September 27 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Come by our booth!!

The annual Purcellville Green Expo called Hail to the Trail will take place on Sunday, September 27, 2026 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Chapman DeMary Trail. Hail to the Trail is free and open to the public, and fun for families, students, and scouts. During the annual event, you can explore this 10-acre area which is considered to be the last stand of old-growth forest in the Town, meet local environmental experts, participate in fun hands-on activities to learn about nature and the environment, help plant trees, listen to live music, learn about native plants and wildlife, and participate in the Town’s annual Arbor Day Celebration with recognition from the Virginia Department of Forestry for the annual Tree City USA designation. Follow Hail to the Trail on Facebook!

2026 Participating Organizations and Activities

• Barlett Tree Experts – get a free tree seedling
• Girl Scout Council Nation’s Capital – decorate a bird feeder to take home
• Imagine Well Being – explore nature with your five senses
• Keep Loudoun Beautiful – play a game about how long items take to decompose
• Loudoun Beekeepers Association – find the queen bee in the observation hive and check out beekeeping tools and supplies
• Loudoun County Building and Development – count tree rings and match leaves
• Loudoun County Health Department/Loudoun Targets Lyme – learn about tick prevention and how to remove a tick
• Loudoun County Master Gardeners – identify seeds and fruits of plants found at the Chapman DeMary Trail
• Loudoun Soil and Water Conservation District – check out a display of wildlife bones 
• Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy – jump like a frog and examine animal scat, tracks, and animal skulls
• Parks and Recreation Advisory Board – play a nature memory game and go on a nature scavenger hunt
• Purcellville Arts Council – make pinecone birdfeeders to place along the trail and to take home
• Purcellville Library—create a nature bookmark with dried flowers and leaves
• Sweet Run State Park (Department of Conservation and Recreation) – use animal track stamps to make your own nature bookmark and examine animal skulls, furs, scat, and more
• Town of Purcellville Water Division – take a water taste test to see if you can tell which is bottled water and which is Town water
• Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee – play a nature trivia game to test your knowledge and win a prize; decorate a packet and fill it with native flower seeds for your garden
• Virginia Master Naturalists, Banshee Reeks Chapter – identify plaster casts of native wildlife, learn about the life cycle of beetles, frogs, and butterflies; identify furs
• Go on a nature trivia walk and get all of the answers to win a prize
• Help us plant trees
• Participate in the Town’s annual Arbor Day Celebration and Tree City USA recognition
• Enjoy live music by Willie White
• Get a free slice of pizza
• Help us recognize scouts and volunteers for their environmental projects in the Town of Purcellville
• Get your face painted 
• Complete the Hail to the Trail passport to win a prize

The Purcellville Green Expo/Hail to the Trail is hosted by the Purcellville Tree and Environment Sustainability Committee, a standing committee of the Town of Purcellville that focuses on environmental programs, sustainability, enhancement of the tree canopy, and continuation of the Town’s Tree City USA designation. 

October 4 @ 12:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Registration opening in September:

Where:  We’ll be meeting at the Quarterpath Trace Community Center, at 20430 Quarterpath Trace Circle, Sterling, which is at the intersection of Algonkian Pkwy and Quarterpath Trace Circle. Restrooms will be available at the Quarterpath Trace Community Center.

We require registration for everyone who’d like to participate. We are trying to assign areas beforehand to be more prepared and help things move smoother. There is a cut off limit as to how many people participate. 

We will provide safety vests, gloves, bags, grabbers, fruit, granola bars and water. Please remember to bring your own reusable water bottle! In line with our mission, this will be a “plastic bottle-free zone”.

SCOUT TROOPS – We have KLB patches for the Scouts! Please indicate in the sign up your troop number, age of kids, and the number of kids and adults participating. Please just have the leader fill out 1 registration for whole troop.

HELP US FIND MORE LOCATIONS TO CLEAN:
If you have seen litter in the Cascades area (park, roadway, school, anything) that is in need of folks to clean up, please email rdwoodr123@gmail.com and report it so we can add it to our list of areas to clean up.

COMMUNITY SERVICE HOURS:
Since the Cascades Trash Bash is a community service event, it qualifies for community service hours for your school, scout troop, or other organization. Just be sure to bring your forms for us to sign