For years the Chantilly holiday season opened the same way. One weekend in early November, about 150 vendors from dozens of states filled the Dulles Expo Center for the Northern Virginia Christmas Market, all indoors and open all day. This year that weekend never happened. FFXnow reported on Nov. 6 that the market, scheduled for Nov. 6 to 8, was canceled. Its new venue wasn't ready to open.
What's left on the local calendar works differently. Most of the main holiday events around Chantilly in 2026 are outdoors, and most start at dusk. Most last two or three hours, and most ask you to register or buy tickets ahead of time. Planning the season now means booking a few specific evenings.
Why the market had nowhere to go
The Dulles Expo Center closed at the end of 2025 to make way for IKEA. Events Management Group, which organizes the Christmas market, moved it to the DTC Expo & Events Center. That venue is being built inside a former Lord & Taylor store at Dulles Town Center in Sterling and was expected to open this fall.
According to FFXnow, DTC Expo president and general manager Ravi Gourineni said the cancellation came down to occupancy approvals. Turning "a nearly 30-year-old former department store into a modern, 120,000-square-foot expo and event center" had turned up "unforeseen conditions and additional requirements during construction and the inspection process." EMG event director Denise Wynn said the organizers were "deeply disappointed." The market is scheduled to return to Northern Virginia Nov. 12 to 14, 2027.
The same FFXnow story shows how quickly another event found a new home closer in. The Greater Virginia Bridal Show had also been booked at DTC Expo that weekend, and it moved to the Dulles Westfields Marriott in Chantilly. The Westfields Marriott comes up again in December.
The calendar now starts at dusk
Here's the rest of the season around Chantilly. Look at the start times.
| Event | Where | Dates | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sully Illuminated | Sully Historic Site, 3650 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly | Sat., Nov. 21 | Tours at 5:30 or 6 p.m. |
| Bull Run Festival of Lights | 7700 Bull Run Dr., Centreville | Daily through Jan. 3, 2027 | 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Mon. to Thu.; 5:30 to 10 p.m. Fri. to Sun. and holidays |
| Holiday on the Farm | Frying Pan Farm Park, 2739 West Ox Rd., Herndon | Dec. 5, 11, 12, 18, 19 | 4:30 to 7 p.m. |
| Enchanted Light Stroll | South Riding Center | All of December | Evenings |
| Selfies with Santa | South Riding Center, 42420 Unicorn Dr. | Fri., Dec. 11 | 4 to 9 p.m. |
| Tree lighting | Dulles Town Center, Center Court | Dec. 4 | 6 to 8 p.m. |
Light is what most of these events are about. At Sully, Sully Illuminated guides visitors through the historic buildings and grounds by candlelight. The tours explore how different kinds of light shaped the lives of Sully's free and enslaved residents, and refreshments follow. The Bull Run Festival of Lights is a 2.5-mile drive-through display that opened Nov. 14. At Frying Pan Farm Park, Holiday on the Farm includes a wagon ride through holiday lights, a trackless train, a campfire, the farm animals and a visit with Santa. South Riding's Enchanted Light Stroll runs all of December under "thousands of lights" at South Riding Center.
Each one books a little differently
An all-day indoor market let you show up whenever you wanted. These events don't. Each organizer has its own booking rules, and knowing them ahead of time is what gets you in.
- Sully Illuminated, Nov. 21. Preregistration is required. You choose the 5:30 or 6 p.m. tour. The program is for ages 8 to adult and includes walking indoors and outside in very low light. This Saturday is the last date on the site's calendar.
- Bull Run Festival of Lights. Tickets are priced per vehicle. Bought online in advance, they run $30 to $45 depending on the date, and buying ahead saves up to $20 per vehicle. NOVA Parks says Monday through Thursday is the time to go if you want to avoid crowds. Fridays, weekends and the weeks just before and after Christmas are the busiest. On Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, the lights, Holiday Village and stable stay open from 5:30 to 10 p.m., but the carnival is closed.
- Holiday on the Farm. Tickets are $12 per person in the online presale or $15 per person at the door. There are five evenings in total, and four of them fall on the Dec. 11-12 and Dec. 18-19 weekends.
- The Big Jolly Breakfast at Westfields Marriott, Dec. 13. The hotel's page lists a breakfast buffet and a meet-and-greet with Santa, and reservations are made online.
Admission to Bull Run also covers the Holiday Village, Stable and Carnival. Carnival rides and camel rides cost extra. NOVA Parks says the carnival at the end of the drive includes holiday shopping. So even some of the gift shopping now comes after an evening drive.
Holiday shopping moved outside too
The vendor tables the Expo Center used to hold indoors haven't disappeared. The two confirmed market days near Chantilly are both outdoors, at a town center and in a mall parking lot.
South Riding's Winterfest Market & Ice Rink is the longest market day near Chantilly this season. It runs Saturday, Dec. 12, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at South Riding Center, 42420 Unicorn Dr., with artisan and food vendors, an outdoor rink and a holiday train. It's the only listing this season with daytime shopping, skating and evening lights in one place. The Enchanted Light Stroll is set up at the same center all month.
Up Route 28, Dulles Town Center lists a Loudoun Holiday Market for Nov. 28 and 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's held in the open-air lot in front of Macy's, which puts Thanksgiving weekend shopping outside as well.
Indoor shopping still has a possible date this season. FFXnow reported in June that the Capital Art & Craft Festival, another former Dulles Expo Center event, was planning its winter show for Dec. 11 to 13 at DTC Expo. The venue is at 21050 Dulles Town Cir. in Sterling. Before you go, check with the venue for the latest.
Where the season comes together: Dec. 11 to 13
Because so many events now run in short windows, they line up in clusters. The biggest cluster is the second weekend of December, when the Chantilly-area calendar offers something every day, morning to night.
- Friday, Dec. 11: Holiday on the Farm at Frying Pan Farm Park from 4:30 to 7 p.m., or Selfies with Santa at South Riding Center from 4 to 9 p.m., which includes a holiday craft activity.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Winterfest from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in South Riding, with Holiday on the Farm running again that evening.
- Sunday, Dec. 13: The Big Jolly Breakfast at the Westfields Marriott, which has its own holiday lights and decorations and a tall Christmas tree, according to the hotel.
The Bull Run Festival of Lights is open every night of that weekend from 5:30 to 10 p.m. NOVA Parks calls weekends its busiest times, though, so a midweek drive through Centreville is easier to fit in.
The weekend that used to open the season is gone until 2027. A December weekend like this one now fills that role, and a midweek evening is often the easiest time to get in. The Northern Virginia Christmas Market is scheduled to come back Nov. 12 to 14, 2027.
At The Legacy Team, we follow how Chantilly's calendar changes from year to year as closely as we follow home values. If you're thinking about selling in the new year and want to know where your home stands before the holidays, start with a free home valuation from our team.
