). If you can't join us in person, don't worry: Falls Church Community Television will be there to record it. 

Memorial Day Parade
Monday, May 31, 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
You read that right. A Memorial Day Parade! Just, humor us for a moment and pretend you have selective amnesia and forget about the Marching Bands, Scout Troops, Bolivian Dancers, Community Floats, and Underdog that promenaded down Park Ave. in recent years. The 2021 Memorial Day Parade will be slightly scaled back, primarily consisting of City of Falls Church government vehicles (think emergency vehicles, Public Works trucks and heavy equipment, school buses, and the 1980s Volvo Police Cruiser, naturally), and will hopefully be led by our 2020 Memorial Day Parade Grand Marshal, Lindy Hockenberry. Also, there's no need to camp out on Park Ave. for a good spot: we'll be bringing the parade to you, traveling throughout the City streets (exact route is TBD, but probably close to the Snow Emergency Routes). 
 

See? We can still have a great Memorial Day. And if everyone gets vaccinated (and continues to make smart choices), just think about all the happy green checkmarks that could be in our future for the 40th Annual Memorial Day Event in 2022. 
Top News
Early Voting For the June Primary Starts Friday
If you're new to Virginia and are like, "huh, there seems to be an election every year here." Yes, pretty much that's the case! The next election in Falls Church is actually a Democratic Party Primary (there's no Republican Party Primary in Falls Church) on June 8, 2021, but you can cast your ballot - which includes candidates running for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General - as early as tomorrow, April 23, if you'd like.

In Virginia, any registered voter can vote in a primary, regardless of political affiliation. Also in Virginia, you no longer need an excuse to vote early - either in-person or by mail. If you want to vote early in person, head over to the Office of Elections in City Hall (300 Park Ave.) on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring your mask and a Voter ID. If you want to vote by mail, head over to the Virginia Department of Election's Citizen Portal and request a ballot be mailed to you. That's also where you should go if you need to register or update an existing voter registration, which you should do before May 17 if you want to vote in this primary. 
Rid the ℞
This Saturday, April 24 is National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, and the Falls Church Police Department has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to host an official drop-off location. If you have any expired, unused, or unwanted pills, bring them to the Public Safety Entrance at City Hall (Community Center side, look for the blue awning) between 10:00 .m. and 2:00 p.m. You can also drop off patches and vape pens (but the battery must be removed first), but no liquids, needles, or sharps can be accepted. 

This service is free and anonymous, no questions asked. At its last Take Back Day in October 2020, DEA collected a record-high amount of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications, with the public turning in close to 500 tons of unwanted drugs.
🎵I am 16 going to get vaccine'd🎵
Liesel, listen girl. You're 16, going on 17 years old. You don't need no 17, going on 18, year old boy telling you what to do (especially one who's a Nazi with bad hair and probably an anti-vaxxer to boot.) All you need is VaccineFinder.org, because we're in Phase 2. 

All individuals age 16+ in the Fairfax Health District (which the City of Falls Church is a part of) can now schedule a COVID-19 vaccine appointment through VaccineFinder.org. VaccineFinder.org helps you find clinics, pharmacies, hospitals, and other locations that offer COVID-19 vaccines in our area and across the Country. Vaccine supply is still limited, so use VaccineFinder.org to find an upcoming appointment that works best for you. 

(But if you still insist on needing someone older and wiser telling you what to do, we've got just the guy. He's 80, going on 81 with good hair.)
City of Falls Church
Date Doses Administered Fully Vaccinated
Thursday, April 22 10,342 4,051
Thursday, April 15 8,954 3,431

Fairfax Health District
Date Doses Administered Fully Vaccinated
Thursday, April 22 769,062 299,596
Thursday, April 15 666,915 251,596

Virginia
Date Doses
Administered		 Doses Administered
Daily Average		 Received at Least One Dose Fully Vaccinated
Thursday, April 22 5,558,769 76,893 3,508,510
(41.1% of
population)		 2,248,339
(26.3% of population)
Thursday, April 15 4,974,166 76,396 3,233,915
(37.9% of
population)		 1,933,945
(22.7% of population)
City of Falls Church
Date Cases Hospitalizations Deaths # Cases per
100,000 People
Thursday, April 22 418 20 9 2,822.9
Thursday, April 15 409 20 9 2,768.8

Fairfax Health District (includes the City of Falls Church, City of Fairfax, Fairfax County, and towns within the county)
Date Total Cases Hospitalizations Deaths
Thursday, April 22 75,937 3,920 1,094
Thursday, April 15 74,952 3,890 1,085
By this time next week, we'll (probably) have an Adopted Fiscal Year 2022 Budget and CIP. Get caught up by watching last week's Town Hall before the City Council's anticipated vote on Monday. 
More City News
  • This year's Falls Church Women's History Walk is Sunday, May 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Everyone is invited to take a self-guided walk (starting at any time during the event at one of three different starting points) through the City to learn about women who made - or are currently making - history. 
  • If you're feeling kind of down in the recycling dumps this Earth Day, we encourage you to watch this recent NPR piece which features our Solid Waste neighbors in the City of Manassas to help you refind and reuse your eco-piece of mind. 
  • The Recreation and Parks Senior Center wants your thoughts about their current programs and what you hope to see in the future. Take their quick online survey. 
  • The Mary Riley Styles Public Library is hosting "Intentional Gardening", a three-part Zoom series - led by local Master Gardeners Sandy Tarpinian and Amy Crumpton - that can help home gardeners envision, plan, and plant a habitat garden where our native pollinators and bird species can thrive. Email Marshall Webster for the Zoom link. 
  • 191 of your Falls Church friends and neighbors have already registered for the Mayor's Fitness Challenge and logged nearly 81,000 minutes of exercise already! You can join them by signing up online. 
  • The Capital Area Solar co-op is happening now through August 2021. City of Falls Church residents are invited to join the Arlington co-op.  Learn more about going solar at a Friday, April 9 virtual info session. 
  • Coming soon: a large group of loud, awkward teens looking to hook up in your yard. 
  • Hopefully not coming soon: spotted lanternflies. They bad.
We're not one to brag (wait, yes we are) but the City of Falls Church is THE ONLY MUNICIPALITY IN ALL OF VIRGINIA that's been recognized as a Tree City USA community for 43 consecutive years.
(Also special Earth Day shout out to The Little City's new, officially official, City Arborist aka tree hugger in chief, Charles Prince.)
Odds and Ends
This Week (all events are virtual unless otherwise specified)
Saturday, April 24
• 8AM-Noon:
Farmers Market 
• Prescription Drug Take Back Day (10am-2pm)
Wednesday, April 28
• 2PM: Library Construction Oversight Committee 
Monday, April 26
• 7:30PM: City Council Meeting 
Thursday, April 29
• 7PM: Falls Church Writers Group
Tuesday, April 27
• 12pm: City Council Government Operations Committee
Friday, April 30
• City Nature Challenge Begins
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