The Loudoun Fall Farm Tour opens 34 farms across the county on Saturday and Sunday, free and with no tickets. Crooked Run in Sterling has a pickle festival both days, an outdoor Dracula show opens Friday night in Leesburg, and on Sunday early voting comes to the Ashburn rec center.
The 5-second plan
Saturday and Sunday, countywide: the Loudoun Fall Farm Tour, 34 farms, free and no tickets.
Friday night, about 20 minutes away: Dracula's Midnight Masquerade opens outdoors at Dodona Manor in Leesburg, with shows at 7 and 9.
Saturday in Ashburn: Pumpkin Palooza at the Ashburn rec center, 4 to 7, a $5 trunk-or-treat with a pumpkin to pick; register ahead.
Saturday and Sunday, about 15 minutes away: pickle vendors, food trucks and a beer garden at Crooked Run in Sterling, $5 at the door plus a card fee.
Sunday in Ashburn: early voting opens at the Ashburn Recreation and Community Center, 11 to 4.
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Editor's Pick
The Loudoun Fall Farm Tour opens 34 farms across the county on Saturday and Sunday, free, with no tickets. It's self-guided, so pick two or three farms near each other; some charge for food, drinks or activities. The farms open rain or shine, and Hogback Mountain Pony Rides is closed this year.
Sat 10/17–Sun 10/18; farms are encouraged to open 10 a.m.–4 p.m., but 2026 hours aren't printed, so check each farm · Free; fees at some farms · Countywide · All ages
Fairs, Festivals & Fall
Saturday has a pickle festival in Sterling, chalk art in Reston and Purcellville's free fall festival, while Frying Pan's carnival and the Lucketts market run Friday to Sunday, and two haunts run Friday and Saturday nights.
Fairs and festivals
A pickle festival with global food trucks and a beer garden fills Crooked Run in Sterling on Saturday and Sunday, $5 at the door. A dozen pickle vendors set up, with two dozen food trucks, local craft and art vendors, and games and activities for everyone. A VIP hour runs from 10 to 11 each morning.
Sat 10/17–Sun 10/18; VIP hour 10–11 a.m., general admission 11 a.m.–6 p.m. · General admission $5 plus a card fee, at the door or online ahead; VIP price not posted · ~15 min, Crooked Run Fermentation, 22455 Davis Dr, Ste 120, Sterling · All ages welcome
Frying Pan Farm Park's carnival wristbands are $23.25 until Friday at 5 p.m., and each one covers a single session. A wristband is good for either Friday 5 to 9 or Sunday 11 to 6, and the park lists no Saturday wristband session. Ride credits are sold on site, $1 for one up to $100 for 125. Big Truck Night is Friday from 5 to 7, and Farm Harvest Days run Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 3.
Carnival Fri 10/16, 5–9 p.m.; Sat 10/17, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sun 10/18, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. · Wristband $23.25 presale through Fri 10/16 at 5 p.m., then $28.25 a person; one session each (Fri 5–9 or Sun 11–6); parking $10 a vehicle · ~20 min, 2709 West Ox Rd, Herndon · All ages
The Lucketts Fall Market runs Friday to Sunday at the Clarke County Fairgrounds in Berryville, $20 a day. General admission is sold at the gate, with online sales promised for a later date, and is good for one day of your choosing. A $50 early-buyer pass, sold ahead only, gets you in Friday from 8:30 to 12:30 and covers all three days.
Fri 10/16, early buyers 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m., general admission 12:30–5 p.m.; Sat 10/17–Sun 10/18, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. · General admission $20 a day; early buyer $50 · ~50 min, Clarke County Fairgrounds, 890 W Main St, Berryville · All ages
Pumpkins, haunts and corn mazes
Pumpkin patches cost less on weekdays: $12 at Temple Hall and $14 for adults at Great Country Farms. Every paid Temple Hall admission includes a pumpkin and flowers, it prefers cards and sells no tickets online, and NOVA Parks naturalists run free programs with admission on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. NOVA Parks' park page still shows a weather-closure alert for the patch, so call 703-779-9372 before you drive out.
Great Country Farms runs pig races at 11, 1 and 3 on weekends,
Cox Farms is open Thursday through Monday and sells tickets online only, priced by date, and busy days sell out.
