Waynewood October Events and Hollin Hall Openings in 2026

At 7928 Fort Hunt Road, the corner that housed a Wells Fargo for years now has gallery walls. Nepenthe Gallery moved there from 7918, a few doors up the same row, and celebrated its reopening on August 6. The new space is about 30 percent larger, with large windows facing both Fort Hunt Road and Shenandoah Road. The gallery used to sit behind the pastry shop. Now it holds one of the most visible corners in Hollin Hall Village Shopping Center.

That move sets the pattern for the season. Every change at Hollin Hall this fall involves a local business that was already serving the area somewhere else and is now taking a storefront the center already had. The two businesses joining next both fit that description. One has been running out of home clinics, and the other has been selling ice cream from a pedal trike. October is when both show up in public around Waynewood.

Two businesses moving in from close by

The Zebra reported on September 10 that two local women-owned businesses, Athena Wellness and Physical Therapy and Fabled Ice Cream, are moving into existing shop locations at the center. Neither is coming in as a new name.

Athena's founder and owner, Dr. Sara Acheson, and her associates have treated patients from home clinics for the past two years. The practice's website still lists booking locations at 2414 Londonderry Road and 8412 Crossley Place. The team has grown, which explains the need for a storefront. Dr. Stephanie Stahr joined last year. Dr. Patricia McMahon focuses on strength training for oncology patients. Dr. Kate Hovde, a physical therapist and licensed massage therapist, provides pelvic floor therapy and is working toward lymphedema certification.

Fabled Ice Cream was founded by Ally Kirkpatrick, who also owns Old Town Books and Old Town Books Junior. Its flavors have literary names like Cliff Hanger and Jane Eyre Grey. Its shop at 7940 Fort Hunt Road is being built out in the former Hairvisions space, and Alexandria Living reported in September that the opening is expected in May 2027. Kirkpatrick remembers visiting the shopping center as a child.

"It's almost surreal because I remember everything about Hollin Hall, and it really hasn't changed that much."

Her quote is accurate, and the fall arrivals keep it that way. Hairvisions closed in 2024, and an ice cream maker with a following among Old Town readers is taking its place. A former bank branch now holds a gallery that was already part of the row. The center's footprint is the same as before. Only the tenants inside it are changing.

A row that has been filling in since 2025

This fall continues a run of openings from the past two years. Hooray Art opened its children's studio at 7908 Fort Hunt Road on January 20, 2025. The Cut Butchery opened at 7968B Fort Hunt Road on Valentine's Day 2025 and held its ribbon cutting a week later. Hollin Hall Pastry Shop, at 7920, has served pastries, coffee, cakes and savory food since the early 2000s, according to its website.

These businesses also work together. In May, The Cut, Hooray Art and photographer Renée C. Gage teamed up on a breast-health fundraiser at the center. Gage also took the Athena team portrait that ran with the Zebra's September story.

From 7908 to 7968B, the addresses this piece mentions all sit on the same stretch of Fort Hunt Road:

• 7908: Hooray Art children's studio
• 7920: Hollin Hall Pastry Shop
• 7928: Nepenthe Gallery, in the former Wells Fargo corner
• 7940: Fabled Ice Cream, under build-out, expected May 2027
• 7960: Athena Wellness and Physical Therapy
• 7968B: The Cut Butchery

What Athena plans to do with the space

A storefront lets Athena run group programs that home clinics couldn't hold. Acheson told the Zebra the practice hopes to offer small-group exercise classes for women going through oncology treatment, pregnancy, new motherhood, menopause and perimenopause. The classes combine exercise with cognitive tasks.

"We're trying to add brain tasks into exercise because we know exercise can make a difference. We're really looking at challenging the brain at the same time as you're exercising through different cognitive tasks, so you're getting the best of both worlds."

She also described the location as a place to bring together services that are currently spread out. "Right now, everything is kind of scattered, so we're looking forward to being in one place where women can create a community," she said.

