2 Holiday Parades In 1 Day: A Highlight Of Alexandria's Holiday Season

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Two holiday parades in one day will help get the winter holiday season off to a rollicking good start in Alexandria. The Scottish Christmas Walk Parade and Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights are both scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 3.

Christmas parades — often complete with Santa Claus, festively decorated floats and marching bands — are a holiday tradition, both nationally and locally.

Several big parades in the U.S. are taking place this year, including the Mayor’s Annual Christmas Parade in Baltimore City, Maryland and the Christmas Boat Parade in Newport Beach, California.

Alexandria has a doubleheader parade day starting with the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 3. This parade, which celebrates Alexandria's 1749 founding by Scottish merchants, features Scottish clans in colorful tartans, pipe and drum bands, Scottish dancers, terriers and hounds, a bagpiping Santa, community groups and more. Over 120 parade units participate, including 35 Scottish clans from the DC region. Among the parade delegates will be Lord and Lady Provost from Alexandria's sister city Dundee, Scotland; the Scottish Government's Scottish Affairs Office and Scottish university alumni groups.

The Scottish Christmas Walk Parade's grand marshal will be Redella "Del" Pepper, who was the longest-serving member of Alexandria City Council. Elected in 1985, Pepper spent decades working on city initiatives and served as vice mayor three times. She did not seek re-election in 2021.

The parade route starts on S. St. Asaph Street at Wolfe Street, heads north to Queen Street, east to Fairfax Street, south to King Street, and west to end in front of City Hall. Attendees are encouraged to spread out along the parade route.

Visit Alexandria is assuming organizing duties for the parade with the Campagna Center and the City of Alexandria as continuing partners. The Campagna Center will also host Taste of Scotland at the Torpedo Factory Art Center on Dec. 2. The typically sold-out event features whiskey-tasting stations, hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine bars and a custom art exhibit.

The Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights will be held the same day as the Scottish Christmas Walk Parade — Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. Over 50 boats decorated with lights will line up and cruise along one mile of the Alexandria waterfront.

Attendees are encouraged to spread out to view the boat parade along the waterfront from Founders Park (351 N. Union St.) to Ford's Landing Park (99 Franklin St.).

Dockside festivities will be held before and after the parade from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Alexandria City Marina. Activities will include a pop-up beer garden from Port City Brewing Company, hot chocolate from Dolci Gelati, gourmet popcorn from America’s Favorite Gourmet Popcorn, holiday music from 97.1 WASH-FM, shortbread from Allens Scottish Shortbread, New York style pizza by the slice from RedRocks Old Town and food from Common Plate Hospitality restaurants Augie's, Mason Social and Urbano 116.

At 3:30 p.m., Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive by fireboat at the Alexandria City Marina before visiting the Holiday Festival at Torpedo Factory Art Center, which is from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

From 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. attendees can also enjoy activities, including leather coaster-making and make-your-own gift wrap from Shop Made in Virginia, a Letters to Santa postcard station from Penny Post and a holiday ornament craft activity from AR Workshop Alexandria.

Other activities will be held at Oronoco Bay Park and Canal Center, including music, artist vendors, food and drink options, interactive demonstrations and kids activities. In this northern area of the waterfront, attendees can see boats starting to arrive at 4:30 p.m. and queue for the parade.

The boat parade is coordinated by Visit Alexandria with the City of Alexandria, City Cruises by Hornblower and the Old Dominion Boat Club with sponsorship by Amazon.

Residents should plan for heavier traffic than usual in the Old Town area due to the parades.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story mentioned the defunct Target Holidazzle Parade in Minneapolis, which no longer takes place.