Northern Virginia runs more fall festivals than anywhere else in the DMV, and the season is short enough that the good Saturdays collide. Below are 72 of them, numbered and dated, from the pumpkin patches that run for seven weeks to the two Saturdays in October that carry almost half the season.
Every listing has a verified date, location and price, and links straight to the organizer. Use the jump links to skip to the kind of festival you want. For the District side, see our Washington DC fall festivals guide.
Alex’s top picks
The five that define fall in Northern Virginia
If you only get to a handful this season, make it these.
01
Cox Farms Fall Festival
Ninety acres of slides, mazes and hayrides, running seven straight weeks. The one most Fairfax County kids grow up on.
02
Vienna Oktoberfest
Church Street closes and about 30,000 people turn up. Free admission and free kids activities on the Town Green.
03
50th Annual Fall Festival
More than 400 vendors fill Old Town Fairfax for the biggest single-day festival in the county, now in its fiftieth year.
04
Art on the Avenue
Ten blocks of Del Ray given over to handmade work, five music stages and food from the whole neighborhood. Free.
05
82nd Waterford Fair
Virginia’s oldest juried crafts fair, held across a preserved eighteenth century village. One ticket covers all three days.
The season at a glance
Pumpkin patches and farm fall festivals
This is the category people mean when they search for fall festivals, and Northern Virginia is unusually well supplied. Most run for weeks rather than a single weekend, so they are the easiest to fit around a schedule.
Cox Farms Fall Festival
September 19 to November 8
The one most of Fairfax County grew up on, and still the biggest of its kind here. Ninety acres of slides, rope swings, hay bale mazes, farm animals and free cider and apples. Kick-off weekend runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Great Country Farms Pumpkin Picking and Corn Maze
September 19 to October 31, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Wagon rides out to the pumpkin field with the Blue Ridge behind you. Weekends add pig races and apple pressing at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
Temple Hall Farm Pumpkin Patch and Sunflower Fields
September 26 to November 1
A working NOVA Parks farm that runs pumpkins and sunflowers at the same time, which almost nowhere else does this late.
Pumpkin Village Fall Fest
Opens September 19
The animal park pairing makes this the easiest of the patches with toddlers, since there is something to do when the pumpkin novelty wears off.
Fall Fun Fest at Reston Farm Garden Market
September 26 to October 31, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
The closest thing to a farm festival you will find inside the Beltway, which matters if you are coming from Arlington or the District.
Pumpkin Hill at Nalls Produce
September 26 to October 31
Genuinely walkable if you are anywhere near Franconia, and about 25 minutes from downtown Washington DC. The nearest patch to the city.
Yankey Farms Pumpkin Patch
September 26 to October 31
The pick for Prince William County families, and quieter on a Saturday than anything closer in.
Burke Nursery Fall Farm Market and Pumpkin Patch
All of October
The hay pyramid has been a Burke tradition for years and is the reason most families come back.
Apple, cider and harvest festivals
Apple season starts earlier than pumpkin season and is mostly finished by the end of October. These are the dates if you want cider and orchards rather than corn mazes.
Apple Harvest at Great Country Farms
Through September 18, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Already running. Pig races and apple pressing on weekends at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., plus the corn maze and the 15-acre play area.
Sunflower Festival at The Homestead Farm
September 12
Sunflowers, live music and a market at Fruit Hill Orchard, out past Winchester.
Harvest Happenings
September 26
A community harvest festival at the McLean Community Center, free and about as easy to reach as fall gets.
Apple Harvest Festival at Marker-Miller Orchards
October 10, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and October 11, 12–5 p.m.
Crafters, wagon rides, cow train rides for kids and live music on top of the regular farm market.
Confirm the price before you driveFarm Harvest Fest and Carnival
October 16 to 18
A county park festival with an actual carnival attached, at the working farm park in Herndon.
Pumpkin Festival at Marker-Miller Orchards
October 24, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
The orchard runs this two weeks after its apple weekend, with the same crafters and rides.
Confirm the price before you driveHomestead Harvest Festival
October 24
The autumn counterpart to the same farm’s sunflower weekend in September.
Fall Harvest Family Days at Mount Vernon
October 24 and 25, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m.
Eighteenth century harvest demonstrations across the estate, with wagon rides, a straw bale maze and the working farm in full swing.
