Weekend Buzz: Nov. 21, 2025

Much more to do in town with the federal government's museums, galleries, and exhibits reopening (Think Zoo Lights!) Nearby, there's a new show at Falls Church Arts, a Little City Concerts performance, holiday crafting at Cherry Hill Farmhouse, a Welcoming Falls Church dinner with foods from around the world, a rockin' musical at Meridian High School, a Winter Walk of Lights for Kids, and Solace Brewery's holding a Washington Spirit NWSL Championship Match Watch Party on Saturday night. There's also ice-skating at The Wharf, a Holiday Art Show & Sale at Glen Echo, and all the latest in local music, dance, theater, film, visual arts, and history. Enjoy!

Enjoy a Welcoming Community Dinner!

Welcoming Falls Church's Community Thanksgiving

Monday, Nov. 24, 6- 8:00 p.m. in the MEH Cafeteria.

Join us for a community Thanksgiving celebration, with delicious food and conversation with friends who share the joy of welcoming! Dinner will be provided but we welcome contributions of food from around the world. Families are welcome, and we will organize activities for kids!

 Please RSVP to let us know you're coming.

If you are able to help out, please sign up here.

Enjoy Holiday Crafting!

Moravian Stars Workshop

Cherry Hill Farmhouse, 312 Park Ave., Sunday, Nov. 23, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Cost: $10 per person, registration required, or free to Friends of Cherry Hill members.

Ever wondered how to make a multi-pointed moravian star? Now’s your chance to find out! Join Gretchen Wilmouth, who has perfected the folding technique, as she guides you step-by-step through the process of creating these dazzling holiday decorations. She’ll be joined by Maureen Budetti, who will assist throughout the session. All materials will be provided, and by the end of the workshop, you’ll have a few beautiful stars to take home and enjoy! 

For more info go here.

Honor Native American Heritage Month

Native Cinema Showcase: Shorts 2025

National Museum of the American Indian, National Mall, Fourth St. & Independence Ave. SW, Nov. 21-28.

November is Native American Heritage Month. So, here's a chance to honor indigenous narratives and perspectives.

The National Museum of the American Indian’s Native Cinema Showcase is an annual celebration of the best in Native film. This year, the museum highlights an array of film shorts featuring a diverse range of Indigenous stories and perspectives.

All shorts are available to stream free: Stream Shorts.

For more info go here. 

LOCAL MUSIC

Little City Concerts

A Tribute for Trans Day of Remembrance: In Memory of Sam Nordquist

The Falls Church Episcopal, 166 E. Broad St., Saturday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.

Falls Church City pianist Mary Voutsas presents a program for Trans Day of Remembrance, featuring the music of trans/andina composer inti figgis-vizueta, alongside works by Franz Liszt and Gabriel Faure. Other collaborating artists include percussionist Nik Francis, clarinetist and drag performer Kirby the Drag Queen, and painter Zhenya Parish, who will execute a new oil painting during the concert. The goal of this performance is to bring together several artists to create a space in our community of Falls Church City that honors those who have lost their lives to anti-transgender violence, and to memorialize Sam Nordquist, a transgender person who was killed in February, 2025. We hope to create a space for reflection, and ultimately, support and awareness.

Our nonprofit partner for this event will be Safe Space NoVA; 50% of ticket sales will be donated to Safe Space NoVA. Safe Space NoVA's objective is to create spaces where LGBTQ+ youth feel valued, respected, and supported in expressing their identities authentically. At the core of their efforts is the belief that all young people, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, deserve to thrive in environments that affirm their identities and celebrate their diversity. 

Please stay for our post-concert reception, generously sponsored by Freddie's Beach Bar and Restaurant in Arlington. 

50% of ticket sales donated to Safe Space NoVA.

Admission: $25 general admission, free for students/youth.

For ticket info go here. 

Live Salsa Night!

Tonight! ~ State Theatre, 220 North Washington St., Friday, Nov. 21, Doors open: 7:30 p.m. Showtime: 9:00 p.m.

