Calendar

Updated for 2021!

Please note: community spread of the Delta variant will be high throughout October. If you choose to attend an outdoor event, please take the following precautions: remain home if you have a fever or are feeling ill, get a vaccine (if you can), wear a mask, keep at least 6 feet away from other participants, reduce your time spent indoors or among crowds of people, wash your hands frequently with soap and water and use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.

Recurring Events

State Fair of Virginia. Doswell. September 24-Oct. 3.

Cox Farms (Centreville, VA). Market with apples, pumpkin patch, farm animals, corn maze, hay rides, entertainment, food, picnic grounds. September 25 – October 31.

Great Country Farms (Bluemont, VA, near Leesburg) Pick apples, pick pumpkins, feed goats, corn maze, farm animals and more.

Temple Hills Farm Pumpkin Patch (Leesburg). Pick a pumpkin, snap a photo and enjoy the playground and slides while maintaining social distancing. Open Daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., October 1st to 31st. $10 person, includes pumpkin.

Graves Mountain Apple Harvest Festival. Syria. October 2-3, 9-10, 16-17.

Death Comes to Carlyle House (Alexandria). Take an evening tour of the house and learn about death and mourning in the 18th century. Tours at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm. Reservations are required. All COVID-procedures will be in place during this tour. $10/person.

Haunted Half Acre outdoor display (Falls Church City). 510 East Broad Street, Falls Church City, VA (residence across from Dulin Church). Morning through 10 p.m. Street parking available on Berry Street and environs. Free.

Halloween Home Light Display. A family in Vienna invites the community to view, from their cars, the family’s free Halloween light display, located at 2528 Drexel Street, Vienna, VA, from October 17 to Octobrer 31. Hours are Sunday-Thursday, 6:45-9:30pm; Friday & Saturday, 6:45pm-10pm.

Ghost and Graveyard Tour. 7:30 p.m. Old Town Alexandria, $15. This event is still taking place during the pandemic. Additional tours are available weekends in October, including Halloween, at 8:30 and 9:00 p.m.

Washington West Film Festival. Bowtie Cinema. Reston October 21 – 25.

September Events

Saturday, September 4

Lake Anne Jazz and Blues Festival. Reston. September 4. 1 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Monday, September 6 – Labor Day, Rosh Hashanah, Nat. Read a Book Day

Wednesday, September 8 – Star Trek Day

Friday, September 10

Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival. Reston Town Center. Reston. September 10 – 12. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Saturday, September 11

Taste of Falls Church and Fall Festval. Falls Church City. September 11.

Monday, September 13 – Positive Thinking Day

Tuesday, September 14 – Virginia Day

Wednesday, September 15 – Yom Kippur

Thursday, September 16

Fall Asters and Goldenrods floral workshop. Riverbend.

Saturday 18 (Oktoberfest)

Fall Festival. Claude Moore Park. Sterling. September 18.
Virginia Wine & Craft Festival. Front Royal. September 18.
Alexandria Old Town Art Festival. Alexandria. September 18.
Mount Vernon Colonial Market and Fair. Alexandria. September 18-19.
Shenandoah Valley Apple Harvest Festival. Winchester (Clear Brook). September 18-19

Sunday, September 19 – Talk Like a Pirate Day

Monday, September 20 – Full Moon/Harvest Moon

Tuesday, September 21 – Mid-Autumn Festival, World Gratitude Day, Intl. Day of Peace

Wednesday, September 22 – First Day of Autumn, Autumn Equinox

Saturday 25 – National Public Lands Day

Free admission at Great Falls Park and other National Parks on Sat. Sept 25
Family Fall Festival. Green Springs Gardens. Alexandria. Sept. 25. 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Free.
Reston Multicultural Festival. Lake Anne Plaza. Reston. September 25. 11 a.m – 6 p.m.
Occoquan Fall Arts & Crafts Show. Occoquan. September 25-26.

Sunday, September 26

Merrifield Fall Festval. September 26.