Wegmeyer Farms is open Thursday through Sunday, 10 to 6, and u-pick needs a reservation, one per family, which covers your first $30 of pumpkins.
Temple Hall daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m., last tickets 4; naturalists Fri 10/16 1–4, Sat 10/17 1–4, Sun 10/18 10–2; Great Country daily through 10/31; Cox Thu–Mon 10–6; Wegmeyer Thu–Sun 10–6 · Temple Hall $15, $12 weekdays, under 2 free (no pumpkin); Great Country online $14 adult/$12 child weekdays, $16/$14 weekends, plus $1, gate $16 weekdays and $18 weekends, 2 and under free; Cox online only, priced by date, under 2 free; Wegmeyer u-pick by reservation, first $30 of pumpkins included · ~25 min, 15855 Limestone School Rd, Leesburg; ~40 min, 18780 Foggy Bottom Rd, Bluemont; ~30 min, 15621 Braddock Rd, Centreville; ~30 min, 38299 Hughesville Rd, Hamilton · All ages
This Weekend
Friday has an outdoor Dracula show and two murder-mystery nights, Saturday has $5 Halloween events in Sterling and Ashburn, and Sunday starts with a 10K and a free walk at One Loudoun.
Friday
An outdoor Dracula show opens Friday on the grounds of Dodona Manor in Leesburg. Dracula's Midnight Masquerade is free-roaming outdoor theatre, with scenes, vampires and music inspired by Bram Stoker's novel. A downtown vampire walking tour after the show can be added, and a 21-and-over VIP cellar package called The Crimson Curse is sold separately.
Fri 10/16–Sun 11/1; Fridays and Saturdays 7 and 9 p.m., Sundays 7 p.m. · Ticket prices not posted; tickets through Naut Human Productions · ~20 min, George C. Marshall's Dodona Manor, 312 E Market St, Leesburg · Age guidance not posted; cellar add-on 21+
A Grave Misunderstanding, a murder-mystery dinner show, plays Dulles Town Center on Friday for $60 plus tax and fees. The StageCoach troupe also stages it Thursday at The Branch in Leesburg and Saturday at Ono Offshore in Chantilly. At Ono, doors open at 5:30 and the show starts at 6:45.
Fri 10/16, doors and dinner 6:30, show 7:15 p.m.; Thu 10/15 at The Branch; Sat 10/17 at Ono Offshore · Dulles Town Center $60 plus 6% tax and a $4.30 fee; The Branch $123.49 plus tax and gratuity; Ono $64 plus fees and tax · ~15 min, 21100 Dulles Town Cir, Sterling; ~20 min, The Branch, 49 Catoctin Circle SE, Leesburg; ~30 min, Ono Offshore, 4515 Daly Dr, Ste N, Chantilly · Adults (The Branch is 18+)
Saturday
Sunday
A 10K and a free walk both start from One Loudoun on Sunday morning. The =PR= Fall Classic 10K starts at 8 and costs $55, and online sign-up closes at 8:15 that morning. The free
Stride Into Fall walk checks in from 8:15 to 9, sets off by 9:15 and has a social until 11; its sign-up closes at 9.
Sun 10/18; 10K 8 a.m.; walk check-in 8:15–9 a.m. · 10K $55 (virtual 10K also $55); walk free · ~10 min, Plaza at One Loudoun, 20427 Exchange St; walk from =PR= Run & Walk, 20436 Exchange St, Ashburn · Runners and walkers
Family
Ashburn Village residents have until midnight Sunday to enter the Halloween house tour, and Friday night has a Clue movie party for teens at Cascades.
Kids
Ashburn Village residents can enter the Halloween house tour until midnight Sunday. Scan the code on the association's flyer to enter. Voting runs October 19 to 26, and gift cards of $75, $50 and $25 go to the top three single-family homes and the top three townhouses.
Entries due by midnight Sun 10/18; voting Mon 10/19–Mon 10/26; winners Tue 10/27 · No charge posted · In Ashburn, Ashburn Village homes · Ashburn Village residents
Teens
What Actually Matters
Early voting opens in Ashburn on Sunday, and supervisors vote Tuesday to make their data-center pause official.
