Scottish Christmas Walk Parade, Holiday Boat Parade Return To Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria's busiest weekend of the holiday season arrives on Saturday, when two holiday parades will happen in one day. The 53rd Annual Alexandria Scottish Christmas Walk Parade and the 24th Annual Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights will be held on Dec. 7 at 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively. Old Town residents and visitors should expect road and parking closures.

The Alexandria Scottish Christmas Walk Parade, which is sponsored by Wegmans this year, celebrates Alexandria's 1749 founding by Scottish merchants. Spectators can expect more than 100 parade units, including Scottish clans in colorful tartans, pipe and drum bands, terriers and hounds and community groups. The grand marshal is outgoing Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson, who did not run for re-election. The masters of ceremonies will be NBC4 Northern Virginia bureau chief Julie Carey and Heather Haddock, president of the Scottish American Women’s Society of Washington, D.C. Visit Alexandria organizes the parade in coordination with the Campagna Center and the City of Alexandria.

The parade route starts at S. St. Asaph and Wolfe Streets, goes up St. Asaph Street, turns on Queen Street, Fairfax Street and King Street before ending at Market Square, King and Royal Street.

The Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights is again sponsored by Amazon. Starting at 5:30 p.m., spectators along the waterfront will see more than 50 decorated boats in a parade of festive lights. The parade will be visible along the Potomac River shoreline from Canal Center to Ford’s Landing Park. Enjoy pre-parade festivities from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Waterfront Park, including a pop-up beer garden from Port City Brewing Company, food and beverage vendors and family activities. Santa will arrive by fireboat at 3:30 p.m. for the Holiday Festival at the Torpeod Factory Art Center, which runs from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. The parade is hosted by Visit Alexandria in collaboration with the City of Alexandria, City Cruises – Alexandria and the Old Dominion Boat Club.

Residents should be aware of road and parking impacts on parade day.

Affected roads and details are:

Union Street: Around 3 p.m., Union Street will shift to one-way traffic heading north between Duke Street and Queen Street.

King St. & N. Royal St., 100 block of N. Royal St.: Road closed from 3:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., no parking, parade viewing stand

Wilkes St. (300 - 700 blocks) between S. Washington St. and S. Fairfax St.; S. Pitt St. (400 - 600 blocks) between Gibbon St. and Wolfe St.; S. Royal St. (400 - 600 blocks) between Gibbon St. and Wolfe St.; S. Saint Asaph St. (400 - 600 blocks) between Gibbon St. and Wolfe St.; Wolfe St. (600 block): No parking and road closures for parade assembly area from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. Only authorized vehicles for parade participants and city staff are allowed.

S. Saint Asaph St. (100 - 600 blocks) between King St. and Franklin St.; N. Saint Asaph St. (100 - 300 blocks) between Queen St. and King St.; S. Pitt St. (100 - 400 blocks) between Wolfe St. and King St.; N. Pitt St. (100 - 300 blocks) between King St. and Queen St.; N. Royal St. (100 - 300 blocks) between King St. and Queen St.; King St. (300 - 600 blocks) between Fairfax St. and St. Asaph St.; N. Fairfax St. (100 - 300 blocks) between King St. and Queen St.; Queen St. (300 - 600 blocks) between Fairfax St. and Saint Asaph St.: No parking and road closures for parade route from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Only authorized vehicles for parade participants and city staff are allowed.

King St. (Unit block, 100 block and 200 block) between Fairfax St. and Strand St.: Pedestrian blocks only. Traffic and crowd mitigation will be planned for the boat parade and waterfront activities.

Lee St. between Duke St. and Queen St.: Local traffic only from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. The intersection of King St. & Lee St. is closed to all vehicles. Traffic and crowd mitigation will be planned for the boat parade and waterfront activities.

Prince St. (100 block) between Lee St. and Union St.: Local traffic only from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Traffic and crowd mitigation will be planned for the boat parade and waterfront activities.

See a map of road closures for the parades.