On Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at 7 p.m., the 80th Annual Vienna Halloween Parade goes down Maple Avenue from Branch Road to Center Street, rain or shine. The town's FAQ puts the route at about half a mile and says the parade usually runs an hour and a half. The road closures take much longer. The first street closes at 1 p.m., and the last ones don't reopen until around 11 p.m.
So parade night really fills a whole afternoon and evening, and this year there's more to do in that stretch. Since last October, downtown Vienna has added a bagel café, an ice cream shop, a bakery, a donut shop, an espresso bar, a shawarma grill and a Yemeni restaurant. Two longtime dessert stops have closed. The route is the same one the town has used for decades. The things to do before the floats arrive have changed.
Eighty Years on One Half-Mile
The town has hosted a Halloween parade since 1946. It's now held on the Wednesday before Halloween, with floats and other entertainment marching down Maple Avenue. The 2026 theme is "Haunted History: 250 Years of America." The town's suggestions for entries include historical figures, haunted landmarks and monuments, Americana through the decades, and American legends, folklore and tall tales. Expect a lot of tricorn hats and Lady Liberty costumes this year.
A few details are easy to miss even if you've been going for years:
- Kids can march. Children and others in costume can join without registering. Those marching with a parent meet at 6 p.m. at United Bank, 374 Maple Ave. E.
- Candy doesn't come from the floats. The 2026 participant rules don't let parade entries hand out or throw candy, literature, balloons or similar items.
- The treats come afterward. Free goodie bags for attendees and participants are handed out at the Caffi Field Pitching Lanes on Cherry Street SE starting at 7:15 p.m.
- The street is off-limits. Temporary fencing lines both sides of Maple Avenue from Branch Road to Center Street. No chairs or spectators are allowed in the street before, during or after the parade.
- Accessible parking is marked on Church Street between Dominion Road and Park Street, in front of the Freeman Store and Museum and Vienna Presbyterian Church.
The Closure Schedule, Hour by Hour
The 90-minute parade sits at the end of a closure schedule that starts six hours earlier. Here's the town's 2026 timeline, condensed:
| Time | What closes |
|---|---|
| 1 p.m. | Mill Street, Church Street NE to Maple Avenue E |
| 2 p.m. | Maple Avenue curbside lanes, both directions, Center Street to Branch Road. The two center lanes stay open. |
| 4:45 p.m. | Side streets near Branch Road, including Locust, Hine, Welles, Pine, Berry, Branch Road SE, Cabin Road SE, Branch Circle SE and Charles Street |
| 5 p.m. | Center Street S, Maple Avenue to Elm Street SW, and Locust Street, Center Street S to Cottage Street |
| 6 p.m. | Cherry Street SE and part of Mill Street SE |
| 6:30 p.m. | Maple Avenue, Lawyers Road NW to Berry Street SE, plus business driveways between Center Street and Branch Road |
| 6:30 p.m. | Center Street N, Park Street NE, Glyndon Street NE and Glyndon Street SE |
Reopening happens in stages too. Streets that closed at 4:45 p.m. are expected to reopen when the parade ends, between 8:30 and 9 p.m. The 6 p.m. closures follow the same schedule except Center Street, which reopens around 11 p.m. The roads that close at 6:30 p.m., including Center Street N, Park Street NE and both Glyndon segments, are expected to reopen around 11 p.m.
Two lines in that schedule affect dinner plans. From 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Maple's center lanes stay open and most business driveways along the route stay accessible, unless a business has a side-street entrance you can use instead. At 6:30, the driveways close and Maple shuts from Lawyers Road to Berry Street. Anything you planned to drive to on Maple needs to happen before then. After that, you're on foot. The town's route and road closure map has the full street list if you're checking a specific driveway.
Last October's Stops That Are Gone
Two dessert stops on Maple East closed in late summer.
ViVi Bubble Tea in the Glyndon Plaza shopping center at 233 Maple Avenue East served its last drinks on Aug. 30. It had opened in May 2024. According to FFXnow's report, points, rewards and gift cards can still be used at the chain's Fairfax City café at 9974 Main Street.
Crumbl Cookies at 203 Maple Avenue East also closed after six years. When it opened in Vienna Marketplace in early September 2020, it was the chain's first location in Virginia. When it closed, Crumbl pointed Vienna customers to its shop in the Birch & Broad shopping center at 1106-A West Broad Street in Falls Church.
If a cookie or a boba was your pre-parade ritual, you'll need a new one. Fortunately, there are plenty of new options.
What's Opened Since Last Year's Parade
The new businesses landed between April and August, which means this is the first Halloween Parade for all of them. Here they are in the order they opened.
Bagel Street, a family-run café at 523 Maple Avenue, had its grand opening in early April.
Whistler's Ice Cream Extraordinaire began serving ultra-premium scoops at 521 Maple Avenue West on June 5. It's next door to Bagel Street, so the 500 block of Maple West now covers both breakfast and dessert.
Bakeshop, which got its start in Arlington, opened at 421 Maple Avenue East on June 20 after its planned early-April opening was pushed back.
Shipley Donuts opened two days later, on June 22, at 256 Maple Avenue East. FFXnow's coverage mentions the chain's hexagonal donuts.
Kin Espresso, an espresso and matcha bar at 145 Church Street NW, had its soft launch on Monday, July 6.
Weird Brothers Coffee opened its first franchise location on Aug. 10 at 106 Lawyers Road, a short way off the Maple and Church core.
Mashahweez Shawarma and Grill at 128 Maple Avenue West announced a soft launch for Aug. 19, and it's now listed with hours on the Vienna Shopping Center directory.
Sheeba, a Yemeni restaurant at 111 Church Street NW, served its first customers on Aug. 21. FFXnow's opening story describes it as an introduction to Yemeni cuisine.
The Vienna Shopping Center tenant page also marks Gem Park at 134 Maple Avenue West as "Now Open," though it doesn't give an opening date.
Kin Espresso and Sheeba are on Church Street, not on the stretch of Maple where the parade runs. Since Maple closes completely at 6:30, it makes sense to check how each spot's entrance and parking relate to the closure map before you plan a sit-down dinner on parade night.
Still Coming
A few more names are on the way. Electric Bull, planned for 176 Maple Avenue West, was expected in April to announce an opening date within a few weeks. The shopping center's tenant page still says "Coming Soon!" with no date. BluZoneWay Med Spa and The Lucky Knot, a clothing boutique, are planned for 239 Maple Avenue West. As of August, neither had an opening date, and both still had design work and town review ahead. None of the three has a published opening date yet.
A Warm-Up Round on the Green
If your youngest isn't ready for a 7 p.m. crowd on a school night, the town has a daytime option first. Halloween on the Green runs Saturday, Oct. 17, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Vienna Town Green, 144 Maple Avenue East. It's a good chance to test the costume before the 28th, and the bagels and donuts are already on Maple when you're done.
Here's an easy parade-night plan for a family with costumed kids. Pick up an early bite at one of the new spots before the 6:30 driveway closures. Get to the 6 p.m. meet-up at United Bank if your kids are marching. Watch the floats go by from behind the fencing. Then walk to Caffi Field for goodie bags after 7:15.
I love this parade, and I love how much downtown Vienna changed this year. If you're already thinking ahead to next October and wondering what life would look like within walking distance of Maple Avenue, or what your current home might need before it goes on the market, let's talk it through over a coffee from one of these new spots. Kelly Millspaugh Thompson is always happy to share what I'm seeing around town. Let's Connect.
