When your dog sits for a photo with Santa on Main Street the Saturday after Thanksgiving, who gets the money? The photo is free, so it isn't Santa. It's the Fauquier SPCA, which collects cash donations at the event. The same pattern runs through nearly the whole Old Town Warrenton holiday calendar this year. Admission is usually free, a local cause usually benefits, and most of the schedule falls in the weekend that starts with the Warrenton Christmas Parade on Friday, December 4.
Most of It Costs Nothing to Get In
Some of the season's biggest draws collect donations, gifts or adoptions rather than ticket sales. Here's who benefits from each one:
| Event | Date | Who benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Silver Branch Toy Drive | Starts Nov. 19 | Local families, through new, unwrapped toys |
| Santa Paws | Sat., Nov. 28 | Fauquier SPCA, through cash donations |
| Warrenton Christmas Parade | Fri., Dec. 4 | Hero's Bridge, a portion of proceeds |
| GumDrop Square | Weekends from Dec. 5 | Free to attend; gifts in Santa's Secret Shop are $2 |
| Old Bust Head Holiday Market | Sun., Dec. 6 | Must Love Cats Rescue, with adoptable kittens on site |
All of them are in Old Town Warrenton except Old Bust Head, which is out in Vint Hill.
Lee Street Opens the Season First
The first holiday event on the calendar is the week before Thanksgiving. Silver Branch Warrenton Station at 56 E. Lee St. starts its toy drive Thursday, November 19, and is collecting new, unwrapped toys for local families. On Wednesday, November 25, the night before Thanksgiving, it holds Stoutsgiving, releasing three triple stouts: Chronicle, Coffee Chronicle and Vanilla Latte Chronicle. Pour House Trivia starts at 6:30 p.m.
This is the brewery's first holiday season since it came back. FauquierNow reported that an early-morning fire on December 23, 2024, badly damaged the kitchen and storage areas. Investigators traced it to an "accidental catastrophic electrical event" in the ceiling of the adjoining Fletching Building. The brewery ran a summer pop-up outside while the building was renovated, then scheduled its grand reopening for October 9 and 10. It now keeps regular hours for the taproom and Mosaic Pizza: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Christian Layke and Brett Robison founded Silver Branch in Maryland in 2019. The Warrenton location opened in fall 2023 in the former Wort Hog Brewing building.
Two days after Thanksgiving comes Small Business Saturday, November 28. From 10 a.m. to noon, Experience Old Town Warrenton hosts Santa Paws in front of the John Barton Payne Building. Pet photos with Santa are free, cash donations go to the Fauquier SPCA, and the first 25 visitors get doggie goodie bags from Clarissa Clover and Deb's Homemade Delights. In December the same building hosts GumDrop Square.
Friday, December 4: The Parade Sets the Weekend in Motion
The Warrenton Christmas Parade steps off at 6 p.m. on Main Street. Premiere Hospitality produces it again this year, and Country Chevrolet is the presenting sponsor. According to the organizers' September 1 press release, more than 125 local businesses and nonprofits will take part with floats, decorated vehicles, pets and marchers, following the familiar route.
Hero's Bridge returns as the beneficiary. A portion of proceeds supports its programs for aging veterans in Fauquier, Culpeper, Rappahannock, Madison and Orange counties. "It's a great night to bring our community together, kick off the holiday season and once again support the incredible work of Hero's Bridge," Carlton Shutt, president of Premiere Hospitality, said in the release. The release says the parade draws thousands to downtown Warrenton and has traditionally marked the start of the region's holiday season.
Besides street parking, Old Town has two public lots: Municipal Parking Lot B at 15 S. Third St. and Public Parking Lot D at 100 E. Lee St. Silver Branch is open until 10 p.m. on Fridays, so it's still serving after the last float passes.
Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6, Hour by Hour
The weekend after the parade has the most overlap of the season. Four separate holiday events run on Saturday, and most of the times overlap.
Saturday, December 5
- 9 a.m. to noon: the Warrenton Farmers Market's Holiday Market. It runs the first three Saturdays in December in the public lots at Ashby Street and West Lee Street. The market moved there for its 2025 season after two years on Court Street. Fauquier Times reported that the lot fits 60 vendors, up from 43 at the old site, and leaves room for community events.
- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: the Holiday Art Mart at Art Studio 81, 81 Main St. Use the side entrance with the purple door.
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: GumDrop Square inside the John Barton Payne Building, with photos with Santa, cookie tasting and Santa's Secret Shop, according to the Experience Old Town Warrenton listing. Admission is free, and every gift in the shop costs $2.
- Noon to 5 p.m.: the Old Bust Head Brewing Company Holiday Market at 7134 Farm Station Road in Vint Hill.
Old Bust Head bills its market as a two-day, German-style event. It serves Glühwein and a boozy hot chocolate made with its Caramel Macchiato Stout, plus regular hot chocolate for kids. The Saturday food trucks are Bratworks and Spudology. 4-H goats are there from noon to 3 p.m. with handmade goat milk soap, and Santa sits for photos from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Barrel Room. The Saturday vendor list runs to about thirty Virginia makers, including Spyglass Stained Glass & Wee Dram Knives, Elk Run Alpaca, Love Bridges Pottery, Wooden Shoe Bakery and Uncle Brian's Hot Sauce. The brewery says its Saturday vendor spots are full.
Sunday, December 6
- Noon to 5 p.m.: the Art Mart's second day at Art Studio 81.
- Noon to 5 p.m.: Old Bust Head's second day. Bratworks is the food truck, Santa is back from 1 to 3 p.m., and Must Love Cats Rescue brings adoptable kittens to the Barrel Room all afternoon. New Sunday vendors include Cauldron to Crust, PatchDanas and The Sweet Pop Shop.
- 1 to 4 p.m.: GumDrop Square at the Payne Building.
Sunday's events all start at noon or later, so the farmers market and the morning hours fall on Saturday only.
The Weekends After the First One
After December 6, the calendar keeps going at a slower pace through mid-month. According to its listing, GumDrop Square adds two Friday evenings, December 11 and 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. It also runs Saturdays, December 12 and 19, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sundays, December 13 and 20, from 1 to 4 p.m. The farmers market's holiday market runs its second and third Saturdays on December 12 and 19, from 9 a.m. to noon.
On Saturday, December 12, the market scene moves south. Visit Fauquier lists a Christmas Market at Powers Farm and Brewery, 9269 Redemption Way in Midland, from noon to 5 p.m. It has local vendors, food, live music by Eric Campbell, and Santa from noon to 2 p.m.
The last stop is in Old Town on Sunday, December 20, when GumDrop Square holds its final afternoon at the John Barton Payne Building from 1 to 4 p.m.
The country properties we know best sit a few miles from Main Street, and Warrenton's December calendar is part of living in this part of Hunt Country. If you're thinking about a farm, an estate or a cottage within reach of Old Town, Horse Farms & Country Homes would be glad to walk you through the Fauquier properties that fit. Book an Appointment whenever you're ready.