The opening has a public date. The Mount Vernon Springfield Chamber of Commerce lists Athena's grand opening ribbon cutting for Thursday, October 22, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 7960 Fort Hunt Road. It is a joint event with the Alexandria City Chamber of Commerce, and the listing promises refreshments, a chance to meet the team and a tour of the space. Until that evening, check the practice's existing booking options before assuming the Hollin Hall location is taking appointments.

Fabled before May 2027

Fabled's storefront won't open until next spring, but its ice cream is already in the area once a month. The trike is a regular at the McCutcheon/Mount Vernon Farmers Market at Sherwood Library. Its published schedule for this year is August 26, September 23, October 21 and November 18. Per the Fairfax County Park Authority, the market runs Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to noon at 2501 Sherwood Hall Lane, and the season continues through November 25. Some event listings show an earlier season end in early November. The county's schedule keeps the market open past the trike's November 18 visit.

That leaves two chances this fall to try Fabled near Waynewood before the shop opens. The first is the morning before Athena's ribbon cutting.

October around Waynewood, by date

Most of what's on the calendar this month is along Fort Hunt Road or within a short drive of it. The Waynewood Recreation Association's Oktoberfest is in the middle of the month.

1. Monday, Oct. 5 to Thursday, Oct. 8: The National Park Service is closing southbound George Washington Memorial Parkway lanes from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The section between Tulane Drive and Morningside Lane closes Oct. 5 and 6, and the section between Morningside Lane and Alexandria Avenue closes Oct. 7 and 8. Southbound drivers will detour onto Fort Hunt Road and rejoin the parkway past the work area. Northbound lanes stay open, the work is vegetation trimming and cleaning, and the schedule depends on weather. Expect more midday traffic than usual on Fort Hunt Road that week.
2. Friday, Oct. 9 to Sunday, Oct. 11: Mount Vernon's Fall Wine Festival runs 6 to 9 p.m., with Virginia wine tastings, live music and after-hours access to the Mansion.
3. Saturday, Oct. 17: The second annual Waynewood Oktoberfest takes over the WRA field from noon to 7 p.m., with a biergarten serving bratwurst, German beers and wine, plus live music, cotton candy, popcorn and inflatables. This year the event is entirely cashless, with one wristband in place of individual tickets. Children 3 to 17 need a wristband if they're participating, ages 0 to 2 are free, and adults need one for the biergarten. Each wristband includes one biergarten voucher, and preorders are open now.
4. Wednesday, Oct. 21: The Fabled trike is at the Sherwood Library market, 8 a.m. to noon.
5. Thursday, Oct. 22: Athena Wellness ribbon cutting at 7960 Fort Hunt Road, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
6. Saturday, Oct. 24 and Sunday, Oct. 25: Fall Harvest Family Days at Mount Vernon run 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with farm demonstrations and animal encounters.
7. Saturday, Oct. 31: Trick-or-treating at Mount Vernon runs 2 to 5 p.m., with a costume parade at 3:30. From 5 to 8 p.m., children 12 and under eat free at the Mount Vernon Inn with the purchase of an adult entrée.

One date to put on November's calendar now: public tickets for Mount Vernon by Candlelight, held November 27 and 28, go on sale October 5. The Fabled trike's last market visit of the year is November 18, a week before the market's final day on November 25.

The Fabled trike visit on Wednesday the 21st and Athena's ribbon cutting on Thursday the 22nd fall on back-to-back days. Both are the public's first chance to see a business that is moving into Hollin Hall from somewhere else in the area.

If you're curious how Hollin Hall's changing storefronts figure into what homes near Fort Hunt Road are worth, or what a seller should mention about walking distance to the center, The Seward Group follows these openings the same way we follow sales. Schedule a Concierge Consultation, and we'll walk you through how the stretch from 7908 to 7968B affects what nearby homes are worth today.