Del Ray's 30th Halloween Parade Adds a Contest for Everyone Who Isn't in a Stroller

At 1 p.m. this Sunday, October 25, the corner of Mount Vernon and Howell avenues fills with check-in tables. Strollers dressed as pirate ships and taco trucks get pointed down Howell to line up for judging. Dogs in costume get registered at the same corner. By 1:30 p.m. registration closes, and at 2 p.m. the 30th Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade steps off from E. Bellefonte Avenue and heads up Mount Vernon Avenue. It ends at the Mount Vernon Rec Center field with live music and the awards, according to the Del Ray Business Association's event page.

That much is familiar to anyone who has lived near the Avenue for a few Octobers. One line on this year's page is new. The DRBA has added a group and float competition, labeled "new this year," and describes it as a way "so all ages can join in the fun." For three decades, anyone could march. Until now, though, a prize meant wearing a costume on four wheels or four legs. The 30th parade is the first where a group of adults, or a whole block, can compete.

Who the Contests Were Built Around

The parade dates to 1996, and its contests grew up around young families and their pets. When USA Today 10Best named it among the 10 best Halloween parades in the country in October 2023, the entry highlighted the pet and stroller awards.

The parade was already huge years ago. The Zebra's 2017 preview reported that the previous year's parade drew more than 7,500 participants, and more than 2,500 of them were children. Back then, a costumed adult walking without a stroller or a dog had no contest to enter.

The crowd has only grown since then. Pat Miller, whose name is on the neighborhood square at Oxford and Mount Vernon, called the 2023 parade one of the "biggest years ever," The Zebra reported. Two years later, The Zebra's account of the 2025 parade reported a record number of marchers, thousands of spectators and the Alexandria City High School Zombie Band. ALXnow's photo report from that 29th parade also described thousands turning out.

How the Group and Float Contest Works

The new contest uses the same setup as the stroller contest, which makes it easy to try for the first time.

• Check-in: Mount Vernon and Howell, starting at 1 p.m. Volunteers send entrants to a staging area.
• Registration deadline: 1:30 p.m. Registration happens on site before the parade.
• Categories: Creative, Humorous, Less is More, and Overall. These are the same four as the stroller and wagon contest.
• The hard rule: No motorized floats or vehicles of any kind. The DRBA page says it twice.

The no-motor rule shapes everything. A float this year means something people push, pull, carry or wear. That suits a block of neighbors in a matching costume or a group of friends with a wagon-sized set piece better than anything built on a trailer. The Less is More category rewards a smart idea over a big build.

Stroller entries are free, and so are pet entries. The group and float listing doesn't mention a fee. If you plan to enter, check the DRBA's Halloween page before Sunday for any updates.

The Name on the Pet Prize

Pets register by 1:30 p.m. at the same corner and get judged right at the end of the route. The four pet categories are Creative, Team, How Could You Do This To Me?, and Vola Lawson Best of Show.

Many people at the curb won't know the name behind that top prize. Vola Lawson was Alexandria's first female city manager and served from 1985 to 2000, according to her Washington Post obituary. Her longtime friend Nancy LaValle Perkins told Alexandria Legends that the two met when they both lived in Del Ray. In a 2009 city oral history interview, Lawson said she served on the board of the Animal Welfare League, which runs the shelter that bears her name. She also remembered bringing her Jack Russell to a community walk. A Del Ray resident who championed animal welfare is a natural namesake for the best-dressed dog on Mount Vernon Avenue.

Sunday, Hour by Hour

Here is how the day lays out if you're marching, entering or just watching.

1. Noon: The Pork Barrel BBQ Halloween Parade Kids Zone opens behind Pork Barrel BBQ at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue. It runs until 5 p.m.
2. 1 p.m.: Check-in opens at Mount Vernon and Howell for strollers, wagons, groups and floats.
3. 1:30 p.m.: Registration closes for every contest, pets included. Strollers line up on Howell for judging before the parade.
4. 2 p.m.: The parade steps off at E. Bellefonte Avenue and moves along Mount Vernon Avenue.
5. End of the route: Pets are judged on the spot. Then everyone gathers at the Mount Vernon Rec Center field for live music and the awards.

The DRBA page gives the start point and the finish but no street-by-street closure schedule. Plan to walk in, especially if you're pushing an entry.

While you're on the Avenue, there's also a scavenger hunt. You look for Halloween-themed items in decorated businesses and hand-painted shop windows. Five entries, drawn at random, win a $50 gift card to a Del Ray business. The best decorated house nominations closed at noon on Sunday, October 18. That leaves the decorated houses as something to walk past and enjoy, a tradition the DRBA says goes back more than 30 years.

The Rest of Halloween Week, Much of It for Grown-Ups

The new contest matches the rest of Del Ray's Halloween calendar, which has plenty for teenagers and adults alongside the trick-or-treat crowd.

A few of these deserve more detail. The Del Ray Artisans gallery is open Fridays from noon to 9 p.m. and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. The exhibit takes on carnival and circus themes, from haunted attractions to sleight of hand. The city's Public Safety Trunk or Treat is free, and decorated emergency vehicles hand out the treats. The Family Masquerade Ball is open to all ages, with dancing, refreshments and a costume contest.

The bike tour, organized by Alexandria's Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, is a casual, family-friendly ride of about six miles through Del Ray and Rosemont. It makes eight to 10 stops at decorated houses, starting and ending at the south end of Main Line Boulevard on the Potomac Yard Trail. Riders are asked to bring two or three nonperishable items for ALIVE!'s food hub. Details are on the BPAC Eventbrite page. The route map linked from that page is labeled for 2025, so expect this year's stops to differ.

The Halloween crawl goes by two names. The Zebra lists an informal Day of Dreadful Delights from 2 to 8 p.m. with costume contests and food and drink specials. The DRBA lists a Trail of Dreadful Delights at select restaurants and links to a ticket page. Check the DRBA's listing for the format before heading out on Saturday.

A Costume for Every Kid on the Route

One part of the parade happens before Sunday. Each year the DRBA works with the Alexandria Boys & Girls Club, Community Lodgings and the Alexandria Domestic Violence Safehouse to make sure every child in the neighborhood has a Halloween costume. Children pick the costumes, and neighbors buy them through a wish list linked from the DRBA parade page. The same page has a sign-up for volunteers to help set up, guide the parade and clean up afterward.

So the 30th parade adds a second way for adults to take part. Grown-ups can still volunteer, donate a costume or cheer from the curb, and now they can also form a group, build something with no motor and compete for a prize alongside the strollers and dogs.

Whether you're marching with your block on Sunday or just finding a good curb spot near Howell, The LizLuke Team will be cheering along Mount Vernon Avenue too. If the parade has you thinking about what your own Del Ray home is worth after another year of record crowds, Get Your Free Home Valuation and we'll walk you through the numbers street by street.