How much of a Stone Ridge holiday season do you need to book ahead? The Stone Ridge Association's November and December calendar has six dates. Only two of them come with a clock-time deadline, and they fall a month apart. Online ticket sales for Friday's bingo night close Thursday, Nov. 5, at 9 p.m. The line to see Santa at Nettle Mill Clubhouse closes at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. The Festival of Lights and the tree lighting don't list any tickets. The decorating contest takes place in your own front yard.
So the season is mostly about being in the right place at the right hour. The calendar below runs in that order, starting with the one event that needs a purchase.
Thursday night is the only ticket deadline
The Ugly Holiday Sweater Friday Bingo Night is Friday, Nov. 6, at Nettle Mill Clubhouse, 24609 Nettle Mill Square. It starts at 6 p.m. The association calls it the final bingo night of the year. It is also the only event on the season's calendar with a price, and the HOA is strict about who needs a ticket: "Every attendee must purchase a ticket, whether playing or simply attending. Due to limited space, we cannot accommodate spectators."
Advance tickets are $8 per person. On the Eventeny ticket page, checkout shows $8.83 because of an 83-cent processing fee, and online sales end "November 05th, 2026 at 9:00 pm EDT." At the door, admission is $10. The HOA warns that tickets may sell out and that walk-ins can't always be admitted. That makes Thursday evening the real decision point for Friday night. Buying online comes to $1.17 less than the door price, even with the fee, and gets you a ticket before the event can sell out in a room the association says has limited space.
Here's what the $8 covers and what costs extra, as the association lists it:
- Included with each ticket: 10 bingo cards, a slice of pizza and a soft drink
- Extra pizza slice or drink: $1 each
- Another set of 10 cards: $10
- Dauber: $1
Winners get gift cards from local businesses. The HOA also welcomes nonperishable donations for the Dulles South Food Pantry, so a can or two in your coat pocket fits the night. The HOA page lists an 8 p.m. finish and Eventeny lists 9 p.m., so plan on a 6 p.m. start and a flexible end.
Nov. 14 moves the season to Tall Cedars Parkway
The next event needs no ticket. It also moves away from the clubhouse. The Festival of Lights: A Diwali & Tihar Celebration runs Saturday, Nov. 14, from 3 to 6 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room at Arcola Elementary School, 41740 Tall Cedars Parkway. According to the Eventeny listing, parking is in the school lot. The organizer hasn't published any tickets for it.
The schedule includes a marketplace of local vendors, activities for kids, a rangoli competition, cultural performances and a cultural fashion showcase. Food is Indian and fusion chaat from The Masala Club. The association describes it as "open to all Stone Ridge residents." The Eventeny page asks that pets stay home. With a three-hour afternoon window and nothing to buy in advance, the only real planning is picking when to arrive. The chaat and the vendor tables are reasons to come earlier rather than later.
Arcola Elementary is also part of the December calendar. Its chorus is one of the groups singing at the tree lighting.
Dec. 5 splits between the clubhouse and the lake
The first Saturday in December has the season's second cutoff. It also has the two events families are most likely to want on the same day, and they're five hours and one neighborhood loop apart. Here's how the day runs from the association's event pages:
- 10 a.m. Visit with Santa opens at Nettle Mill Clubhouse, 24609 Nettle Mill Square.
- 12:30 p.m. The line for Santa closes.
- 1 p.m. The clubhouse event ends.
- 6 p.m. The 7th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting starts on Mineral Springs Circle at Stone Ridge Lake.
- 7 p.m. The tree lighting ends.
The morning event is where the clock matters. The association's October–December roundup puts the rule plainly:
"The line for Santa will close at 12:30 PM. Please be sure to be in line by this time to guarantee your visit with Santa. Guests who arrive after 12:30 PM are welcome to enjoy the activities, but we may not be able to accommodate late arrivals for photos with Santa."
That half hour between the line closing and the event ending is the only stretch of the season when arriving late costs you something you came for. Until then, the clubhouse becomes Santa's Toy Factory, with twinkling lights, a North Pole red carpet at the entrance and sweet treats for families waiting their turn. Eventeny shows no published tickets, and the HOA page lists no admission price.
Families who catch Santa before 12:30 have the whole afternoon free before the lake. The evening has no line and no tickets. It's built around the Champe Choral Cluster. The HOA's event page lists the Arcola Elementary Chorus, Goshen Post Elementary Chorus, Gum Springs Middle School and John Champe Choir. A food truck serves hot chocolate, which the Eventeny listing says is free. The HOA also lists hot apple cider, fresh coffee and baked goods from the truck but doesn't give prices for them. As with the Festival of Lights, the listing asks that pets stay home.
The lighting is scheduled for one hour, from 6 to 7 p.m., so a 6:30 arrival catches only the second half.
Local businesses hoping to set up at either Dec. 5 event should know the association doesn't allow solicitation of any kind at its private events without prior authorization. It points businesses to its Events Manager to ask about exhibiting.
The last event happens on your own street
The season ends without a venue. The Holiday House Decorating Contest wraps up on Dec. 18, and the association's roundup says registration opened Nov. 1. So the contest is already taking entries when this calendar reaches its first event. Its timeline overlaps everything above, from the bingo night through the tree lighting.
The roundup gives the Dec. 18 date and the registration opening but not this year's categories, entry deadline or judging dates. The Stone Ridge Association events page is the place to check before the lights go up. The events page itself lists bingo, the Festival of Lights, Santa and the tree lighting, plus association meetings and office closures, and no other seasonal public event through December.
One more date, at the same clubhouse, isn't a holiday event. The Stone Ridge annual meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at Nettle Mill Clubhouse, four days after bingo in the same room. Residents who want a say in next year's calendar have another option. The association's Activities Committee meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m., and the roundup invites neighbors to bring event ideas. December's first Tuesday is Dec. 1, four days before Santa and the tree lighting.
Here's the whole season in order, with the cutoffs that matter:
- Thu., Nov. 5, 9 p.m.: Online bingo ticket sales close
- Fri., Nov. 6, 6 p.m.: Ugly Holiday Sweater Friday Bingo Night, Nettle Mill Clubhouse, $8 in advance or $10 at the door
- Tue., Nov. 10, 7 p.m.: Annual meeting, Nettle Mill Clubhouse
- Sat., Nov. 14, 3 to 6 p.m.: Festival of Lights, Arcola Elementary Multipurpose Room
- Sat., Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Visit with Santa, Nettle Mill Clubhouse, line closes at 12:30
- Sat., Dec. 5, 6 to 7 p.m.: Holiday Tree Lighting, Mineral Springs Circle at Stone Ridge Lake
- Fri., Dec. 18: Holiday House Decorating Contest wraps up
The Bill Davis Team keeps track of calendars like this one across Loudoun County because neighborhood life is part of what our clients ask us about. If you're thinking about what your Stone Ridge home is worth before the new year, The Bill Davis Team can put together your free home value report between the bingo night and the tree lighting.
