Wreaths Across America Clean-up Event POSTPONED to Saturday, January 30, 2016

SOURCE: Arlington National Cemetery

Theo tin Arlington National Cemetery

1/19/2016
POSTPONED to Saturday, January 30, 2016

Thank you for your interest in helping with the clean-up of Remembrance Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. Due to the impending weather in the D.C. Metro Area this weekend, ANC is delaying the removal of wreaths from this Saturday, January 23, 2016 to Saturday, January 30, 2016. There is no sign-up or registration required to participate. Just show up at the designated time and place. The same plan will be in place, we are just shifting the event by one week.

Any funerals scheduled for Saturday will proceed. We ask all volunteers to respect the families’ honoring and mourning their loved ones. Do not remove wreaths in any area near a funeral service. Please be courteous to vehicle traffic moving to and from a funeral service. Families and friends attending a funeral service are advised to notify security personnel they are attending a funeral in order to be routed to the correct meeting place. Funeral attendees will be allowed to park at the cemetery administration building.

PARKING–The ANC Welcome Center Parking Lot will open at 8:00am. and will have free parking until 2:00pm. Only vehicles with Permanent ANC Family Gravesite Passes and those with valid Handicap Permits will be allowed to park at Welcome Center Parking Lot. All Vehicles with ANC Family Passes and Handicap Permits will be accommodated in the ANC parking garage, until it reaches capacity. Any vehicles arriving before the cemetery’s opening at 8:00a.m. will be required to depart and return at 8:00am. There will be Bus parking available in the Welcome Center garage for approximately 33 buses.

GATES–All ANC pedestrian gates will open at 8:00am. Clockwise from north these gates include the Ord-Weitzel gate (near the Iwo Jima Memorial and Rosslyn Metro), the main cemetery and the Welcome Center gates (nearest Arlington Cemetery Metro), the south Maintenance Complex gate (nearest Pentagon and Pentagon City Metro, and the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel gate. PLEASE NOTE – the maintenance gate will close at 2:00pm on Saturday; so if you want to exit via the maintenance gate, please make sure you do so before 2:00pm.

VEHICLE ACCESS–For the safety of all involved, no private vehicles will be allowed to enter the Cemetery grounds until after 3:00pm on Wreath Clean-up Day. There will be no General Public parking at the Welcome Center Parking Lot until after 3:00pm on Wreath Clean-up Day. Due to the limited and restricted parking requirements, we encourage volunteers to use the Metro Rail system.

METRO–If you use the Metro Rail System, here are some helpful hints to make the trip easier:

1. Use a SmarTrip card for a Round Trip (they cost the same as a paper fare card and are reusable)
2. Buy your SmarTrip card in advance to avoid delays. You can purchase at any station or online at http://wmata.com/fares/smartrip/
3. Visitors and volunteers should expect long lines and crowed conditions when entering and leaving the Arlington Cemetery Station.

VOLUNTEER BRIEFING–At 8:30am there will be a short Volunteer Instructional Briefing at the McClellan Arch Gate located just off Eisenhower Drive between Section 33 and 12, on McClellan Drive. Wreath clean-up will start at approximately 8:45am. Volunteers are asked to pick up ONLY those WAA wreaths placed in December leaving any other wreaths or decorations in place. There will be several dumpsters placed throughout the cemetery to dispose of the wreaths. We have a very limited number of dumpsters available so we ask the volunteers to pack the wreaths as tight as possible in the dumpsters and to stay available at least until 12:00 Noon, if possible, to help with any extra wreath disposal needed at locations throughout the cemetery.

TIPS–We have found it helpful if you bring a stick, pole, rope, rake or something equivalent to support carrying multiple wreaths per dumpster trip. Please dress for the weather and wear gloves and water-proof footwear.

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/News/Post/3573/Wreaths-Across-America-Clean-up-Event-POSTPONED-to-Saturday-January-30-2016