Tickets: $25 General Admission. $30 Day of Show.

¡Salsa Night is Back at The State!

Get ready to dance the night away with an electrifying Live Salsa Performance! — featuring all the rhythms that make your heart race and hips move!

Salsa Dance Class at 8:15 p.m. with a pro instructor — beginners welcome! Live Music Starts at 9:00 p.m. — classic hits from the Golden Age of Salsa that’ll keep you on your feet!

TWO spacious dance floors. Full food & drink menu.

Bring your friends, your energy, and your best moves. ¡Vamos a bailar!

For ticket info go here.

Celtic Underground

Clare & Don’s Beach Shack, 130 North Washington Street, Saturday, Nov. 22, 6:00 p.m.

Celtic Underground, known for its "Acoustic Irish folk with a touch of Americana," is excited to return to Clare and Don's Beach Shack this Saturday! Join us 5:30-8:30 p.m. for tasty dinner and your favorite Irish and Americana tunes.

For more info go here. 

Old Town Hall Performance Series ~ Halley Shoenberg New Orleans Jazz

Stacy C. Sherwood Center, 3740 Blenheim Blvd., Fairfax, Friday, Nov. 21, 8:00 - 9:30 p.m.

Tonight's lively group performs traditional New Orleans Jazz & Swing styles from Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller & Benny Goodman. Highlights include “Royal Garden Blues,” "Clarinet Marmalade,” and Halley’s original Caribbean tune, “Melting Pot Gumbo.” The Swingtet (horn/rhythm/vocals) performs crowd-pleasers for dancing and listening audiences!

Sponsored by the City of Fairfax Commission on the Arts.

For more info go here.

Les Arts Florissants, with Théotime Langlois de Swarte, violin

Tonight! ~ Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Coolidge Auditorium, Whittall Pavilion, Friday, Nov. 21, 8:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Free, but tickets required. Pre-Concert Meet-the-Artists: 6:30 p.m.

Part of Concerts from the Library of Congress.

“..de Swarte’s solo playing …steals the show: pliant, expressive, wild and virtuosic.”  ~ BBC Music Magazine  

Violinist Théotime Langlois de Swarte leads the acclaimed French Baroque ensemble Les Arts Florissants in an exhilarating concert celebrating the 300th anniversary of Antonio Vivaldi’s Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons). Their partnership is creating a sensation this year, gathering kudos for dramatic, revelatory interpretations of Vivaldi’s now-classic concertos, paired with striking companion pieces by his predecessors: Monteverdi, Uccellini and Geminiani. This will be a not-to-be-missed performance of The Four Seasons as you have never heard them — inventive and daring, a rich tapestry of colors and textures. Expect dazzling artistry and impeccable technique from this starry group of longtime colleagues, an ensemble setting standards for period instrument performance since its founding by William Christie in 1979.

The event is free, but tickets are required (See below) and there may be special restrictions.

Pre-concert Conversation with the Artists, Whittall Pavilion, 6:30 p.m.

For ticket info go here. 

Beatrice Berrut, piano

Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, Coolidge Auditorium & Whittall Pavilion, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Pre-Concert Conversation with Artist: 12:30 p.m.

Part of Concerts from the Library of Congress.

The fantastical imagination of composer-pianist Beatrice Berrut draws from the innumerable possibilities of the piano’s sound. Highly regarded for her 2021 recording of Franz Liszt’s late works, Berrut has released a number of revelatory accounts of Liszt’s music, alongside her latest album that features some of her own music and transcriptions. The Library holds essential primary source materials for Liszt’s first elegy and his three funeral odes, highly personal works drawing on a vast array of references. We will also hear Liszt’s piano transformation of Camille Saint-Saëns’ symphonic poem Danse macabre, before two transcriptions written by Berrut herself: the Andantino from Gustav Mahler’s sixth symphony and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice by Paul Dukas. It will be a rare occasion to hear the music of Mahler and Dukas in the Coolidge Auditorium. 

