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Christmas in Middleburg: An Old Time Feeling
Christmas in Middleburg: An Old Time Feeling
By Emma Boyce
Hark! The corgis have perfected their bark. Santa has found a discreet place to park. Yes, it’s approaching the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas in Middleburg is almost here.
Christmas in Middleburg officially begins Friday, Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. with the lighting of the Christmas tree behind the Pink Box on North Madison Street. The most anticipated event, Middleburg’s Christmas parade, rolls out Saturday afternoon and gives even Macy’s a run for its money.
The Christmas parade has come a long way since its inception in 1979 when it consisted of only a few candy cane-striped floats, a handful of eager onlookers, and, at the helm of the first float, former Senator John Warner.
Today, the parade attracts visitors in the thousands from near and far. It spans 1.5 miles and boasts some 80 floats and elements, including vintage fire trucks and cars, local high school bands, and a coalition of corgis aptly named Corgi Corp, among other sights. Of course, as the parade’s finale, Santa Claus makes an appearance. In classic Middleburg fashion, he has traded in his reindeer for a horse-drawn sleigh.
“The parade was first started to promote business visitors to Middleburg,” said Michelle Myers, who, with her husband, Doug Myers, took over the parade from longtime organizer Jim Herbert in 2022. “The parade showcased the small town of Middleburg as an option for shopping and dining in a time when malls and larger metropolises were pulling visitors.”
Now, decades later, Christmas in Middleburg marks the largest revenue-generating day for Middleburg businesses.
But for organizers and attendees alike, the event’s popularity has been something of a Catch-22. In a town of 700 residents, the growing number of people attending the festivities in recent years has pushed the boundaries of Washington Street to its limit. In 2016, for example, the parade attracted over 17,000 people.
“It became obvious during Covid that it might be a good time for us to reset and see if we could minimize the negative impact of that many people in our small village,” Michelle said. Much of the parking ticket sales help pay for, among other essentials, extra security to keep parade attendees, humans and animals safe.
Upon taking up the torch of Christmas in Middleburg, the Myers first established a community based board to help with the year-long effort and to tackle some of these long-standing questions like attendance.
“We limited parking ticket sales to alleviate the pressure on some of our internal town services like our police department and our roadways,” Michelle said. “It’s really the only avenue that we have to limit the amount of people.”
She’s also made it her goal to bring the parade closer to the community it was started for.
“Even though we have a very collaborative relationship with the Town of Middleburg and the Middleburg Business and Professional Association, Christmas in Middleburg is a non-profit and it is a completely volunteer-driven event.”
Despite some hiccups in the new age of an ever-expanding Loudoun County, Christmas in Middleburg not only pays homage to its small, equestrian-centric town but also gives back. In 2010, Herbert established Christmas in Middleburg as a 501c3 non-profit. Each year, revenue generated from the day goes back into the community.
“This parade has a beautiful, storied history,” Michelle said. “We want to continue to make those core memories for our children.”
On the day of the parade, buses will shuttle people between Middleburg and the two parking sites at Lost Barrel Brewing west of Middleburg, and Mickie Gordon Park to the east.
When arriving at the parade, she would encourage visitors to first hurry and pick up a Christmas ornament, the proceeds of which go to Banneker Elementary, before they run out. As with last year, the ornaments will replicate Middleburg’s classic Christmas signage drawn by beloved Hill School art teacher Emily Talbot Sharp.
In a place that already feels like something from a bygone era, Christmas in Middleburg cements this small town’s magic.
Details: parking ticket sales and schedule of events: christmasinmiddleburg.org
