At 1 p.m. this Sunday, the corner of Mount Vernon and East Howell avenues becomes a check-in desk. Strollers, wagons, pets in costume and, for the first time, groups and non-motorized floats all register there. Entries close at 1:30, strollers line up along Howell to be judged, and at 2 p.m. the 30th Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade heads up Mount Vernon Avenue from East Bellefonte Avenue.
That staging corner sits right where the Avenue changed the most this fall. In September, two record stores opened across the street from each other, a few doors from the check-in point. Most of the week's Halloween programming sits within a few blocks of them. The parade is still the main event, but this year it's the middle of a stretch that runs from tonight's listening party through Halloween night, nearly all of it on the same walk.
Two Record Stores, Weeks Apart, Facing Each Other
Mobius Records ALX opened Sept. 12 at 2016 Mount Vernon Avenue, in the space that used to be Mulberry Lane Play Café. It shares that space with Shorty's Deluxe, the sandwich shop. According to The Zebra, the shop is a partnership between Dempsey Hamilton, who founded the original Mobius in Fairfax in 2014, and three people from Neighborhood Restaurant Group: founder Michael Babin, chef Nathan Anda and beverage director Greg Engert. The racks hold new and used vinyl across genres, along with CDs, cassettes, posters and T-shirts.
Two weeks later, Crooked Beat Records reopened across the street at 2101B Mount Vernon Avenue. It had moved from its old basement shop up the street at 2417 after flooding in January. The new storefront is a two-story townhouse that neighbors told ALXnow had been empty for more than a decade. Owner Bill Daly described the new space to ALXnow as "like the Twilight Zone, same colors, same atmosphere."
ALXnow noted that Daly will have some competition in the new space. It also reported Babin's account that Daly supported Mobius opening as a way to make Del Ray more of a destination for record shoppers. With both open, the block between Howell and the 2100 block now has the kind of foot traffic that keeps a Sunday crowd on the Avenue after the awards.
The Upstairs Room That Extends the Week
Mobius brought an events calendar with it, and the room it uses most is above Evening Star Cafe at 2000 Mount Vernon Avenue. That's No. 9 Lounge, which The Zebra reports is planned for live performances, record-release listening parties and themed vinyl nights.
The Mobius calendar lists events on both sides of the parade:
- Thursday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. An Olivia Tremor Control listening party, free and open to all ages.
- Thursday, Oct. 29, 8:30 p.m. A Darkest Hour listening party at No. 9 Lounge, free and open to all ages.
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 7:30 p.m. A NØ Man record release show at No. 9 Lounge, $15, all ages.
All three are open to all ages, so families can bring older kids during a week built around costumes.
Halloween Week, Block by Block
Most of the season's other events, as listed on the Del Ray Business Association's parade page, sit within a short walk of the same corner.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Through Nov. 1 | Nightmare on the Avenue Halloween pop-up bar | 2312 Mount Vernon Ave. |
| Throughout October | Del Ray Artisans' Carnival of Curiosities exhibit | Del Ray Artisans gallery |
| Thu, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. | Olivia Tremor Control listening party | Mobius Records ALX |
| Fri–Sun, Oct. 23–25, 7–8 p.m. | Howell Haunt, benefiting Save the Children | 303 E. Howell Ave. |
| Sat, Oct. 24, noon | Nightmare on the Avenue pumpkin carving party, $25 with pumpkin and tools | 2312 Mount Vernon Ave. |
| Sun, Oct. 25, noon–5 p.m. | Pork Barrel BBQ Halloween Parade Kids Zone | Behind 2312 Mount Vernon Ave. |
| Sun, Oct. 25, 2 p.m. | 30th Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade | Mount Vernon Ave. from E. Bellefonte |
| Thu, Oct. 29, 8:30 p.m. | Darkest Hour listening party | No. 9 Lounge, 2000 Mount Vernon Ave. |
| Fri, Oct. 30, 6–9 p.m. | 3rd Annual Haunted House at The Company of Books | 2200 Mount Vernon Ave. |
| Fri, Oct. 30, 7–8 p.m. | Howell Haunt, final night | 303 E. Howell Ave. |
| Sat, Oct. 31 | Del Ray's Trail of Dreadful Delights | Select Del Ray restaurants |
The Howell Haunt is on the same street where strollers line up. The Company of Books is one block past Crooked Beat. Pork Barrel BBQ's Kids Zone at 2312 opens two hours before the parade and stays open three hours after it starts. For families staging on Howell at 1 p.m., that's the obvious place to wait or regroup. The Carnival of Curiosities exhibit runs all month, and Del Ray Artisans posts gallery hours on its site.