The event is free, but tickets are required, and there may be special restrictions.

Request ADA accommodations five business days in advance at (202) 707-6362 or ADA@loc.gov.

Pre-concert Conversation with the Artist, Whittall Pavilion, 12:30 p.m.

Program

FRANZ LISZT Elegie no. 1 Trois odes funèbres 

CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS/LISZT Danse macabre 

GUSTAV MAHLER/BEATRICE BERRUT Andante moderato from Symphony no. 6 

PAUL DUKAS/BERRUT L'Apprenti sorcier (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) 

For ticket info go here.

C.J. Chenier and John "Papa" Gros

With the Red Hot Louisiana Band

Wolf Trap, The Barns, 1635 Trap Road Vienna, Friday, Nov. 21, 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 22, 8:00 p.m. (Limited Availability). Doors open: 6:30 p.m.

Bayou Boogie! A 100^th Birthday Celebration of Clifton Chenier!

You’re invited to Creole legend Clifton Chenier’s birthday bash! Led by world-renowned accordionist C.J. Chenier (son of the celebrated Louisiana musician), beloved New Orleans keys player and Papa Grows Funk bandleader John "Papa" Gros, and The Red Hot Louisiana Band, this bayou boogie promises to be a one funky party! Experience the group's deep Americana roots on full display for this centennial celebration of Creole culture and Zydeco music.

Presented in collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, The National Council for the Traditional Arts, and St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission in celebration of Clifton Chenier’s centennial birthday and the upcoming release of Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco on Smithsonian Folkways.

Tickets Start at: $70.50 (incl. fees).

For ticket info go here. 

Virginia Opera: Cinderella (La Cenerentola)

George Mason University Center for the Arts, 4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, Saturday, Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 23, 2:00 p.m. (Followed by a meet-and-greet with the performers).

The Center welcomes back Virginia Opera with Cinderella (La Cenerentola), Rossini’s beloved retelling of the classic fairy tale. Amidst the glimmering splendor of 18th-century Italy, a kind-hearted dreamer rises above her misfortunes in search of love and her rightful place in the world. This magical, family-friendly production will captivate with its sparkling music, timeless charm, and a heartwarming happily-ever-after that is sure to leave audiences of all ages smiling. Sung in Italian with English surtitles.

This performance is appropriate for all ages. The 2:00 p.m. performance will be audio-described. 

Run Time: approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including a 25-minute intermission.

Tickets: $116, $76, $45; half-price for youth through Grade 12. Prices include fees.

The program for this performance will be available the week of the event. View digital program. A pre-performance discussion, moderated by Dewberry School of Music Professor Richard Leech, begins one hour prior to the performance.

A limited quantity of free student tickets will be available two Tuesdays prior to the event. Learn more.

Following the performance: Families can enjoy a special meet-and-greet with Cinderella and the Prince after the Sunday, November 23 matinee performance, and take selfies with the fairytale couple, creating a magical memory to treasure.

Program is subject to change.

This performance is sponsored by Joyce Goche-Grimes. And:

For ticket info go here.

Andreas Ottensamer, Kian Soltani, and Alessio Bax

Clarinet, Cello, and Piano

Limited Tickets! ~ The Phillips Collection, Sunday Concert, Nov. 23, 4-6:00 p.m.

Internationally celebrated soloists and frequent collaborators Alessio Bax, Andreas Ottensamer, and Kian Soltani bring a lyrical program drawing from the rich yet relatively sparse repertoire for piano, strings, and clarinet. Known for his insight and consummate technique, Bax launched to international fame following his first prize finish at the 2000 Leeds International Piano Competition and the 1997 Hamamatsu International Piano Competition. He's gone on to be an in-demand soloist and chamber music partner as well as the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant. Ottensamer is considered one of the leading clarinetists of our time and has held the position of principal clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 2011. An in-demand conductor, he's also led orchestras worldwide including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Münchener Kammerorchester, and the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg. Soltani, renowned for his depth of expression, sense of individuality, and technical mastery, has attracted worldwide attention since winning the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki, Germany’s celebrated Leonard Bernstein Award and the prestigious Credit Suisse Young Artist Award.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Piano Trio in B-flat major and Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet Trio in A minor bookend the program, which will also include arrangements of Felix Mendelssohn’s Songs Without Words, and duos for cello and piano.