Tuesday, September 28 – Son’s Day

Wednesday, September 29 – Coffee Day

October Events

Friday, October 1 – Pumpkin Spice Day

Bat Night nature program. Huntley Meadows Park. 6:15 – 7:45 pm. Alexandria.

Saturday, October 2

Manasass Fall Jubilee. Manaassas.
Oktoberfest – Town of Vienna. 11 am – 7 pm
Geocaching Workshop. Lake Fairfax Park. 2 pm.
Goblin Golf, Burke Lake Park Mini-Golf. Burke.
Fall for Fairfax Kids Fest. Fairfax. October 2-3
Virginia Wine Festival. Ashburn. October 2-3

Sunday, October 3 – Poetry Day

Monday, October 4 –

Tuesday, October 5 –

Wednesday, October 6 – New Moon

Thursday, October 7

Friday, October 8 – Haunted House Day

Vienna Oktoberfest. Vienna.
Mount Vernon Fall Wine Festival and Sunset Tour. Alexandria. October 8-10.

Saturday, October 9 –

Sunday, October 10 – World Mental Health Day

Clifton Day. Clifton.

Monday, October 11 – Federal holiday

Tuesday, October 12 –

Wednesday, October 13 – M&Ms Day, Nat. Phobia Day

Thursday, October 14

Friday, October 15 – World Zombie Day, Boss’s Day

Manassas Ballet: Dracula. October 15 -17. Hylton Performing Arts Center. Manassas.

Saturday, October 16

Herndon Homecoming Parade. Elden Street, Herndon. 9:30 am.
Centreville Day Festival. Centreville.
Fall Carnival at Frying Pan Farm Park. Herdnon.
Bat Night nature program. Huntley Meadows Park. 6 – 7:30 pm. Alexandria.
Fall Floral Workshop. Green Springs Gardens Alexandria. 1 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. $70. (16-Adult) Learn techniques to create a take-home floral design that celebrates the season.

Sunday, October 17

Monday, October 18

Tuesday, October 19

Wednesday, October 20 – Full Moon, Bela Lugosi’s Birthday

Thursday, October 21

Friday, October 22

Saturday, October 23 – Sunday, October 24

Mount Vernon Fall Festival. Alexandria.
Colors of the Forest nature program, Lake Fairfax Park. 1 p.m. (7-Adult) Learn the science behind the reason why leaves change colors as you hike through Lake Fairfax Park with a naturalist. The cost is $8 per person.

Monday, October 25 – Apple Day, Art Day

Tuesday, October 26 – Pumpkin Day, Howl at the Moon Day

Wednesday, October 27 – Jack o’ Lantern Day, National Wicked Witch Day, Black Cat Day

75th Annual Vienna Halloween Parade. Maple Avenue/Rt. 123, Vienna. 7 p.m.

Thursday, October 28 – National Skeleton Day, Chocolate Day

Friday, October 29 – Frankenstein Friday, Cat Day

Saturday, October 30 – Candy Corn Day, Her-o-Ween, National Trick or Treat Day

Trick or Treating at Mount Vernon. Alexandria.
Halloween Mystery at the Cabin. Riverbend Park. Great Falls. 4:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. (5-Adult) Can you solve our history mystery at Riverbend Park? Meet people of the past and discover their secrets to uncover the mysteries along the Potomac as we walk through the woods. A sweet treat will reward your success. The program at Riverbend Park runs from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m., 4:45 to 6 p.m., and 6:15 to 7:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person. Children must be accompanied by a registered adult.

Sunday, October 31 – Happy Halloween! Magic Day, Samhain, Caramel Apple Day, National Increase Your Psychic Powers Day

Are We Haunted? Tea and Program. Green Springs Gardens. Alexandria. $38. Adults only. Hear hair-raising stories of hauntings and ghost hunters that pose dilemmas for caretakers of the past. Learn why historic sites with supernatural reputations can become haunted by ghost stories that misrepresent historical facts and reduce historical figures to mere spooks and specters.

Cost is $38 for the program and tea; $15 for the program only.

Thank you for visiting, Autumn in Virginia. Please visit my winter seasonal blog, Cool Yule for events and articles related to Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s.