Ashburn, Virginia, is a bustling community that always has something exciting happening, including a variety of annual events and festivals that attract people from all over the country. Whether you’re interested in exploring the area’s culinary offerings or having a fun time outside with your family, you know you’ll have a memorable experience when you make plans to attend a few of these popular festivals and events held around Ashburn.

Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival

A yellow basket holding pink and purple flowers at the Leesburg Flower & Garden festival in Ashburn, Virginia

Ferris wheel and flowers” licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Flickr by Jnzl’s Photos

The Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival occurs every year on the third weekend in April. It was founded in 1990 as a way to welcome the changing of the seasons. While many events in the area have come and gone, the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival has only continued to grow. It is now one of the premier festivals in the area and attracts around 30,000 visitors throughout the weekend. It has also won several local, state, and international awards.

If you’re interested in attending the Leesburg Flower & Garden Festival, grab your wagon and head to downtown Leesburg. Here you’ll find 150 vendors that offer everything from landscaping and gardening supplies to live plants and outdoor furniture. As you’re browsing through the vendor booths, you’ll be able to enjoy live music and entertainment and savor delicious food. You’ll also find plenty of activities to keep the kids entertained outside of their Port Potomac daycare.

Also, don’t forget to check out the landscape competition area. The landscapers spend hours building spectacular sites with trees, shrubs, flowers, and other outdoor elements all coming together to show off their expert craftsmanship. These designers aren’t just artists, they’re also competitors vying for the People’s Choice Award as voted on by everyone who attends the event.

Independence Day Celebration

You can have a blast on the 4th of July when you attend the Independence Day Celebration in Leesburg. The festivities begin at 10 a.m. on July 4 with the annual Independence Day Parade. The parade starts at Ida Lee Park, travels down King Street, and ends at Fairfax Street. Dress up in your best red, white, and blue attire and join your friends and neighbors as you wave to everyone on the floats. The parade also includes the American Originals Fife and Drum Corps, which is a traditional corps that adds some patriotic sound to the festivities.

In the evening, head to Ida Lee Park to enjoy a wonderful night of food, music, fireworks, and fun. The park gates open at 6 p.m. and the music starts playing at 6:30 p.m. The park will have a full food court available with burgers, hot dogs, funnel cake, ice cream, and more. The excitement of the day caps off with the largest fireworks show in the region that starts at 9:30 p.m.

Loudoun County Fair

Since 1936, the Loudoun County Fair has been offering fun and thrills for everyone in the family to enjoy. All of the excitement takes place over six days at the end of July at the Loudoun County Fairgrounds. During the fair, you’ll get to enjoy live music and entertainment, classic carnival rides, vendors, contests, demonstrations, and more. Some of the most popular events at the fair include lawnmower races, professional bull riding, and the Power Wheels Derby.

The fair also hosts the Miss Loudoun County Fair Pageant for 4-H girls. The girls compete for titles in three age groups and are judged on their 4-H and fair involvement. The winners then hand out all the ribbons at the livestock shows during the fair and represent 4-H at other community events during the year.

Virginia Wine Festival

Virginia has an excellent climate for growing grapes and is known for its superb wines. You can celebrate everything there is to love about the state’s wine regions and its wine varieties when you attend the Virginia Wine Festival.

This popular event takes place at the beginning of October at One Loudoun in Ashburn and includes over 200 Virginia wines available for tasting. Since event tickets come with unlimited tastings and your own souvenir tasting glass, you can sample as many wines as you desire. When you find your favorite, be sure to buy a few bottles or cases so you can take them home to enjoy them all year.

Plus, wine isn’t the only thing offered at the festival. You’ll also find a variety of gourmet local food vendors and food trucks serving up pizza, barbecue, tacos, vegetarian dishes, desserts, and more. You can even head to the Virginia Oyster Pavilion to enjoy freshly shucked oysters from the state’s Chesapeake region. With so many delicious food choices available, you’ll have no problem finding something to pair perfectly with your wine and satisfy your hunger.

Loudoun County Farm Tours

Although Loudoun County and its communities continue to grow in size, the region still celebrates its agricultural history and traditions with its Loudoun County Farm Tours. The farm tours occur twice a year. The spring tours typically occur in May, and the fall tours happen in October. These tours can include anywhere from 20 to 30 farms in the region that represent a diverse cross-section of industries, such as traditional agriculture, cheese, craft beverage, hemp, plant nurseries, farm schools, and museums.

Each farm offers something different to experience during the tours. You can go for a wagon ride, meet some of the animals that live on the farm, practice floral cutting and arranging, learn how to weave on a loom, sample wine at a scenic vineyard, pick some fresh fruits and vegetables, and enjoy plenty of opportunities for shopping.

Best of all, you’re helping out the local farms that are the backbone of the region. With so many different farms participating each season, you can stay close to home and explore farms near Ashburn, or you can head out and discover new farms in neighboring communities. At Crème de la Crème of Port Potomac, we love attending these annual festivals and events in the area. Did we forget to mention your favorite event? Please be sure to contact us and let us know so we can add it to this list!