Program

Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Trio in B-flat major, Opus 11 “Gassenhauer”

Work for cello and piano, TBA

Intermission

Felix Mendelssohn Selections from Song without Words

Johannes Brahms Clarinet Trio in A minor

For ticket info go here. 

LOCAL DANCE

XXI FUEGO FLAMENCO FESTIVAL

GALA Hispanic Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW.

21st Annual Flamenco Festival | 21° Festival Anual de Flamenco

Honorary Producer | Productora honoraria: Lynne Horning

November | Noviembre 6 - 22, 2025

Featuring U.S. and international artists in an expanded three-week festival!  | Con la presentación de artistas internacionales y de Estados Unidos en un festival de tres semanas.

Enjoy all the shows and save 20% with our Festival Pass | Disfruta los tres espectáculos y ahorra 20% con nuestro Pase de Festival. GET FEST PASS | COMPRAR PASE DE FESTIVAL 

LAS MUJERES QUE HABITAN EN Mí

Created by | Creada por Irene Lozano. Compañía Flamenca Irene Lozano (Spain)

November | Noviembre 21 - 22, 2025

WORLD PREMIERE | ESTRENO MUNDIAL

Performances: Friday and Saturday at 8 pm | Funciones: Viernes y sábado a las 8 pm

BUY TICKETS

A soulful journey through the women Irene has been-and couldn't be.

Un viaje al alma y a las mujeres que Irene fue y no pudo ser.

Lozano is accompanied on stage by singers José Cortés and José Díaz "Cachito", guitarist José Manuel Alconchel, and percussionist Diego "El Negro" Álvarez.

Tickets for each show: Regular tickets are $50 Premium Center, $45 Orchestra Standard, $35 Orchestra Value, and $25 Balcony Value; $35 Seniors (65+), Military, and Groups (10+); $25 25 and Under; Noche de GALA: Chosen ticket price + $5 (per person). To purchase tickets online for groups (10+), use code 10Plus.

Boletos para cada espectáculo: Los boletos regulares cuestan $50 Premium Center, $45 Orchestra Standard, $35 Orchestra Value y $25 Balcony Value; $35 adultos mayores, militares y grupos (10+); $25 personas de 25 años o menos; Noche de GALA: Precio de boleto elegido + $5 (por persona). Para adquirir boletos online para grupos (10+), usa el código 10Plus.

For ticket info go here.

LOCAL THEATER

Rock of Ages

Meridian H.S., 121 Mustang Alley, Thursday, Nov. 20; Friday, Nov. 21; Saturday, Nov. 22. Doors open: 7:00 p.m. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m.

Don’t Miss The Show Everyone Will Be Talking About!

Come support Meridian High School students and enjoy a fantastic evening ~ you won’t want to miss it!

Show runs about 2 hours with an intermission this Friday, and Saturday starting at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $15, students $5 cash at door.

For ticket info go here. 

Peter Pan and Wendy

Final Weekend! ~ Creative Cauldron, 127 E. Broad St. Fridays at 7:30 p.m.; Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Runs: November 7 - 23.

When Wendy meets Peter, the little boy who refuses to grow up, the adventure for the Darling children begins. With a few magical thoughts they learn to fly and Peter leads them on an adventure of a lifetime! ​

Tickets: Adults: $20. Students: $18. Family 4 Packs: $65 (Use code 4PK). *Limited Offer

Sponsored By: Halm Jenkins PLLC.

For ticket info go here. 

Sylvia

Nova Nightsky Theatre, Falls Church Presbyterian Church, Memorial Hall, 225 E. Broad St. Through Feb. 6.

