Vienna Celebrates Zip Code Day on 2/21/80
Part of our pop-culture mythology is that everyone loves a parade. They offer feelings of cohesiveness plus the notion that ‘I am part of something bigger’ restores a sense of self-awareness. Parades, particularly in small suburban communities, bolster a sense of belonging.
It was some time before February 1980 that a Fairfax County resident got the idea to have a parade in Vienna to celebrate the fact that its zip code – 22180 – was also written as the date 2/21/80 which, at the time, was a date in the not-too-distant future.
According to the Washington Post article written by Denis Collins on Feb. 28, 1980, “The parade wasn’t quite as grand as imagined. Instead of an army of trombones and tubas leading floats down Main Street, there was one high school band in front of a short stretch of politicians, postal service jeeps and quarterback Joe Theismann. But if the parade to honor Zip Code Day in Vienna was a bit short on pomp, it couldn’t have been more dependent on circumstance.”
Read all about how the Zip Code Day parade in Vienna came to be. Click here.