Lots of Halloween activities scheduled for Annandale area

Joe Banker of Annandale, a Vietnam vet, welcomes visitors to the pumpkin patch at Friendship United Methodist Church, 3527 Gallows Road. It’s open every day through Oct. 31, with craft vendors on the weekend.

When it comes to Halloween-related events in the Annandale/Mason area, the highlight of the season is the Annandale Parade and Fall Festival next Saturday, but there are lots of other fun things going on around here, too.

The parade isn’t strictly speaking a Halloween event, but some of those marching and some of the younger spectators, will be wearing costumes. The parade features high school marching bands, civic organizations, international dance groups, fire trucks, and antique cars.

The parade starts at 10 a.m., Oct. 27, on Columbia Pike by the Annandale United Methodist Church at Gallows Road and ends up at the Little River Shopping Center parking lot, where the Fall Festival takes place, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

County and Western star Tory Bailey will perform at 3 p.m. at the Festival. Entertainment for children includes puppet shows, magic shows, and storytellers. There will also be other performers; kids’ rides; a NASCAR simulator; food from various cultures; and venders selling crafts, accessories, toys, and pet items. Both the parade and festival are sponsored by the Annandale Chamber of Commerce.

Here are some other upcoming Halloween-related events in the Annandale/Mason area plus a few a bit farther out: 

Oct. 24, 7 p.m.—The Town of Vienna’s Halloween Parade
runs down Maple Avenue (Route 123) from Branch Road to Center Street.
There will be lots of kids in costume plus marching bands, floats, and
much more.

Oct. 25, 7 p.m.—The Woodson High School Orchestra will present a free Halloween concert for the community in the school auditorium (9525 Main Street, Fairfax). Musicians will be wearing Halloween costumes as they perform spooky tunes like “Curse of the Rosin Eating Zombies from Outer Space,” “Gargoyles,” and “Orange Jam,” along with classical favorites and Vaudeville-style music. Free candy bags will given to children in the audience.

Oct. 26, 7-10 p.m. and Oct. 27, 1-3:30 p.m. and 7-9:45 p.m.—The drama department at Falls Church High School (7521 Jaguar Trail, Falls Church) is hosting a haunted house that explores the possibility that time as we know it will end on Dec. 21. Tickets for “The Mayans were Right”  are $5 for the evening performances and $3 for the matinee. 

Oct. 26, 7-9 p.m.—Children ages 6-13 are invited to the Haunted Pond program at Hidden Pond Nature Center in Springfield (8511 Greeley Blvd., Springfield). The program includes a nighttime nature walk, campfire with stories and s’mores. The cost is $7. To register, call 703/451-9588.

Oct. 27, 2-4 p.m.—The annual Howloween Dog Costume Contest and Boneyard Hunt takes place at Lake Accotink Park’s large pavilion. All dogs must be leashed and friendly toward other dogs, children, and people of all ages. The cost is $6 per dog.  Call 703/569-0285 to register.

Oct. 27, 6-8:30 p.m.—The City of Falls Church Halloween Carnival, takes place at the Community Center, 223 Little Falls St., Falls Church. This event is targeted to infants through sixth-graders. There will be carnival games, a moon bounce, haunted house, movies, crafts, and a live “creepy creature show featuring the spookiest reptiles in nature.” The fee is $2 per child ages 2 and up. Children under 2 and adults are free.

Oct. 27, 6-9 p.m.—Lake Accotink Park is hosting a Halloween Goblin Golf and Bonfire. Adults and children of all ages are invited to wear a costume and play a round of golf on a haunted miniature golf course with glow-in-the-dark balls, ride the spooky carousel, sip hot chocolate, and listen to stories around a beach bonfire. The cost is $8 per person. Call 703/569-0285 to register.

Oct. 27, 2-3 p.m.—Children 5 and older and their parents are invited to Green Spring Gardens for the “Wizard’s Plant and Potions,” program, which includes wand-making and potion-mixing activities. The cost is $6 per person. Call 703/642-5173 to register.

Oct. 29-30, 6-8 p.m.—JEB Stuart High School (3301 Peace Valley Lane, Falls Church) is hosting a Haunted House and Kids’ Halloween Event in the Little Theater and Blackbox Theater. The performance might be too intense for younger children, so there will be a “little kids’ room” next door with Halloween-theme activities like fortunetelling and face painting. Admissions for both the haunted house and the little kids’ room is $5.

Children decorate pumpkins at the Merrifield Fall Festival Oct. 20.