When Greg brings home a stray dog named Sylvia, his marriage takes an unexpected turn. A witty, heartwarming comedy about love, loyalty, and the messy joy of rediscovering connection — in marriage and in life.

For ticket info go here. 

Light Up The Sky

George Mason School of Theater, deLaski Performing Arts Bldg., A105, TheaterSpace, Fairfax Campus. Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 22 at 2:00 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m.; and, Sunday, Nov. 23 at 2:00 p.m. Post-Show Talkback: Nov. 21, 7:30 p.m.

Written by Moss Hart. Co-Directed by Adia Spezza and Andy Brown.

Tickets: General Public: $24. Seniors: $14. Students: $14. (Including fees).

In this comedic love letter to life in the theater business, young playwright Peter Sloan anxiously awaits feedback on the opening night performance of his newest work, surrounded by the adoring crowd of his jubilant producer, delighted performers, dramatic director, and ambitious friends. When the play seems to flop, delight turns to dismay, and everyone looks for someone to blame. But is the show really the failure it seems to be? And can everyone involved ride out the rollercoaster of the night and stay friends? Filled with charismatic players, surprising shenanigans, and rapid-fire dialogue, Light Up the Sky proves there’s no business like show business. Co-directed by senior School of Theater students Adia Spezza and Andy Brown, this laugh-out-loud production brings audiences behind the curtain and into the madcap mayhem of theater life.

The program for this performance will be available the week of the event. View digital program.

FREE TICKETS: A limited quantity of free student tickets will be available two Tuesdays prior to the event. Learn more.

For more info go here. 

A Christmas Carol

Just Opened! ~ Ford’s Theatre, 511 Tenth Street, NW. Through Dec. 31.

Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. Originally conceived by Michael Baron, this music-infused production captures the magic and joy of Dickens’s Yuletide classic, with familiar characters, ghosts and a children’s ensemble in the spirit of the holidays. Acclaimed actor Craig Wallace returns to play Ebenezer Scrooge in Ford’s annual tradition heralded as a “rich visual and vocal treat” (TheaterMania) and “infectiously jolly” (The Washington Post).

Duration: two hours including one intermission. Recommended for ages 5 and older.

Accessible:

Audio-Described Performances:  Dec. 4, at 7:00 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 2:00 p.m.

ASL-Interpreted Performance: Dec.4, at 7:00 p.m. and Dec. 13, at 2:00 p.m.

Sensory Friendly: November 23, 2025 at 2 p.m.

For ticket info go here. 

Fiddler on the Roof

Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington. Through Jan. 26.

The iconic musical gorgeously staged in-the-round in Signature’s intimate setting and directed by Joe Calarco (Jesus Christ Superstar, Gypsy).

Tevye, a poor Jewish milkman, his family and their tight-knit community honor tradition but must contend with a changing world and a rise in antisemitism at their home in Czarist Russia.  

The glorious score with songs “Sunrise, Sunset,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” and “Matchmaker,” unite with exquisite dance in this classic of the musical theater canon filled with humor, heart – and life.

“One of the most glowing creations in the history of musical theater” ~ The New York Times

• Running time: approximately 2 hours, 50 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
• Show will use flashing lighting effects, loud noises and theatrical haze.
• Show explores social and political issues including religious intolerance/threats, and has one scene depicting antisemitic violence.
• Recommended for ages 13+. Signature does not admit anyone under 6.

For more info go here. 

Hadestown

Final Weekend! ~ National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. November 18 - 23.

"SUMPTUOUS. GORGEOUS. AS GOOD AS IT GETS."

~ Jesse Green, The New York Times, NYT Critic's Pick

COME SEE HOW THE WORLD COULD BE.

Welcome to HADESTOWN, where a song can change your fate. Winner of eight 2019 Tony Awards including Best Musical and the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, this acclaimed new show from celebrated singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell and original director Rachel Chavkin (Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) is a love story for today… and always.

