McLean's two farmers markets close a day apart this weekend. The Fairfax County Park Authority's McLean Farmers Market holds its last Friday of 2026 at Lewinsville Park tomorrow morning, Oct. 30. McLean Fresh Farmers Market on Elm Street holds its final Saturday on Oct. 31, which is also Halloween.
This was the first year McLean had a market at both ends of the weekend. The Saturday market is the new one, and its season ends on the busiest Saturday on the downtown calendar. After that, the closest Saturday markets are in Falls Church, Arlington and Great Falls.
Friday in the Park, Saturday on Elm Street
The Friday market is the long-running county market. The Park Authority runs it as one of its markets across Fairfax County, and this year it ran May 1 to Oct. 30, 8 a.m. to noon, at 1659 Chain Bridge Road. Patch reported the opening of the 2026 season on May 1 and noted the market would close May 15 for McLean Day.
Its vendor directory on Marketspread lists 33 entries. The list mixes growers and bakers with county agencies and individual sellers. The farms and producers include Kuhn Orchards, Mt Olympus Berry Farm, Whistler Meadow Farm, F.J. Medina & Son Farm, Westmoreland Produce, Virginia Spores and BlackStone Honey Bee Farms. The prepared-food side includes Panorama Baking Loic Feillet, La Joie Madeleine, Salome's Impossible Empanadas, Siesta Gozleme, Sicilian Mom, Grace's Pastries and Amazónica Coffee Espresso Bar. These are season-long listings, so check the directory before assuming a given stand will be there Friday.
The Saturday market started this year. The McLean Revitalization Corporation announced that McLean Fresh would open May 9 at 6888 Elm Street. Ian Zhang, a local business owner, founded it, and the plan was for a limited number of vendors serving a market built around the downtown blocks of homes and offices. Its ribbon-cutting was set for 9 a.m. on opening day. It runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and cars enter from Fleetwood Road.
The county market is a broad directory in a park. McLean Fresh set out to be a smaller, curated market in the middle of downtown. Even so, some vendors sold at both. Here is the market's "Vendors This Week" page as of early August:
- CT Produce
- Pleitez Produce Farm, which also appears in the county market's directory
- Tysons Creamery
- Samosas and Mimosas, which shows up in the county directory under Country Roads Sauce Company
- Victoria Sweet Lab
- Baker's Pork
That list is from the week of Aug. 7, so the Oct. 31 lineup may be different. Check the McLean Fresh site before you go.
One Saturday, Two Downtown Addresses
Halloween falls on the last Saturday of McLean Fresh's season. That puts a morning market and an evening festival a short drive apart on Chain Bridge Road and Elm Street. Here's how the day lines up for a family that wants both:
- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. McLean Fresh's final Saturday at 6888 Elm Street, with the car entrance on Fleetwood Road.
- Afternoon. Costumes, naps and a candy budget.
- 5 to 8 p.m. The Old Firehouse Center's Festival of Frights & Trunk or Treat at 1440 Chain Bridge Road. Admission is free, and the McLean Community Center lists live music, games, food, contests and candy. Children under 10 need an adult with them.
If you'd rather run a trunk than visit one, the festival page asks would-be hosts to call Old Firehouse staff at 703-448-8336.
Neither market has posted a special closing-day program. Friday at Lewinsville Park is listed as a regular 8 a.m. to noon market. So if you have a favorite baker or grower, the last visit of the year is an ordinary one, and it's worth stocking up.
Where the Saturday Habit Goes in November
In late spring the downtown market made Saturday a shopping morning. After Oct. 31, neither McLean market has a date on its calendar. The nearby markets that keep going through winter are spread across several jurisdictions and days of the week. Vienna won't fill the gap: the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna lists its market as open May through October.
| Market | Day | Address | Hours this fall | Winter schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRESHFARM Arlington Courthouse | Saturday | 1400 N. Courthouse Rd., Arlington | 8 a.m. to noon | 9 a.m. to noon, Jan. to Mar. 2027 |
| Falls Church Farmers Market | Saturday | City Hall parking lot, 300 Park Ave. | 8 a.m. to noon through December | 9 a.m. to noon, January to March |
| Great Falls Farmers Market | Saturday | Great Falls Village, 756 Walker Rd. | 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Listed as year-round |
| FRESHFARM Mosaic | Sunday | 2920 District Ave., Fairfax | 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Jan. to Mar. 2027 |
| FRESHFARM Reston | Wednesday | St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 11900 Lawyers Rd., Reston | 3 to 7 p.m. through October | 2 to 6 p.m., Nov. 2026 to Mar. 2027 |
The FRESHFARM markets post their full 2026 calendars. Arlington Courthouse runs through Dec. 26, Mosaic through Dec. 27 and Reston through Dec. 30. All three list winter hours into March 2027. The Falls Church and Great Falls schedules come from Fairfax County's tourism office, Visit Fairfax, which lists both as year-round but gives no dates for the 2026 to 2027 season. Check with each market before planning a trip.
FRESHFARM Reston moves to winter hours in November, so starting Wednesday, Nov. 4, the market opens and closes an hour earlier, running 2 to 6 p.m.
The map also shows what McLean Fresh added this year. Before May 9, the closest Saturday market was outside McLean. For the next few months, that's true again.
Downtown's Next Dates Move Indoors
Once the markets close, McLean's weekend calendar moves to the McLean Community Center at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.
The biggest date is the center's 50th-anniversary Antiques Show & Sale on Nov. 14 and 15. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday. Interior designer Josh Hildreth gives a free lecture at 10 a.m. on Saturday in the Alden Theatre. One week later, on Saturday, Nov. 21, the center holds Holiday Gingerbread House Decorating from 10 a.m. to noon. Registration is required.
The Alden's Sunday matinees continue through November. The Borisevich Duo plays Oct. 25, the Judy Carmichael Trio on Nov. 8 and Duo Mosaic Piano Duo on Nov. 22, all at 2 p.m.
Further out, there's news about Old Dominion Drive. FFXnow reported on Oct. 14 that Glenwood's has signed a lease at Chesterbrook Shopping Center for its first Northern Virginia restaurant. FFXnow describes a space of about 7,000 square feet for roughly 170 guests, with a patio and live entertainment every night. Construction is expected to start in early 2027, with opening targeted for fall 2027. The center's address is 6224 Old Dominion Drive. In the same report, Federal Realty had no new timeline for Surfside at 6218 Old Dominion Drive. Its earlier summer 2026 target has passed.
The 2027 calendars for both McLean markets will show whether the Friday-and-Saturday weekend returns. Until then, Saturday's market at 6888 Elm Street is the last one in McLean for 2026.
When you live near downtown McLean, a new Saturday market and a busy Old Firehouse calendar are part of what your home offers, and they belong in how it's priced. If you're wondering what your home is worth with all of that nearby, Sullivan Brownell Partners can prepare a valuation built on McLean-specific comparables. Request Your Home Valuation.