LoCo Cider Fest
November 14
One of the last fall events on the Loudoun calendar, and a good excuse to go back to Bluemont after the crowds thin.
Oktoberfests
Northern Virginia runs at least ten of these and three land on the same September Saturday. Pick by distance rather than trying to do more than one.
Oktoberfest at Atlas Alexandria
September 11
A brewery Oktoberfest rather than a street festival, which makes it the low-key way to start the season.
Traditional Oktoberfest at Wheatland Spring
September 12 and 13
The eighth year at a farm brewery in Waterford, and the most genuinely traditional of the lot.
Oktoberfest at 2 Silos Brewing
September 18 to 20
Three days, which none of the others attempt, on the brewery’s field outside Manassas.
Oktoberfest in Old Town Alexandria
September 19
John Carlyle Square fills up for the day. The most walkable Oktoberfest on this list if you are coming by Metro.
Middleburg Oktoberfest
September 19
South Madison Street closes in one of the prettiest towns in Loudoun. Worth pairing with the wineries on the way out.
Lovettsville Oktoberfest
September 26
The thirtieth year, in a town founded by German settlers, which shows in how seriously it takes the food.
Larktoberfest at Lark Brewing
September 26, afternoon into the night
The one that runs latest into the evening in western Loudoun.
Vienna Oktoberfest
Saturday, October 3, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.
Church Street closes and roughly 30,000 people turn up for beer, wine, food stalls, live music and a full kids area on the Town Green. Free admission and free children’s activities, which is why it draws what it does. Arrive before noon or plan to park a walk away.
Oktoberfest American Kickoff: Beer Olympics
October 4, 1–8 p.m.
Shipgarten leans into the games rather than the oompah, which is either the appeal or the reason to skip it.
Rocktoberfest at Reston Town Center
October 10, 5–11 p.m.
The latest-running Oktoberfest in the region, and the only one built around the music first.
Town and community fall festivals
Two of these hit their fiftieth year in 2026. October 3 and October 10 are the Saturdays that carry the most, so read those two carefully before committing.
Falling for Fair Oaks
September 13
A mall-anchored fall celebration that is easy with small children and entirely indoors if the weather turns.
50th Annual Falls Church Festival
September 19, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
The Little City’s fiftieth, with the Taste of Falls Church attached. Compact, walkable and one of the better ones with a stroller.
Fall Fest at Claude Moore Park
September 19
A Loudoun County park festival with the sheriff’s office running the family side of it.
Bluemont Fair
September 19 and 20
A small mountain village fair that has run for decades and feels a century older than that.
OFC Block Party
September 19
The Old Firehouse closes the street in McLean for music and food.
Clarendon Day
September 26
The biggest street festival Arlington runs, and reachable on the Orange and Silver lines without a car.
Mosaic Fall Fest
September 26 and 27, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
Two days across the Mosaic District, with the food hall and restaurants doing most of the heavy lifting.
Burke Centre Festival
September 26 and 27
A long-running community festival with a carnival, and one of the few that fills a whole weekend.
82nd Waterford Fair
October 2 to 4, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily
Virginia’s oldest juried crafts fair, spread across an entire preserved eighteenth century village. Fine crafts, traditional music, historic home and garden tours and living history. One ticket covers all three days.
43rd Annual Manassas Fall Jubilee
Saturday, October 3, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
More than 100 craft and community booths fill Historic Downtown Manassas, with live music running from pop to heavy metal, dance performances, pumpkin painting and games for kids.
50th Annual Fall Festival, City of Fairfax
Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
More than 400 art, craft and food vendors take over Old Town Fairfax, with several stages, beer gardens and a children’s area. Vendors wrap at 5 p.m. and a concert runs in Old Town Square until 8:30. The largest single-day festival in the county.
54th Annual Festival of Leaves
October 10
The best excuse on the calendar to drive out to the Shenandoah, and the foliage usually cooperates.
Springfield Fall Festival
October 10
An outdoor festival in the town center lot, and a reasonable fallback if Old Town Fairfax feels like too much.
Pike Fest
October 10
Columbia Pike’s own street festival, and the most genuinely diverse food lineup of any of these.