Parade Sunday, in Order
The DRBA lays out the afternoon in a fixed sequence.
- Noon. The Kids Zone opens behind Pork Barrel BBQ at 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue.
- 1 p.m. Check-in opens at Mount Vernon and East Howell for the stroller/wagon contest, the new group/float contest and the pet costume contest. The DRBA lists no fee for the stroller/wagon or pet contests.
- 1:30 p.m. Registration closes. Strollers line up on Howell to be judged before the parade.
- 2 p.m. The parade starts at East Bellefonte Avenue and moves along Mount Vernon Avenue.
- End of the route. Pets are judged as soon as they finish. The afternoon wraps up with live music and awards at the Mount Vernon Rec Center field.
The stroller and float categories are Creative, Humorous, Less is More and Overall. The pet contest has its own categories: Creative, Team, the honest "How Could You Do This To Me?" and the Vola Lawson Best of Show. The DRBA prohibits motorized vehicles of any kind, and that includes floats.
The DRBA page doesn't list street-closure times. Expect Mount Vernon Avenue to carry the parade Sunday afternoon, and check the City of Alexandria's Halloween page and city alerts before you drive or park nearby.
What's New for Year 30
The group/float contest is the one new addition to parade day. The DRBA added it so all ages can join in, which opens the parade to neighbor groups, scout troops and office teams, not just one stroller or one dog at a time.
Everything else carries over from earlier years. The DRBA notes that USA Today named this parade one of the 10 best Halloween parades in the country, and the best-decorated house and business contests have run for more than 30 years. Nominations for this year's house contest closed at noon on Oct. 18. The Halloween scavenger hunt is still running: walk the Avenue, find the Halloween items hidden among decorated businesses and hand-painted windows, and five randomly drawn entries win a $50 gift card to a Del Ray business of their choice.
The DRBA is also collecting costume donations with the Alexandria Boys & Girls Club, Community Lodgings and the Alexandria Domestic Violence Safehouse, so every neighborhood child has a costume. It's also asking for volunteers to set up, guide the parade and clean up afterward. Both sign-ups are linked from the parade page.
Stopping in on Parade Day
If you want to browse records after the awards, check hours before you go. Crooked Beat's site still labels its schedule "Soft Open Hours" and lists Sunday as noon to 6 p.m., which covers parade day. The same posted schedule lists Monday 1 to 7 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday closed, Thursday and Friday noon to 7 p.m., and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Crooked Beat site is where any changes will show up. Mobius posts its schedule and events at mobiusrecordsalx.com.
After the Costumes Come Off
The Avenue stays busy into November. The DRBA calendar lists the Del Ray Vintage & Flea Market and the Gustave Art & Craft Market on Nov. 14, and the 51st Annual Alexandria Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, starting and finishing at George Washington Middle School. Between those dates, Mobius has its Nov. 12 release show upstairs at No. 9 Lounge, on the same block where Sunday's parade lines up.
We follow Mount Vernon Avenue block by block, from the Howell corner to the 2300 block. If you're thinking about a home within walking distance of parade day, or you want to know how a block like this one changes once new storefronts fill in, The Lyndsi + Matt Team would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a complimentary consultation.
