The Candy Crawl, the Sunday farmers market and the Winterfest parade all come from the same small nonprofit. It is the Virginia Highland District Association, a business-district group that formed when storefronts on North Highland were going dark. Its largest annual fundraiser happens on one Saturday afternoon in May. The fall schedule this year includes trick-or-treating at shops on October 28, a two-day block party on Virginia Avenue the first weekend of November, and the market's last Sunday on November 22. All three take place at or in front of the district's storefronts.
The group behind the calendar
The Virginia Highland District Association calls itself a 501(c)(3) business-district nonprofit. Lindsay Wheeler and Katie Voelpel co-founded it in 2020 in response to vacancies during the pandemic. It grew out of an older group. Atlanta Magazine reported in 2021 that Beautify VaHi started in 2018 and renamed itself the Virginia Highland District Association during the pandemic, as businesses were closing.
Wheeler is now board president, with Rich Chey as vice president, Steven Wilt as treasurer and Matt Perrine as secretary. Voelpel serves as executive director. The board is made up of volunteers who work alongside paid staff.
This group is separate from the Virginia-Highland Civic Association, which holds the monthly neighborhood meetings at Grace Lutheran Church. The business district's events focus on commercial foot traffic and on giving people reasons to come to the shops and restaurants.
One Saturday pays for a lot
Rough Draft Atlanta describes Porchfest as the association's largest annual fundraiser. The outlet reported that the 2025 festival raised $95,000. That money went to cleaner streets, added tree lighting and public safety work. It also kept the VaHi Farmers Market, North Highland Restaurant Week and Winterfest running.
Porchfest itself was a pandemic idea. Rough Draft reported that Nina Carrick and the association board planned it in 2021 as a small block party with music on a few porches. That first year drew more than 40 porches, 50 bands and about 20,000 people. The sixth edition on May 16, 2026, had more than 50 homes and over 100 bands. It was also the first year with a ticketed, capped-attendance model, priced at $10 for early bird, $15 after May 2 and $20 on the day of the event. According to Rough Draft, the change was meant to offset the rising cost of hosting the festival and to double security, staffing and restrooms.
"We strive to make Porchfest better every year without losing what makes it special. That's always the balance."
Katie Voelpel, VHDA executive director, speaking to Rough Draft Atlanta
That makes a May ticket part of the money behind events that run long after Porchfest ends, including the farmers market, which is still set up at Highland Woodworking in November, and Winterfest in December.
What runs between now and December
Here is the business district's calendar from mid-October on, plus the civic association events in the same weeks.
| Date | Event | Where | Run by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundays through Nov. 22 | VaHi Farmers Market, 8:30 a.m. to noon | Highland Woodworking, 1045 N. Highland Ave. | VHDA |
| Sat., Oct. 17 | John Howell Park Beautification Day, 10 a.m. to noon | Great Lawn, Barnett St. and Virginia Ave. | VHCA |
| Mon., Oct. 19 | Monthly board and general meeting, 7 p.m. | Grace Lutheran Church, 1155 N. Highland Ave. | VHCA |
| Wed., Oct. 28 | Candy Crawl | District businesses | VHDA |
| Sat.–Sun., Nov. 7–8 | Virginia Row Fall Block Party, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Virginia Ave. at Rosedale Dr. | Virginia Row shops |
| Sat.–Sun., Dec. 12–13 | Winterfest and Tour of Homes | Across the district | VHDA, with VHCA's tour |
Every event ends at a storefront
The Candy Crawl is a good example of how these events are built. The association's Candy Crawl page describes an afternoon of trick-or-treating at participating small businesses, with parents finding shops and restaurants as they go. It finishes with a block party and a pumpkin-smashing contest. The page also suggests staying for dinner, dessert or a drink. One of the newer dinner options is So. Fox, the 50-seat, dinner-only restaurant that chef Myles Moody and sommelier Rachael Pack opened on July 2 in the former Farm Burger space at 1017 N. Highland Ave. The district site lists October 28 for the Candy Crawl. Check the start time on the event page before you go.
The farmers market follows the same idea. It began in 2024 and has about 30 rotating vendors and produce farmers, plus live music. It sets up in the parking lot of Highland Woodworking at 1045 N. Highland Ave. and runs Sundays from April 12 through November 22. After today, that leaves six Sundays: October 18 and 25, then November 1, 8, 15 and 22.
The Virginia Row Fall Block Party on November 7 and 8 goes a step further, because the shops run it themselves. Virginia Row is the group of storefronts near Virginia Avenue and Rosedale Drive. The district highlights two of them, Ash Coffee and Ztunes Music Studio. According to Ash Coffee's event listing, the shops on the row are hosting the party together. It will have 20 vendors on Virginia Avenue, along with art and live music, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
The Saturday of that weekend is also busy:
- The farmers market's Sunday-only schedule leaves Saturday morning to the block party, which opens at 10 a.m. on Virginia Avenue.
- The association's calendar lists a Trees Atlanta Arboretum Tour on November 7. Trees Atlanta counts the yard trees, sidewalk planting strips and parks across a whole neighborhood as an arboretum, and it publishes a self-guided Virginia-Highland map if you'd rather walk it alone.
- On Sunday, November 8, the market runs at Highland Woodworking in the morning while the second day of the block party runs on Virginia Avenue.
Where the civic association fits in
The other neighborhood group runs a different kind of work. The Virginia-Highland Civic Association is holding a John Howell Park Beautification Day on Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to noon. Volunteers meet at the Great Lawn at Barnett Street and Virginia Avenue and should bring gardening gloves and pruning tools. Its monthly board and general meeting is Monday, October 19, at 7 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, 1155 North Highland Avenue, with a Zoom option.
In December the two groups share a weekend. Winterfest is the business district's holiday event, with a parade, the Jingle Jog 5K, a gift market of more than 80 vendors that includes young entrepreneurs, and a Kids Corner. The civic association's Tour of Homes joined that weekend in 2025. This year, both events fall on December 12 and 13. Murphy's lights the tree on its roof every year on the first Thursday of December, which this year is December 3. The lighting includes caroling and hot cocoa.
The newest event shows how the calendar grows
The association added Mardi Gras Fest in 2026. Rough Draft Atlanta reported that the first parade on February 7 ran down Virginia Avenue from Arcadia Street to North Highland Avenue, then continued to the Fontaine's Oyster Bar parking lot for an after-party. The next one is listed for January 30, 2027.
That adds a parade to the district's late-winter calendar. Speaking to Rough Draft about Porchfest, Wheeler described the board's approach in these terms: "Every year we're thinking about how to further support our local businesses and add things people will enjoy beyond just the music." Mardi Gras in January, Porchfest the Saturday after Mother's Day, the market from April to November, then the Candy Crawl, Virginia Row and Winterfest. Taken together, these events now cover most months of the year.
The association asks for monthly "insider" contributions and also takes direct donations and event sponsorships. Porchfest is still the largest single source of fundraising, and Rough Draft names the farmers market among the events it helps sustain. The association's annual meeting is on the district calendar for October 21.
At Crochet Realty Group, we pay attention to which events keep foot traffic moving on North Highland and Virginia Avenue, because that local activity shapes how Virginia-Highland homes are valued. If you're thinking about what your home is worth here, Get Your Home Value from a team that knows the district's calendar.