Celebrate Purcellville
October 10 to 17
A full week of town events rather than a single day, finishing at Dillon’s Woods.
Clifton Day
October 11, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
A town of roughly 200 people that swells to thousands for one day of crafts, food and music.
Centreville Day
October 17, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Held in the historic district rather than the strip, which is the whole point of going.
Wine, cider and food festivals
Five of these, and the Mount Vernon evening is the most date-night thing happening on either side of the river this fall.
Oyster Fest at Bunnyman Brewing
September 12
Oysters and beer in a Burke industrial park, which is exactly as good as it sounds.
Taste of Old Town North
September 17
A weekday evening tasting event at Montgomery Park, and one of the few Thursday options all season.
Fall Bull Run Wine Festival
September 26 and 27, 12–5 p.m.
Virginia wineries pouring on a property that backs onto the Manassas battlefield, with food vendors and live music.
Fall Wine Festival at Mount Vernon
October 9 to 11, 6–9 p.m.
Three evenings on the east lawn with the Potomac going dark behind you and the mansion lit. Virginia wineries pour, and the evening timing makes it the best date night of the season.
DMV Chocolate and Coffee Festival
November 14 and 15
One of the very few things still running in November, and entirely indoors.
Fall art and craft fairs
Art on the Avenue is the giant here. The other five are worth knowing if you want crafts without the crowd.
Old Town Manassas Art Show and Craft Fall Fair
September 12
On the Manassas Museum lawn, and small enough to actually talk to the makers.
24th Annual Alexandria Art Festival
September 26 and 27
A juried outdoor show at John Carlyle Square, two weeks before Del Ray does its much larger version.
Occoquan Fall Arts and Crafts Show
September 26 and 27
Fills the whole riverside town. Park early or park far, because Mill Street is not built for this.
31st Annual Art on the Avenue
Saturday, October 3, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Del Ray closes more than ten blocks of Mount Vernon Avenue for handmade work from hundreds of artists, five stages of live music and food from across the neighborhood. Tens of thousands come through and it costs nothing to walk in.
McLean Artfest
October 4
A juried fine art show in McLean Central Park, and the quietest good art day of the season.
10th Annual UCP Fall Art and Craft Fair
October 24, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
An indoor church craft fair in Reston, which is the right call for the last Saturday in October.
Cultural festivals this fall
Northern Virginia’s fall calendar is not only harvest festivals. Several of these are the best-attended events of the season and most are free.
52nd Virginia Scottish Games
September 5 and 6
Heavy athletics, massed pipe bands, highland dancing and clan tents across Great Meadow. The drive out through Fauquier County is half of it.
Rosslyn Jazz Fest
September 12
A free afternoon of jazz at Gateway Park, a short walk from the Rosslyn Metro.
Reggae on the Lake
September 12
Lake Anne Plaza in Reston, which is the best setting of any small festival on this list.
28th Annual Egyptian Festival at St. Mark
September 12 and 13
Coptic church festivals are consistently the best food value in the region, and this is the biggest of them.
Colonial Market and Fair at Mount Vernon
September 19 and 20, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Eighteenth century artisans, military demonstrations and period music on the estate grounds.
Reston Multicultural Festival
September 19, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.
The 25th anniversary, with performances and food from dozens of communities across Reston Town Center.
Mid-Autumn Festival at Fair Oaks
September 19 and 20
Run by Our Lady of La Vang Mission, with lantern displays and Vietnamese food.
Asia in a Bite at One Loudoun
September 19 and 20
A large Asian street food festival that rotates the region. This is the Ashburn stop.
10th Annual Middle Eastern Food Festival
September 19 and 20
St. Mary and St. Abanoub in Springfield, two weeks after the larger McLean festival.
Samuel Beckett’s Celtic Festival
September 19
A pub-run Celtic festival in Shirlington with music all afternoon.
Manassas Latino Festival
September 26
At the Harris Pavilion, with music, dance and food from across Latin America.
NVA Thai Street Food and Culture Festival
September 27, and again October 25
Runs twice this fall on the Manassas Museum lawn, which is unusual and useful if you miss the first.
16th Annual Egyptian Festival at St. Moses
October 10 and 11
The Loudoun County counterpart to the Fairfax festival a month earlier.