HADESTOWN intertwines two mythic tales — that of young dreamers Orpheus and Eurydice, and that of King Hades and his wife Persephone — as it invites you on a hell-raising journey to the underworld and back. Mitchell’s beguiling melodies and Chavkin’s poetic imagination pit industry against nature, doubt against faith, and fear against love. Performed by a vibrant ensemble of actors, dancers and singers, HADESTOWN is a haunting and hopeful theatrical experience that grabs you and never lets go.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation is available for the following performance: Thursday, 11/20/2025 @ 7:30 p.m. Additional requests for sign language interpretation may be made by emailing boxoffice@broadwayatthenational.com. Requests must be made at least two weeks in advance and are pending availability.

For more info go here. 

ho ho ho ha ha ha ha

Woolly Mammoth, 641 D ST. NW. Runs: Nov. 13 - Dec. 21.

Last time she was at Woolly, she sold out the house, earned Helen Hayes Award nominations, and left D.C. audiences roaring (and maybe questioning what just happened). Now, award-winning Estonian clown Julia Masli returns to Woolly with a holiday remix of her international hit ho ho ho ha ha ha ha.

In ho ho ho ha ha ha ha, Julia once again sets out to solve problems in her own off beat style — only this time, they’re holiday problems. From family meltdowns to gift-related despair, she’ll tackle it all with no script, no plan, no guarantees.

It’s bold. It’s warm. It’s wildly unpredictable. And it might just be the most uplifting chaos you’ll experience all season.

“★★★★★” ~ Brian Logan, The Guardian

“★★★★★ A strange and beautiful masterpiece” ~ Tim Harding, The Telegraph“

★★★★★” ~ Georgia Evans, Time Out

“…hilarious and deeply affecting…” ~ DC Theater Arts“… funny and, at times, downright hilarious as well as warm and hopeful.” ~ MD Theatre Guide

ASL INTERPRETED PERFORMANCES: Friday, Dec. 12, 8:00 p.m.

OPEN CAPTIONED PERFORMANCES: Sunday, Nov. 23, 5:00 p.m.

Audio Described PERFORMANCES: Saturday, Dec. 6, 5:00 p.m.

MASK REQUIRED PERFORMANCE: Tuesday, Nov. 25, 8:00 p.m.

Childcare Matinee: Sunday, Dec. 7, 5:00 p.m.

For more info go here. 

A CASE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

Mosaic Theatre, 1333 H St. NE. Runs: Nov. 13 - Dec. 7.

A moving story of fatherhood, friendship, and finding hope where you least expect it.

By SAMUEL D. HUNTER. DIRECTED BY DANILO GAMBINI.

MacArthur “Genius” grant recipient Samuel D. Hunter’s intimate, powerful play is a thoughtful meditation on human resilience. Inside a small office in southern Idaho, two men struggle to understand the confounding terms of a mortgage loan while connecting over the joy and pain of fatherhood. The pair form an unlikely friendship, using humor to find hope in the face of heartbreak.

Hailed as a New York Times Critic’s Pick, this moving new play is a testament to the power of finding one’s own community in the face of loneliness.

“…at times tense and tenuous, at others mutually affirmative…“A Case for the Existence of God” is …touchingly resonant.” ~ The Washington Post

For more info go here. 

The Last Five Years

Final Weekend! ~ NextStop Theatre, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon. Runs through Nov. 23.

Written & Composed by Jason Robert Brown. Directed by Aria Velz.

Is the breakdown of a marriage an ending or beginning? The Last Five Years follows two New Yorkers, rising author Jamie and aspiring actress Cathy, as they fall in and out of love over the course of half a decade. This gut-wrenching, iconic musical, with an acclaimed score by Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown, explores how a couple, once united by their dreams, could stray so far from each other as their paths diverge. Told from two opposite timelines, Jamie and Cathy’s perspectives intertwine in a story of love, ambition, and heartbreak.

If You’re Into:

• La La Land 
• Adele’s divorce album ‘30’
• Marriage Story
• Past Lives 

Expect:

• Diverging paths in relationships  
• Picking a side after a breakup         
• Balancing career and relationships  
• The fine line between success and failure as an artist

For more info go here.

