Leesburg's Halloween Parade Starts Later This Year. Here's What's New Along the Route.

The 70th Leesburg Kiwanis Halloween Parade steps off at 6:30 p.m. next Wednesday, October 28, on King Street. Since summer, a handful of new storefronts have opened along the downtown blocks it passes. Several of the newest ones keep Thursday-to-Sunday hours. So the parade in six days and the Christmas and Holiday Parade on Saturday, December 12, will cover nearly the same stretch of King Street and pass two noticeably different downtowns.

Why the parade landed on a Wednesday

For years the Kiwanis parade was simply held on Halloween night. Last year the club moved it to a different night, and this year Halloween falls on a Saturday in the middle of a six-day Loudoun County Public Schools holiday. Club President Kim Thompson explained the choice to the Loudoun Times-Mirror: "We had 80 groups in the parade last year. The year before that it was 60 groups. We also feel that by holding it on another night, it brought out more crowds."

That jump from 60 groups to 80 after a single date change is why the club kept the midweek slot. The route runs along King Street between Battlefield Parkway and Catoctin Circle, rain or shine. According to the Kiwanis Club of Leesburg, 6:30 p.m. is a new start time. Streets are expected to close at 5:45 p.m., though the club says that time can still change with approval from the Leesburg Police Department and the Town. Last year's parade ran about 90 minutes with more than 600 people taking part. This year's grand marshal is the Stone Bridge High School Key Club, named 2025-26 Key Club of the Year among 250 clubs in the Capital District.

The parade is free for participants and spectators. Instead of a registration fee, the club collects food donations for Loudoun Hunger Relief as participants check in at the Ida Lee Park field.

The newest doors keep a weekend clock

A 90-minute parade that ends around 8 p.m. on a school night leaves room for a stop before or after. Two of downtown's newest food spots were set up around the weekend.

Piazza di Gogo's, an aperitivo bar from the team behind Gogo's Gelato, opened in June at 7 West Market Street. It shares the space with Buford's Biscuits. Buford's serves breakfast and brunch Thursday through Sunday, and The Burn reported that Piazza takes over the room on those same days from 5 p.m. until close, pouring spritzes and serving Italian street food.

The Chocolate Palette started in Purcellville in 2019 and later shared space with SimplyBe Coffee on Church Street SE. On September 17 it opened its own storefront at 212A Loudoun Street SE, a few doors from Mom's Apple Pie. The menu includes European sipping chocolates and æbleskivers, a round Danish pancake. Its hours are Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 3 to 7 p.m., per The Burn. Owner and dessert chef Cheryl June told the outlet the space "gives me the ability to create my full menu, while I continue to experiment and add new items."

On those published schedules, neither one is open on a Wednesday. Halloween parade night falls on their dark day, and the December parade falls right in their busiest window.

What sits right on King Street

Of the newcomers, Kilwins at 17 South King Street sits on King Street itself. It's Loudoun County's first Kilwins and the first of two planned locations in the county. It sells ice cream by the scoop and to take home, plus fudge and caramel apples. The Burn noted in September that a party room for special events was in the final stages. Gogo's Gelato, at 10 South King since April 2025, sits across the same block.

Around the corner on West Market, two shops are worth a look on a slower weekday. Hare & Hen opened at 26 West Market in July. It's owned by mother and daughter Lisa Burke and Kaitlyn Burke Tureaud, who told The Burn that the shop carries "heirloom toys, children's clothing, books, nursery pieces, and gifts." It joins Potomac River Kids and Mon Chouchou Baby & Child on downtown's growing list of children's shops. Birch Tree Books & Plants moved next door, from 11 to 9 West Market. Volunteers formed a chain to pass the books between stores, and the new space opened ahead of the shop's own October goal. Staff told The Burn that a formal grand opening celebration is coming soon.

Two King Street corners between owners

Two of the most visible addresses on King Street will still be in transition when costumes go by next week.

At 5 and 7 North King Street, the Downtown Saloon closed after July 4. Kathleen, Evan and Meaghan Malone bought both properties to turn them into a traditional Irish pub serving Guinness, Irish whiskey and Irish-inspired pub fare. The Malone family is behind Tuscarora Mill, Magnolia's at the Mill, South Street Under and Fireworks Pizza, as The Burn reported in June. The project now has a name. The family's Malone's Irish Pub page lists it as "Coming Fall 2026" and gives no opening day.

At 101 South King Street, the corner across from Shutters on King and diagonal from Señor Ramon Taqueria, Ebisu Sushi & Thai closed in early September. Shibuya Sushi & Bar is moving in. As of The Burn's September 30 report, the restaurant was hiring a head sushi chef and working on its liquor license, with no opening date announced.

Both are evening spots with bars. Among the newcomers, Piazza di Gogo's is the only evening bar, and it pours Thursday through Sunday, so nothing new on these blocks serves drinks on a Monday through Wednesday night. Whether either one opens before December 12 will decide how much of King Street is lit on the second parade night.

December runs on a Saturday

The Town of Leesburg's Holidays in Leesburg page puts the main downtown events on weekends, which matches the hours of the new shops:

• Holiday Tree Lighting: Saturday, December 5, at 6 p.m. on Town Green, 25 West Market Street, the same block as Piazza di Gogo's and Birch Tree.
• Holiday Fine Arts and Crafts Show: Saturday, December 5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, December 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Ida Lee Park Recreation Center, 60 Ida Lee Drive NW. Admission and parking are free.
• Christmas and Holiday Parade: Saturday, December 12, at 6 p.m., with a December 13 rain date. It starts at Ida Lee Park and runs down King Street to the Safeway parking lot.

The Town notes that event dates can change. On the current calendar, December 12 is a Saturday evening, so every newcomer with published hours is scheduled to be open. The Chocolate Palette's Saturday hours run until 9 p.m., past the end of a 6 p.m. parade.

Parking on either parade night

Both parades run on King Street. The Town's standing Parade Parking Garages Detour page gives routes from West Market or West Loudoun Street that loop out via Catoctin Circle to two garages:

1. County Garage, 1 Harrison Street SE.
2. Pennington Lot & Garage, 210 Church Street NE, which the Town says is more likely to have space.

The page isn't dated for a specific parade, so look for any event-specific closure notice from the Town before October 28.

Every new address in this post lives in a building whose next sale will be priced partly on what sits next door. Bobbi Prescott & Associates follows downtown Leesburg storefront by storefront. If you're weighing what the King Street changes mean for a home near the route, Bobbi Prescott is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.