Drop off household hazardous waste for free at the Leesburg Park and Ride on Saturday. The county takes oil-based paint, pesticides, pool chemicals, fluorescent bulbs and dry-cell batteries, and you show proof of Loudoun residency, like a driver's license or utility bill. Latex paint, motor oil, car batteries and electronics are turned away, and the limit is 15 gallons of liquid and 40 pounds of solids a household.
Sat 10/17, 8:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. · Free for Loudoun residents · ~20 min, 41951 Gourley Transit Dr, Leesburg · Loudoun households
Early voting opens at the Ashburn Recreation and Community Center on Sunday, October 18, from 11 to 4. Claude Moore in Sterling, Dulles South and Carver Senior Center in Purcellville open the same day. Through October 31, the satellite sites are open 10 to 5 on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, noon to 7 on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9 to 5 on Saturdays. Ballot drop boxes at county libraries, except the Law Library, also start taking ballots Sunday.
Sun 10/18, 11 a.m.–4 p.m.; Mon 10/19 10–5; Tue 10/20 noon–7; Wed 10/21 10–5; Sat 10/24 9–5; Sun 10/25 11–4; Sat 10/31 9–5 · Free · In Ashburn, 21105 Coopers Hawk Dr · Registered Loudoun voters
Opening Radar
bartaco is now serving at One Loudoun.
Registration Radar
i9 Sports' $169 price ends today, Wednesday, and the county's winter activity guide goes online Friday.
Today, Wednesday, October 14, is the last day for i9 Sports' $169 late-fall price, which goes to $189 after. Co-ed and
girls-only basketball for ages 5 to 12, and a
girls volleyball league, play Saturdays from November 7 to December 5. After today, spots go first come, first served. The
winter basketball and
winter volleyball leagues start January 9 and cost $196 through November 6.
Pay by Wed 10/14 for late fall · Late fall $169, then $189; winter $196 through 11/6, $216 through 12/4, $236 after · In Ashburn, Virginia Academy, 19790 Ashburn Road · Basketball ages 5–12; girls volleyball ages 7–14 in fall, 7–16 in winter
Fall 2 tennis at the Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion starts Monday, October 19, for juniors and adults. The eight-week session runs through December 20, with no classes November 23 to 29. Juniors who register for more than one full-session class get 10% off, through the front desk or the tennis coordinator.
Starts Mon 10/19; through Sun 12/20 · Prices not posted · In Ashburn, Ashburn Village Sports Pavilion, 20585 Ashburn Village Blvd · Ashburn Village residents and outside racquet members; class times on the pavilion's page
Sprout 5K prices go up $10 after Friday, October 23, from $30 to $40 for adults. Students 21 and under pay $20 now and $30 after, and the 1K fun run goes from $20 to $30. The race on Sunday, October 25, at Clyde's Willow Creek Farm benefits Sprout Therapeutic Riding.
Pay by Fri 10/23, 11:59 p.m.; race Sun 10/25, 5K 9 a.m., 1K 9:05 a.m. · 5K $30 adults, $20 students; 1K $20; then $40, $30 and $30 · ~10 min, Clyde's Willow Creek Farm, 42920 Broadlands Blvd, Ashburn · Runners and families
Out & About
The Whispers mark 60 years at the Birchmere on Saturday, and the Tally Ho in Leesburg has a show on five nights this week.
Music and shows
The Tally Ho in Leesburg has a show five nights this week, from The Clarks on Thursday to Wednesday 13 on Tuesday. Country Night with Delta Spur is Friday,
Be Kind & Rewind's 90s show is Saturday, and
Mushroomhead with Fear Factory is Sunday.
Wednesday 13 plays Tuesday, with Dead On A Sunday and Above Snakes.
Thu 10/15, Fri 10/16 and Sat 10/17, doors 7 p.m.; Sun 10/18, doors 6 p.m.; Tue 10/20, doors 6:30 p.m.; show times not posted · Ticket prices not posted · ~20 min, 19 W Market St, Leesburg · Age limits not posted
The Whispers mark 60 years at the Birchmere on Saturday, $102 at the box office. Gerald Albright plays Friday for $66.50 at the box office, and Daryl Davis's Chuck Berry tribute is Sunday for $46.50. Whispers tickets cost $17.70 less at the box office than through Ticketmaster.
