Leesburg's 70th Halloween Parade Starts Later and Stops Shorter This Year

On Wednesday, October 28, at 6:30 p.m., floats, marching bands and walkers in costume will leave the Ida Lee field and head down King Street for the 70th annual Leesburg Kiwanis Halloween Parade. The Kiwanis Club of Leesburg first held it in 1957. If you've gone in past years, a few things will look different. It's three days before Halloween, it starts half an hour later than it did the last two years, and it ends before it gets to the shopping center where it used to finish.

Over the past two years, the parade has moved off Halloween night and onto a weeknight, and its route is now set by the redevelopment happening at the south end of King Street. Knowing why helps you plan the evening.

Three Years, Three Different Parades

The Kiwanis Club calls this year's start a "new time" on its 2026 parade page. Put this year next to the last two and you can see how much the plan has changed.

The road closure still covers King Street from Battlefield Parkway to Catoctin Circle. In the Loudoun Now announcement, the Leesburg Police Department set this year's closure for 5:45 p.m. That's half an hour later than 2025, the same shift as the start time. Last year the Town said no cross traffic could get across King Street during the parade, and the street stayed closed until Public Works finished cleanup. Expect the same this year if you live on the east or west side of King and need to drive across that evening.

From Halloween Night to a Wednesday

For most of its history, the parade ran on October 31 itself. The Town said so directly when it announced the 2025 date:

"Traditionally, the community parade has taken place on Halloween night prior to trick-or-treating. However, this year the event will be held the evening prior."

That's from the Town of Leesburg's October 28, 2025 road closure notice. In 2025 it was one night early. In 2026 it's three. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and the parade is set for the Wednesday before it.

For families, this means the parade and trick-or-treating are now two separate outings. You can wear the costume twice, once on King Street Wednesday and again in your own neighborhood Saturday. The parade is still a big production. The Kiwanis Club says the 2025 parade had 80 groups and more than 600 participants, and it ran about 90 minutes. A 6:30 start and a similar length puts the end close to 8 p.m. on a school night, which matches the Town calendar's 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. listing.

Why the Route Stops Short of Safeway

The shorter route comes from a single cause. Loudoun Now reports that "the parade will end prior to Safeway because of construction on Fairfax Street." The Safeway is at 437 South King Street, near where King meets Catoctin Circle SE.

The construction is the Virginia Village redevelopment. The Town lists it at 4 Fairfax Street SE and the parcels next to it. As recently as 2024, the parade ended by turning left off South King into the Virginia Village Shopping Center lot. That lot is now a construction site.

The project is large. According to Loudoun Now's report on the start of demolition, the 18.5-acre property was rezoned in 2022 for 643 planned residential units, plus office, retail, restaurant, parking and park space. It's also one of the first projects approved under the Town's Crescent Design District standards, which guide redevelopment south and east of the historic district. The same report says the first phase includes townhouses by Knutson Companies and five-story apartment buildings with ground-floor retail by Keane Enterprises. Developer Brian Cullen told the outlet, "The last apartment building built inside the bypass was built in 1989." Loudoun Now reported that demolition would be followed by about nine months of infrastructure work, including stormwater management along Catoctin Circle. It put the first construction phase at about two years.

So the parade route now has to work around this site. The Halloween parade is one of the first community events in town to change because of Virginia Village. Construction is still underway, so the finish line may move again in future years.

A Wednesday Means Weekday Parking Rules

The Loudoun Now notice says parking at the Ida Lee field is only for parade participants. Spectators should use a Town garage or a side street that isn't part of the route. On Halloween night in past years, holiday and weekend rules sometimes applied. This year is a regular weekday, so weekday rules are in effect, and some of them change right around the time you'll be parking. Here's how the Town's downtown parking page lists them:

1. Town Hall Parking Garage, 10 Loudoun Street SW. Paid weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The first two hours are free, then $1 for each extra hour, with a $10 daily cap. Free after 7 p.m.
2. Pennington Lot and Garage, 210 Church Street NE. Public and free at all times. The garage roof level isn't open to the public.
3. Liberty Street Parking Lot, 204 Liberty Street SW. Free to the public at all times, with a 48-hour limit.
4. Loudoun County Garage, 146 Loudoun Street SE. Reserved for county employees and customers until 5 p.m. on weekdays. Public and free after that.
5. Semones Lot, behind the General District Courthouse. Court business only until 5 p.m. on weekdays. Public and free after that.
6. On-street spaces. $1.50 an hour, with a two-hour limit in most spots, enforced weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free after 5 p.m.

The timing works in your favor. Street meters and the county and court lots open up at 5 p.m., before King Street closes at 5:45. If you're downtown by about 5:30, you can park free almost anywhere on this list. The Town Hall garage stays free for your first two hours and then switches to free for the night at 7.

If you're planning dinner before the parade, check which places are open on a weeknight. Piazza di Gogo's, which The Burn reported opened this year at 7 West Market Street next to Buford's Biscuits, serves Thursday through Sunday from 5 p.m. That means it's closed on parade night.

Who's Out Front, and What to Bring

This year's Grand Marshal is the Stone Bridge High School Key Club. Leesburg Kiwanis sponsors the club, which was named 2025-26 Key Club of the Year among 250 clubs in the Capital District. The Kiwanis Club credits the Key Club's members with nearly 4,000 volunteer hours for 128 organizations during the school year.

Judges will award "Most Creative," "Best Interpretation of Halloween" and "Best Float." Winners get bragging rights and a sign attached to their entry for the rest of the parade, so you'll see which floats won as they go by. The deadline for new entries on the Kiwanis registration form was October 14.

Watching and marching are both free. Instead of charging registration fees, the club asks for non-perishable food or checks made out to Loudoun Hunger Relief, collected when participants sign in at the Ida Lee field. The parade goes on rain or shine.

Saturday Is Still Halloween

With the parade moved to Wednesday, Saturday the 31st is open for other plans. Visit Loudoun lists Pumpkin Village at Leesburg Animal Park, 19270 James Monroe Highway, on October 31 from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. It has slides, wagon rides, a petting zoo, pedal carts and a corn bin. That gets you home in time for trick-or-treating in your own neighborhood that evening.

For the parade on Wednesday, plan to be downtown by 5:30, park in a free garage or lot, bring a can for Loudoun Hunger Relief, and walk to King Street before it closes at 5:45.

If you're watching how Virginia Village and the rest of the Crescent District are changing the south end of downtown, I'm happy to talk through what's being built and what it could mean near your street. You can reach me through Marcy Smith or my Leesburg neighborhood page. Let's Connect.