Christmas In Middleburg 2018: Parade, Schedule, Events, Parking

MIDDLEBURG, VA — There are garden variety Christmas parades, and then there's the Middleburg Christmas parade, 2 p.m. Saturday in downtown. In fact, people-watching can be nearly as fascinating as parade-watching at this annual event in the heart of horse country.

See the men decked out in their high-end leather overcoats; the women, in their high-end leather boots. See the hounds, the horses and so much more. And we haven't even mentioned the high-end boutiques that dot the mile-long parade route on both sides.

As for the parade itself, you have foot beagle hunt clubs, polo clubs, animal affinity groups (corgi owners, Great Pyrenees owners, llama and alpaca owners), community groups, enthusiast groups (MG cars, old fire trucks, Mini Coopers and muscle cars), floats, reenactment bands (Revolutionary War, Civil War, Scots highlands) and high school bands.

Beforehand, there's a breakfast with Santa at the Middleburg Community Charter School from 7:45-11 a.m. And at 11 a.m., is "the famous Middleburg Hunt Review," with horses and hounds parading down Main Street. Oh, did we mention the progressive wine crawl?

SCHEDULE:

Friday

5 p.m.—Tree lighting ceremony and carols

Saturday

7:45-11 a.m.—Breakfast with Santa and silent auction

9 a.m.-5 p.m.—Craft fair

9:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m.—Santa's workshop

10 a.m.—Hot chocolate warm-up

11 a.m.—Middleburg Hunt & Hounds Review

11:30-2 p.m.—Soup and ham biscuit lunch

2 p.m.—Christmas Parade

3-6 p.m.—Spirits of Middleburg

Sunday

2 p.m.—Live animal Christmas pageant at Foxcroft School

PARKING: Parking will be $20 per car. Buy your parking pass here.Shuttle service capacity is being expanded for 2017, and more public safety officers are being added for traffic management. There will be three parking fields: Mickie Gordon Park on Rt. 50 one mile east of town, the Salamander field on north Pendleton; the Zulla field on Rt. 50 one mile west of town at Rt. 709.

DIRECTIONS: Middleburg is only 45 minutes from Washington D.C. and close to the Dulles International Airport. Take I-66 West to Route 50 West (toward Winchester) via Exit 57B. From there, Middleburg is just a 25-minute drive.

Photo used with permission of Jay and Dee Dee Hubbard