All 7:30 p.m.; Albright Fri 10/16, Whispers Sat 10/17, Davis Sun 10/18 · Whispers $95 ticket, $102 at the Birchmere box office, $119.70 through Ticketmaster; Albright $59.50 ticket, $66.50 at the box office; Davis $39.50 ticket, $46.50 at the box office · ~45 min, 3701 Mount Vernon Ave, Alexandria · Adults
Wine country
Breaux Vineyards has live music both afternoons and Vines & Views hikes for the Farm Tour. Grayson Moon plays Saturday and Jason Masi Sunday, from 2 to 5, and the winery is open 11 to 6. The hikes are free and take walk-ins both days, and tasting is an extra fee. On Sunday from 2 to 4 there's
ceramic pumpkin painting that includes a glass of wine.
Sat 10/17–Sun 10/18; winery open 11 a.m.–6 p.m., music 2–5 p.m., pumpkin painting Sun 2–4 p.m. · Hikes free; painting price not posted; tasting fee extra · ~30 min, 36888 Breaux Vineyards Ln, Purcellville · All ages welcome; wine 21+
Classes and talks
Save the Date
Friday, October 23, is the last day to register to vote, and Halloween events fill Saturday, October 24, in and around Ashburn.
Hauntings ghost tours of downtown Leesburg are $35, and several Friday, October 23, times have sold out. The walking tours leave the Loudoun Museum every 20 minutes and last about 90 minutes. Timed tickets are sold ahead. As of Tuesday night, every Friday tour from 6:40 to 8 is gone, and so is Saturday's 8 o'clock.
Thu 10/22, tours 6–8 p.m.; Fri 10/23 and Sat 10/24, tours 6–9 p.m. · $35, timed tickets · ~20 min, Loudoun Museum, Leesburg · Age guidance not posted
Halloween on the Farm at Frying Pan Farm Park is $12 if you register by Thursday, October 22. It's a one-hour farm trick-or-treat slot, and children need a registered adult with them. Day-of registration is $15 if any spots are left.
Fri 10/23, one-hour slots start at 5, 6 or 7 p.m.; Sat 10/24, start at 4:30, 5:30 or 6:30 p.m.; advance registration closes Thu 10/22, 11:59 p.m. · $12 advance; $15 day of · ~20 min, 2709 West Ox Rd, Herndon · All ages; children with a registered adult
Extra Credit
Saturday morning has a guided nature walk at Morven Park and a 5K in Purcellville, and Friday night has a murder-mystery comedy at a brewery outside Leesburg.
Kids and teens
Walks and races
Nights and games
Around town
Pet shots are $10 and microchips are free for Loudoun residents at county clinics Saturday in Lovettsville and Thursday, October 22, in Leesburg. Bring cats in carriers and dogs on a leash no longer than six feet, up to four pets a family. The
October 22 clinic is at Animal Services.
Sat 10/17, 10 a.m.–noon; Thu 10/22, 9–11 a.m. · Rabies, DHPP and FVRCP $10 each; microchip $15, free for county residents; dog license $10 a year · ~40 min, Lovettsville Community Park, 39550 Lovettsville Park Dr; ~20 min, 42225 Adoption Dr, Leesburg · Dog and cat owners
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Live life, together.
Corrections
Setting the record straight
In the Oct 7 edition
We said: Frying Pan Farm Park's Fall Harvest Fest and Carnival (Oct. 16–18) sells an "unlimited-ride wristband," $23.25 presale and $28.25 a person per day after.
What’s right: Each wristband is good for one session only: either Friday, Oct. 16, 5–9 p.m., or Sunday, Oct. 18, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. The park lists no Saturday wristband session. The $23.25 presale price (through Friday, Oct. 16, at 5 p.m.), the $28.25 regular price and $10 parking were correct.
Source →
In the Oct 7 edition
We said: Applications to train as a Loudoun Extension Master Gardener close Tuesday, October 20, or sooner if the class fills.
What’s right: The program sets no fixed deadline. It takes applications in the order they arrive and closes when the class fills.
Source →
In the Oct 7 edition
We said: The School Board's review of eastern Loudoun elementary attendance zones has public hearings on October 22 and November 12.
What’s right: The district's calendar lists the October 15 overview and one public hearing and work session on October 22. We could not find a November 12 hearing.
Source →