What's happening this weekend
Friday 9 October – Monday 12 October
Hand-picked events, and what to know before you go.
No school Monday, so Loudoun gets a long weekend and every pumpkin patch knows it.
Our take
Temple Hall first thing Saturday, then the free festival at Dulles Town Center. Go to Great Country Farms on Monday as the usual weekend activities are still running.
Weather Report
Weather report pending — check back Tuesday 6 October.
Hill slides, a kids' zip line, pedal carts and the park's camels and zebras. It's the biggest fall festival of the three, and Friday is the one day this weekend it's at the weekday price.
What to know before you go
Go Friday after school. From Saturday it's $24.95 a person, and weekend tickets are online only, with none at the gate.
Local makers, small businesses, artists and bakers set up after sunset, with One Loudoun's restaurants all around. An easy Friday-night start to a long weekend: shop a little, get dinner, be home for bedtime.
What to know before you go
It's free and open to all ages. The Fridays run through October, so if this week doesn't work, there are more.
A wagon ride to the patch, jumping pillows, hill slides and a corn box, all close together. The pumpkin and a flower bouquet come with every paid ticket, which makes it the cheapest of the big three for a family of four.
What to know before you go
Pumpkin and flowers are in the ticket. Bring a card.
Local makers, food and live music, with free activities for kids. An easy second stop after a farm morning, and there's mall parking right next to it.
What to know before you go
It's in the lot in front of Macy's.
The county's festival of Hispanic and Latino culture: Peruvian, Mexican, Colombian and Salvadoran folk dance, a DJ, an alpaca petting zoo and a moon bounce.
What to know before you go
Food trucks include Bruster's, so dessert is sorted.
Olympic-level eventing fifteen minutes from downtown Leesburg. Saturday is cross-country, when horses gallop and jump solid fences across open fields. It's the day to bring kids.
What to know before you go
One spectator parking pass covers all four days. There's a vendor village with food.
Swim with skeletons, dive for ghosts and collect pumpkins from a floating patch. The rainy-day pick for this weekend.
What to know before you go
Pre-registration is required, so you can't just turn up.
Pumpkins and friendly ghouls hidden around the park for little ones to find with a scavenger sheet.
What to know before you go
Sheets come from the Nature Center. It's closed Sundays, so do it today or Monday.
A full day celebrating Nepal's two biggest festivals: live music from Nepali artists, traditional dance, a food village, an artisan market and a Dashain kite festival. There are kids' activities and youth competitions too.
What to know before you go
Go by day for the kite festival and kids' activities.
Purcellville opens a brand-new storybook trail: read a page, walk to the next. Short and gentle, with fresh air and no queue.
What to know before you go
It's one of the stops on the Celebrate Purcellville passport, which you can pick up at Town Hall or the library.
The whole-household farm: two jumping pillows, an 80-foot slide, pig races at 11, 1 and 3, and cider and a vineyard for the adults. It runs the same full program on Monday because there's no school.
What to know before you go
No school Monday. Pig races at 11, 1 and 3.
For the group chat
Our picks as one image — press and hold it to save or send.
Plan ahead
The things that sell out while you are not looking.
Saturday 17 October
Timed groups walk a haunted trail at Loudoun's only nature preserve, with a treat bag at the end. Free, recommended for ages 10 and up.
Free, but you still need to pre-register. Under-16s go with an adult.
Saturday 17 October
More than thirty farms open to visitors across the county, with animals, produce and the families who run them.
Pick three farms close together and start early.
Featured guide
Every family Halloween event in Loudoun, with confirmed details, costs, age guidance and what to know before you go.
35 events · 10 free · 24 confirmed
View the guideHand-picked events, and what to know before you go.