Looking for events and things to do in Alexandria? This historic waterfront city packs its calendar with festivals, markets, and seasonal celebrations centered on charming Old Town. This local guide covers Alexandria’s biggest annual festivals, recurring markets and events, seasonal highlights, and how to find out what’s happening this weekend — straight from the people who live here.

Alexandria’s biggest annual events & festivals

Alexandria’s signature events include First Night Alexandria on New Year’s Eve, the Scottish Christmas Walk and holiday festivities, USA waterfront celebrations along the Potomac, the Alexandria Film Festival, and Del Ray’s beloved Art on the Avenue in the fall and its famous Halloween parade.

Farmers markets & recurring things to do in Alexandria

The Old Town Farmers Market — one of the oldest continuously running markets in the country — fills Market Square on Saturday mornings. Add regular events at Torpedo Factory Art Center, waterfront concerts and boat tours, King Street festivals, and monthly art and history happenings.

Alexandria through the seasons

Spring brings garden tours and outdoor markets; summer means waterfront festivals and evening concerts; fall is peak festival season with Art on the Avenue and the Halloween parade; and winter glows with the Scottish Christmas Walk, holiday boat parade, and First Night.

What to know about Alexandria events

Old Town events draw crowds and street closures on King Street — arrive early and use the King St–Old Town Metro or the free trolley. Many festivals are free and family-friendly.

What’s happening in Alexandria this weekend

Printed event calendars go stale fast, and the best local happenings — pop-ups, block parties, last-minute shows — often never make the official listings. The most current, honest answer to “what’s going on this weekend?” comes from neighbors. On Neighborhood Nurturers’ Alexandria community, real Alexandria residents post and discuss what’s happening right now. For more ideas any time, see our guide to the best things to do in Alexandria. Join your Alexandria neighbors free and never miss what’s happening →

Fitting it into a day in Alexandria

The best events here are seasonal and neighborhood-driven, so timing is everything. What sets Alexandria apart is how close everything sits together. Start near the Old Town waterfront, work in one of the spots from this guide, and you are minutes from the Mount Vernon Trail if you want to keep going. Locals often round out the local calendar with a detour to the Torpedo Factory Art Center (free to browse) or a quieter stop at Founders Park. Because the distances are short, you can improvise as you go rather than lock the whole day down in advance.

More Alexandria guides

Alexandria rewards people who dig a little deeper. These related guides map the same neighborhoods from different starting points: Things to do in Alexandria, Free things to do in Alexandria, Things to do with kids in Alexandria — enough to plan a whole day or two.

Get a local’s take

Guides are a starting point; the current, on-the-ground details come from people who live in Alexandria. Hours shift, favorites change, and residents always know what is genuinely worth it now. Ask Alexandria neighbors directly or join your town community free to hear from real locals.

Signature annual events in Alexandria

Alexandria’s calendar is genuinely full, and many of its best events are free to walk up to. In summer, Sails on the Potomac brings tall ships, music, and family programming to the waterfront, and the Around the World Cultural Food Festival celebrates the city’s diversity with global food and performances at Oronoco Bay Park. Fall delivers the Alexandria King Street Art Festival and the family-friendly Fall-O-Ween celebration at John Carlyle Square. The winter holidays are Alexandria’s signature season: the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade fills King Street with bagpipes and tartan, the Old Town holiday market and Holiday Craft Show set up near Market Square, and the Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights turns the waterfront into a glowing spectacle.

Weekly and seasonal happenings

Beyond the marquee festivals, Alexandria hums with smaller, recurring events. The Saturday Old Town Farmers’ Market in Market Square — one of the oldest continuously running markets in the country — is a weekly institution, joined by the Del Ray and West End markets. Del Ray’s First Thursday street festivals draw crowds to Mount Vernon Avenue in the warmer months, the Torpedo Factory hosts art nights and open studios, and the waterfront parks fill with outdoor concerts, movie nights, and seasonal celebrations. Neighborhood associations, the historic sites, and local businesses all add their own programming, so on almost any weekend there is something happening within walking distance of Old Town or Del Ray.

How to keep up with what’s on

The challenge with Alexandria events is not finding something to do — it is keeping track of everything. Official city and visitor calendars cover the big festivals well, but many of the best experiences are smaller and more local: a pop-up market, a neighborhood block party, a one-night gallery opening, a food-truck rally, or a school or church fundraiser that never makes the tourism sites. These word-of-mouth happenings are exactly where a community feed earns its keep, because the neighbors who live here are the ones who hear about them first. Dates, venues, and details also shift from year to year, so it always pays to confirm before you go.

Planning around the seasons

Each season in Alexandria has its own rhythm. Spring brings garden tours, the return of the farmers’ markets in full swing, and the first patio-weather festivals. Summer is peak waterfront season, with concerts, the water taxi running, and the biggest outdoor gatherings. Fall balances festival energy with crisp-weather walks and Halloween fun for families. And winter, far from going quiet, may be the most festive time of all, thanks to the holiday parades, markets, and light displays that make Old Town a regional destination in December. Whenever you visit or wherever you live in the city, building your plans around the seasonal calendar — and leaving room to follow a good local tip — is the surest way to catch Alexandria at its liveliest.

Events for every kind of Alexandrian

Part of what makes the local calendar so appealing is how much it has for different people. Families gravitate to the daytime festivals, the Halloween and holiday events, the farmers’ markets with live music, and the kid-focused programming at the recreation centers and Torpedo Factory. Foodies track the cultural food festivals, restaurant weeks, and pop-up tastings that showcase the city’s deep and diverse dining scene. History buffs have a steady stream of tours, reenactments, and special openings at the colonial-era sites, while art lovers follow the gallery walks, open studios, and craft shows. Sports-minded residents build their year around the races and rides that use the Mount Vernon Trail and the waterfront, from charity 5Ks to long-distance cycling events. There is even a lively nightlife-and-live-music circuit along King Street and in Del Ray for those looking for an evening out. Because the offerings are so varied, the smartest approach is to know your own interests and then plug into the local channels that surface them.

For newcomers especially, events are the single best on-ramp to community life. Show up to a First Thursday in Del Ray, a farmers’ market on a Saturday, or a waterfront festival in summer, and you are instantly among neighbors doing the same thing — no membership or introduction required. Over time, the recurring events become the scaffolding of the year: the market you visit every weekend, the parade you never miss, the festival where you always run into friends. That is how a calendar of individual happenings turns into a genuine sense of belonging, and it is why sharing and discovering events is one of the most valuable things neighbors do for one another. Whatever you are into, Alexandria almost certainly has an event for it — the trick is simply knowing it is happening, and the community feed is built for exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

What are the biggest events in Alexandria?

First Night Alexandria (NYE), the Scottish Christmas Walk, waterfront festivals, the Alexandria Film Festival, and Del Ray’s Art on the Avenue and Halloween parade.

Does Alexandria have a farmers market?

Yes — the Old Town Farmers Market at Market Square is one of the oldest continuously running markets in the country, held Saturday mornings, with other markets around the city.

What’s happening in Alexandria this weekend?

For the most current local events — including pop-ups and last-minute happenings — Alexandria neighbors share what’s going on this weekend in our community.

So pull up the calendar, pick a weekend, and dive in — between the big festivals and the countless smaller gatherings, there is always a reason to get out of the house in Alexandria, and always a neighbor who can tell you which one is worth your time.

The city rewards the curious and the involved, so the more you show up, the more Alexandria opens up to you.