5 Virginia Towns That Go All Out for Halloween Every Year

A few Virginia towns don’t just hand out candy on Halloween. They throw a party for the whole community.

Parades, costume contests and festivals can fill the streets, and some of the traditions go back decades.

Here are the towns worth a trip if you love Halloween.

1. Leesburg

Leesburg’s Halloween parade drew 80 groups and more than 600 people in 2025, according to the Leesburg Kiwanis Club’s website.

The parade was first held in 1957.

This year’s parade is the 70th annual, and it starts at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 28.

Stone Bridge Key Club, named 2025-2026 Key Club of the Year in Capital District Kiwanis, is this year’s Grand Marshal.

Its 170 members completed 3,984 volunteer hours that school year.

If you’re driving in, the street closure starts at 5:45 p.m., though that time is subject to change.

The parade features floats, marching bands and community groups.

2. Vienna

Vienna has hosted a Halloween parade since 1946, according to the town.

This year’s route runs along Maple Avenue from Branch Road to Center Street.

It’s held rain or shine.

This year’s theme is Haunted History: 250 Years of America.

Vienna’s parade page names Mark Keam as the 2026 parade marshal, honoring his public service and advocacy for the greater Vienna area.

Applications to march are closed, but children and others in costume are invited to march along without registering, so you can still join.

Children marching with a parent should meet at 6 p.m. at United Bank, 374 Maple Ave. E.

Kids who march or watch can pick up a free goodie bag at the Caffi Field Pitching Lanes.

Most streets reopen when the parade concludes, between 8:30 and 9 p.m.

3. Wytheville

Wytheville holds Mayhem on Main, which Virginia Living calls an award-winning annual Halloween festival.

This year’s festival is on Saturday, October 31, and the town’s tourism site lists a 1 p.m. start.

The festival usually offers a haunted house, pumpkin decorating, costume contests, live music and haunted spirit tours.

The event page lists more than 60 downtown trick-or-treat locations, made up of businesses and other partners.

A Kids Fun Run obstacle course has more than 20 obstacles and three age categories for kids 16 and under.

You can sign up by calling Wytheville Parks and Recreation.

4. Occoquan

Halloween morning in Occoquan starts with the Town of Occoquan’s annual costume parade and contest at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 31.

Patch described an Occoquan costume parade and contest in October 2013, with prizes for the best children’s and adult costumes.

This year’s categories include Cutest, Scariest, Funniest, Most Original and Best Family/Group Costume.

You don’t need to register to join, just come in costume.

The town’s page for the 2024 parade said first-place winners in each costume category would receive $25 gift certificates for select businesses.

Mayor Earnie Porta, as Iron Man, was listed as the parade leader.

A trick-or-treat and decor contest starts at 11 a.m. throughout town.

Select businesses will have goodies for kids.

5. Front Royal

The Royal Examiner’s 2021 announcement for Front Royal’s Hometown Halloween on Main Street said it was the 12th year of defending the title of best place to trick-or-treat.

That year’s lineup included pumpkin carving at the Gazebo starting at noon, a costume parade with judging in three age groups, and a lighting of the pumpkins, with the event wrapping up at 8 p.m.

Trick-or-treating and candy distribution followed from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Town of Front Royal and the Front Royal Independent Business Alliance were among the sponsors.

Back in 2017, most Main Street merchants and some extra businesses would hand out candy and goodies.

The sheriff’s department was set to run a haunted house, and the Chamber of Commerce was set to sponsor costume contests for people and pets.

A town notice in 2018 also pointed families to a Hometown Halloween event at the Main Street Gazebo.

The announcements on record are from earlier years, so check the town’s event calendar for this year’s date and hours before you plan around it.

Vienna's Parade Through the Decades

Vienna's Halloween parade drew thousands of kids from six to 60 in 1955, according to a 2022 report in The Wash that cites the Fairfax Herald.

They came dressed as clowns, goblins, witches, spooks and storybook characters.

By 1959, there were prizes for the spookiest, funniest and prettiest costumes, among others.

The parade carried on through the 2020 pandemic as a physically distant, drive-by event.

Recent themes include Party Like It's 1999 in 2024 and Broadway on Maple in 2025.

In 2022, the Vienna Business Association's executive director put the crowd at about 30,000 people.

Nightmare on Main, Pulaski's Charity Haunt

Nightmare on Main, a Halloween haunt at 34 West Main Street in Pulaski, runs on every Friday and Saturday in October, plus Friday, November 13, according to its website.

The haunt benefits New River Community Action and has operated since 2023.