What's happening this weekend
Friday 25 September – Sunday 27 September
Hand-picked events, and what to know before you go.
Loudoun has apparently decided that pumpkins, pretzels and sensible walking shoes all belong in the same weekend.
Our take
Go big Saturday at Lovettsville Oktoberfest. Save Sunday morning for a quieter, boots-on fall at Temple Hall.
Weather Report
Clear and comfortable, with Saturday and Sunday near 73°. Friday starts gently, and rain looks unlikely.
Slides, animals and rides make this best for younger children. Check the day’s gate price before leaving.
What to know before you go
Go Friday for the full festival with fewer weekend crowds. Call ahead for the gate price; it only appears at checkout.
They hand you clippers and a wheelbarrow and point you at the field. No festival attached, no admission gate, and small children treat it as an expedition anyway. Late afternoon is the best version, when the light goes gold and the after-school crowd has gone home for dinner.
What to know before you go
Late afternoon is the sweet spot: golden light and fewer families in the field.
Indoors, inexpensive and rarely busy on a Friday. Keep this one in your back pocket for the first bad-weather weekend.
What to know before you go
The reliable rainy-day backup: indoors, inexpensive and usually quiet on Fridays.
Kinderfest runs all day, alongside the wiener dog races, stein hauling, more than fifty craft vendors and German food. The move back to Zoldos Square makes the footprint tighter and easier with a stroller.
What to know before you go
Do not drive into town. Park at Lovettsville Community Park and take the continuous shuttle to Kinderfest.
Go early. The wagon ride to the patch stops running when the field lot fills, usually by 11am. Bring a wagon of your own for the walk back with pumpkins.
What to know before you go
Last tickets sell at 4pm. Opening day will be busy, so Sunday morning is the calmer choice if your schedule allows.
The full-day option: play areas, a corn maze and farm activities. Advance tickets cost less than the gate.
What to know before you go
Buy in advance. A family of four saves about $12 versus the gate, and pumpkins cost extra by weight.
A year-round market on summer hours through October. It is an easy first stop before anything else and finished by lunch.
What to know before you go
Go first thing. It makes an easy first stop and closes at noon.
Twenty minutes of books and twenty of songs. The room holds about 30 families and there is no sign-up, so line up by 10:15 if your toddler needs a front spot.
What to know before you go
Times vary by branch. Check the library calendar before choosing where to go.
Same patch as Saturday, with a calmer first hour. Empty field, cold air and pumpkin cannons still loading make Sunday morning our pick of the whole weekend.
What to know before you go
Wear boots you do not care about. It is a working field, not a lawn.
A proper old orchard rather than a festival, with apples and a farm stand. It suits smaller children because there is nothing to line up for and nothing to say no to.
What to know before you go
Call before setting off. The orchard asks visitors to check picking conditions as varieties turn over.
Wooded lanes, meadows, ponds and miles of trail, with pavilions if you bring lunch. Worth it this weekend specifically because everyone else is at a pumpkin patch.
What to know before you go
Bring lunch and head for the wooded trails. Eastern Loudoun feels unusually quiet here on festival weekends.
Real basketball and climbing wall time for older kids who are bored of pumpkin season. Socks required on the wall; they sell them at the desk for $3.
What to know before you go
The useful counter-programming pick for older kids who are already done with pumpkin season.
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.
Thursday 1 October
Swim schools, gymnastics and indoor soccer across eastern Loudoun open winter sign-ups at the top of the month. Saturday morning slots go first. Set the reminder now, not on the day.
Saturday morning classes go first. Set the reminder before registration opens.
Saturday 3 October
Colonial-era crafts, music and tours inside eighteenth-century homes, in a village that is a National Historic Landmark in its own right. Beautiful, and busy. Buy before the week of.
Buy before the week of. The historic village is beautiful and predictably busy.
Saturday 17 October
More than thirty farms open their gates across the county. The good ones fill their parking by mid-morning. Pick three, map them, and start at nine.
Choose three farms, map the route and start at nine before parking fills.
Featured guide
The pumpkin patches, gentle daytime fun and after-dark scares actually worth doing in Loudoun County — with cost, ages and the practical details before you set out.
11 events · 3 free
View the guideHand-picked events, and what to know before you go.