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

Final Weekend! ~ Synetic Theater, Thomas Jefferson Theatre, 125 S. Glebe Rd., Arlington. Runs: Nov. 1 - 23.

Directed by Paata Tsikurishvili.

In a barren world at humanity's end, a man dares to steal fire and bring life to the dead — only to create something he cannot control. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s classic, this bold reimagining trades candlelit laboratories for storm-ravaged wastelands, where rhythm, ritual, and elemental force breathe life into a new Creature.

A visually raw and immersive meditation on grief, hubris, and what it means to remake ourselves when the world has collapsed, Synetic's Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus is a myth forged in real time. Both intimate and epic, it asks not only what it means to create life, but what kind of life is worth creating.

PLEASE NOTE – this is a new work, and as such, is in active development until it opens. Runtime is estimated at 95 minutes, but may vary, as new works aren't locked until they open!          

Tickets: $35-$65. Parental guidance advised for young children.

For ticket info go here. 

An Enemy of the People

By Henrik Ibsen

Final Weekend! ~ Theater J, 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW. Through Nov. 23.

By Henrik Ibsen. In a new adaptation by Amy Herzog. Directed by János Szász.

Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding Adaptation and recent Broadway sensation, Amy Herzog’s work unearths the relevance of Ibsen’s tale for our time, weighing the cost of standing up to power when pressured into silence. Ibsen’s tale highlights the reverberating power of citizens who go against the status quo to do what’s right by their community. The story raises powerful questions around the importance of keeping society healthy over economic gain, integrity within influence, and the personal cost of speaking up.

The story follows a small-town doctor who considers himself a proud, upstanding member of his close-knit community. When he discovers a catastrophe that risks the lives of everyone in town, he raises the alarm. But he is shaken to his core when those in power, including his own brother, try not only to silence him, but to destroy him.

Run Time: 2 hours and 45 min., incl. one intermission.

Content Disclosure: This production of An Enemy of the People includes strobe lighting, theatrical haze, sudden loud noises, and the use of herbal cigarettes OR  water-based e-cigarettes, simulated violence. 

For ticket info go here. 

Lizzie the Musical

The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Through Nov. 30.

Ripping the Lid Off the Legend of Lizzie Borden!

Get ready to rock… and bleed! On October 31, Keegan unleashed LIZZIE, the ferocious punk-rock musical that rips the lid off the legend of Lizzie Borden.

Fueled by rage, retribution, and a blistering all-female rock score, LIZZIE reimagines the infamous 1892 axe murder in a show that’s equal parts gothic horror, riot grrrl rebellion, and rock concert. LIZZIE is a visceral, unapologetic thrill ride. Blood will spill. Guitars will wail. Justice will scream.

Writers: Steven Cheslik-deMeyer, Tim Maner, and Alan Stevens Hewitt. Director & Choreographer: Jennifer J. Hopkins. Music Director: Marika Countouris.

“The most authentically kick-ass rock musical score since HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH” ~ Orlando Weekly

For more info go here. 

Hello, Dolly!

Olney Theater, Roberts Main Stage, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, Md. Through Jan. 4.

"Some people paint, some sew ... I meddle!"

Dolly Gallagher Levi is a woman on the make. And what’s she making? Whatever you need. A husband? A wife? Dance lessons? Pierced ears? There’s never been a more indefatigable figure in American musical theatre, and perhaps that’s why the role has served as a vehicle for some of our greatest stars, from Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey, to Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler.

Now, the DMV’s reigning musical superstar, Nova Y. Payton (World Goes 'Round), takes on the title role of a musical that churns out laughs, songs, and over-the-top antics as fast as humanly possible… and then goes a little faster. Audiences of all ages are guaranteed a great time at this classic musical about love, second chances, and the magic of an adventure to the big city! 

Tickets: $42 - $133 (service fees inclusive).

Age Guidance: If this were a film, it would be rated PG.

For ticket info go here. 

