McLean's Holiday Calendar Runs on Two Old Shows and One Young Parade
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Saturday morning, November 14, the doors at 1234 Ingleside Avenue open for the McLean Antiques Show & Sale. The dealers set up with 18th-century pieces, mid-century furniture, silver, jewelry, prints and vintage clothing, and the café starts serving coffee and lunch. That weekend is the show's 50th anniversary. Local coverage marked the 37th show in 2013 and the 45th in 2021, and that count matches this year's anniversary billing.
Three weeks later the same building hosts a holiday crafts festival that has been running since 1982. Downtown McLean's youngest holiday tradition is a parade. It came back in 2024 after five years off, and this year it moves into that festival's final afternoon.
McLean's longest-running holiday traditions are both held indoors at the McLean Community Center, and each is run by an outside specialist. The outdoor parade is the one volunteers had to rebuild. On Sunday, December 6, the parade and the craft festival take place in downtown McLean during the same hours.
The full run from the antiques show to the last holiday concert at the Alden:
The community center is closed for Thanksgiving on November 26 and 27, so the gap between the gingerbread weekend and the craft festival is quieter than the list makes it look.
The 2026 listing is specific down to the hours and discounts. Saturday runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $11 and covers both days. Children 17 and younger get in free. You can take a dollar off by bringing a show postcard or donating at least one canned food item for SHARE of McLean.
The show has changed with its buyers. In FFXnow's 2022 preview, organizers described a wider selection than in past years, adding designer vintage clothing, American folk art and country furnishings. MCC sponsors the show, and InsideNoVa reported in 2021 that Dordy Fontinel Show Management was hosting it.
The anniversary adds two things on Saturday:
The lecture starts at the same hour the doors open. If you want to hear the talk and still get first look at the dealers' tables, the Muffins & Mimosas ticket is how you do both.
The Holiday Art & Crafts Festival follows the same approach as the antiques show. It is an indoor, juried show run by a specialist group, the Northern Virginia Handcrafters Guild, and it has been held every December since 1982. This year's listing promises 80 regional artisans.
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Friday, Dec. 4 | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. |
Admission is $5 and covers all three days. Children 12 and younger get in free. With a three-day ticket, you can browse on Friday and come back Sunday for the piece you kept thinking about. This year, Sunday is the day the festival shares with the parade.
Winterfest went through what the indoor shows avoided. According to FFXnow's 2024 report, the 2019 parade was canceled because of weather, and the event then went on hold through the pandemic. The McLean Revitalization Corporation brought it back in 2024 after a community survey showed interest in a town parade. The co-chairs, Barbara Zamora-Appel and Maria Foderaro-Guertin, announced the return in a statement quoted in that article:
"We're excited to bring back the McLean Winterfest Parade! Thanks to the incredible support of our community, we've been able to revive this cherished tradition and create a memorable Holiday celebration."
Since then the parade has grown. In a September 2026 post, MRC said more than 1,000 people marched last year, including the McLean High School Marching Band, Bolivian dance groups, civic organizations and elected officials. MRC also said many of those groups had already signed up for 2026. The Winterfest Raffle offers prizes from downtown McLean's 54 restaurants and 40 retail stores, and the same post said a Grand Marshal would be chosen by November.
The schedule has also moved. The 2024 plan had pre-parade entertainment at 2 p.m. and a parade expected to run from 3 to 5 p.m. The 2026 schedule from MRC, with Barbara Zamora-Appel as this year's chair, starts the entertainment at 12:30 p.m. and the parade at 1:30 p.m. That is an hour and a half earlier on both counts.
With a 1:30 start, the parade falls inside the craft festival's final afternoon. Here is the day hour by hour, combining MRC's schedule with MCC's hours:
| Time | Winterfest at Langley Shopping Center | Crafts festival at MCC |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. | Doors open | |
| 12:30 p.m. | Block party and pre-parade entertainment begin; participant check-in at Beverly & Elm | Open |
| 1:00 p.m. | Parade lineup at Beverly & Old McLean Village Drive | Open |
| 1:30 p.m. | Parade steps off at Fleetwood Rd. & Old Chain Bridge Rd. | Open |
| 2:45 p.m. | Parade ends | Open |
| 3:00 p.m. | Santa Claus Station opens at the block party | Open |
| 4:00 p.m. | Block party continues | Festival closes |
| 4:30 p.m. | Block party ends |
On paper the day works best in order. Go to the festival in the morning while the aisles are open and the artisans still have full tables. Get to Langley Shopping Center for the pre-parade performances by local dance troupes, then stay for the marching bands and floats. Both events are on the public calendar, so expect a crowd from midday on. The parade is over well before the craft festival closes at 4, which leaves time to go back to MCC for anything you skipped.
Families with young children have another option. The Santa Claus Station opens at 3 p.m., so a later start that skips the morning festival still catches the end of the parade and Santa. If your children want a quieter visit with Santa, MCC's Milk & Cookies with Santa on December 12 offers two time slots.
Many residents fill out the season with errands along Chain Bridge Road and Old Dominion Drive. Tysons Corner Wine & Gourmet opened in September at 1984 Chain Bridge Road, inside the longtime florist MyFlorist. It sells less-common international wines along with gourmet foods, gifts and bouquets, which covers a lot of holiday-host shopping in one stop. In Chesterbrook, FFXnow reported that Surfside Taco Stand was scheduled to open October 22 at 6218 Old Dominion Drive, serving tacos, Tex-Mex and cocktails. We covered more of that strip in our summer guide to Old Dominion Drive and downtown McLean.
Back at the Alden, the holiday shows close out the season. The Joyfully Jolly Jamboree plays December 12, the same day as Milk & Cookies with Santa, and Lil' Maceo performs December 19.
If the antiques lecture has you thinking about how a 200-year-old sideboard would look in your dining room, you may also be wondering what the house around it is worth. I work with McLean homeowners year-round, and a valuation is a quiet way to get that answer before the new year. Thomas Cauley can put real numbers in front of you. Request a Free Home Valuation, and enjoy the 50th.
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