Heritage India Festival
October 24 and 25
Indoors at the Dulles Town Center Expo Center, with food, crafts and performances across the weekend.
Asia in a Bite at One Loudoun
October 31 and November 1
The second Ashburn date of the year, and one of the last outdoor food festivals of the season.
Worth the drive
Both of these are outside Northern Virginia proper, so treat them as day trips rather than an afternoon out.
State Fair of Virginia
September 25 to October 4
Ten days at The Meadow Event Park, about two hours south of Fairfax. Livestock, rides, competitions and grandstand entertainment. The only true state fair within reach.
Stafford County Agricultural and Homemaking Fair
October 15 to 18
A genuine county agricultural fair outside Fredericksburg, and a much shorter drive than Doswell.
Free fall festivals in Northern Virginia
Most of the town festivals cost nothing to walk into. These are the ones where free admission is confirmed.
- Vienna Oktoberfest, October 3. Free entry and free kids activities on the Town Green.
- Manassas Fall Jubilee, October 3. Free and open to the public, 100 booths.
- Art on the Avenue, October 3. Free, no tickets, ten blocks of Del Ray.
- 50th Annual Fall Festival, City of Fairfax, October 10. Free to attend.
- Clarendon Day, Mosaic Fall Fest and the Falls Church Festival, all free September street festivals.
- Rosslyn Jazz Fest, September 12, free all afternoon at Gateway Park.
Planning tips before you go
Frequently asked questions
What are the best fall festivals in Northern Virginia?
Cox Farms Fall Festival in Centreville is the biggest farm festival and runs from September 19 to November 8. Vienna Oktoberfest on October 3 is the largest free one-day festival. The 50th City of Fairfax Fall Festival on October 10 is the biggest single-day street festival, with more than 400 vendors. Art on the Avenue in Del Ray and the 82nd Waterford Fair round out the top five. This guide lists 72 in total.
When do fall festivals start in Northern Virginia?
Apple festivals start first, in early September. The main season opens the weekend of September 19, when Cox Farms, the Falls Church Festival, Middleburg Oktoberfest, Oktoberfest in Old Town Alexandria and several pumpkin patches all begin on the same Saturday. Most farm festivals run through October 31, and a few events continue into mid-November.
What is the biggest Saturday for fall festivals?
October 3. Vienna Oktoberfest, the 43rd Manassas Fall Jubilee, Art on the Avenue in Alexandria and the second day of the Waterford Fair all fall on it. October 10 is a close second, with the 50th Annual Fall Festival in the City of Fairfax, the Festival of Leaves in Front Royal, Rocktoberfest in Reston, Springfield Fall Festival and Pike Fest.
Which fall festivals in Northern Virginia are free?
Vienna Oktoberfest, the Manassas Fall Jubilee, Art on the Avenue, the City of Fairfax Fall Festival, the Falls Church Festival, Clarendon Day, Mosaic Fall Fest and Rosslyn Jazz Fest are all free to attend. Food, drink and rides are sold separately. The farm festivals and the Waterford Fair are ticketed.
Where can I pick pumpkins near Northern Virginia?
Great Country Farms in Bluemont, Temple Hall Farm in Leesburg, Yankey Farms in Bristow, Pumpkin Hill at Nalls Produce in Alexandria, Burke Nursery in Burke, Reston Farm Garden Market and Leesburg Animal Park all run pumpkin patches. Most open the weekend of September 26 and run through October 31.
Are there Oktoberfests in Northern Virginia?
There are at least nine. Vienna Oktoberfest on October 3 is the largest and is free. Old Town Alexandria, Middleburg and 2 Silos Brewing in Manassas all run theirs on the September 19 weekend, and Lovettsville holds its 30th on September 26. Rocktoberfest at Reston Town Center on October 10 runs latest, until 11 p.m.
Last updated September 1, 2026. Dates, times, prices and admission were checked against current organizer, venue and tourism-bureau pages. Two admission prices are flagged above as unpublished. Outdoor festivals can change, so confirm details before leaving.
Featured image: Pumpkin Hill at Nalls Produce in Alexandria, photographed by Alex Hussein for DC Spot.
Published September 1, 2026. Dates, times, prices and admission were checked against current organizer, venue and tourism-bureau pages. Outdoor festivals can change, so confirm details before leaving home.