Fremont Ave.

Extended! ~ Arena Stage, Kreeger Theatre, 1101 6th St. SW. Through Dec. 7.

All the Cards are on the Table.

A soulful new dramatic-comedy about love, legacy, and, of course, a cutthroat game of Spades.

Written by Reggie D. White and directed by Lili-Anne Brown, Fremont Ave. is a raw, electric world premiere that moves across decades with the force of memory and the rhythm of Spades. From young love and big dreams to buried resentment and unmet expectations, three generations of Black men face off at the card table and come face-to-face with each other. At the center of it all is the family’s formidable matriarch: beloved, feared, and never forgotten. What begins as a game becomes a reckoning with masculinity, identity, and the weight of silence passed down. Fremont Ave. lays every card on the table and dares you to do the same.

By: Reggie D. White. Directed by: Lili-Anne Brown. A Co-Production with South Coast Repertory.

• Running Time: Approx. 2 hours, 25 minutes, including one 15-minute intermission.
• Advisories: Contains mature language and sexually suggestive content.

Fremont Ave. is the recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

For ticket info go here. 

LOCAL FILM

Speaking in Tongues

National Gallery of Art, East Bldg. Auditorium, Saturday, Nov. 22, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

Part of Film Legacies of the Black Arts Movement.

Doug Harris's 1982 avant-garde jazz film Speaking in Tongues was funded by German Public Television and broadcast throughout Europe when it was first released. The now rarely seen work features saxophonist David Murray, percussionist Milford Graves, and poet-playwright and novelist Amiri Baraka, and serves as a tribute to Albert Ayler, a tenor saxophonist who was a leader in the free-style jazz movement before his mysterious death in 1970. (Doug Harris, 1982, analogue video to digital, 75 minutes).

Programmed in conjunction with the exhibition Photography and the Black Arts Movement: 1955-1985, open from September 21, 2025 to January 11, 2026.

To register  go here. 

BeDevil 

National Gallery of Art, East Bldg. Auditorium, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.

Part of Star-like Cinema: Films by Indigenous Australians.

The first feature film directed by an Australian Aboriginal woman, Tracey Moffat’s debut feature BeDevil was inspired by ghost stories she heard as a child from her extended Aboriginal and Irish Australian family. Moffatt constructs a trilogy in which characters are haunted by the past and bewitched by memories, with all three stories set in her highly stylized, hyper-real, and hyper-imaginary Australian landscape. In the first story Mister Chuck, a young boy is fascinated and terrified by a swamp that is haunted by the ghost of an American GI. Choo Choo Choo Choo finds a family living by railroad tracks haunted by strange happenings. The mother, played by Moffatt, is drawn to the tracks at night as she senses the horror of a past tragedy. The final story, Lovin’ the Spin I’m In, follows a woman who resists eviction attempts by her landlord so she can keep vigil for her dead son. (Tracey Moffatt, 1993, DCP, 90 minutes)

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition The Stars We Do Not See: Australian Indigenous Art.

To register go here. 

LOCAL VISUAL ARTS

Kinship

Opens Tomorrow! ~ Falls Church Arts, 700-B West Broad St. Meet the Artists Reception: Saturday, Nov. 22, 7-9:00 p.m. Through Jan. 4.

Check out Falls Church Arts's new all-media show, "Kinship," featuring "works that reference the bonds between or among communities, families, cultures, or other groups."

Meet the Artists Reception: 7:00-9:00 pm, Saturday, Nov. 22.

Juror: Glen Kessler

Location: Falls Church Arts Gallery and online.

Becoming the Unaine

A shared work by Liz Louise Johnson & Tereua Miracle Oliphant Kaintoka

Last Weekend! ~ Mason Exhibitions Arlington, 3601 Fairfax Dr., Arlington. Through Nov. 22. Open: Wednesday, 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Thurs. - Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Unaine (UUU - nye - neh) is a Kiribati (KEE - ruh - bes) word that means a respected elderly woman of wisdom.

Kiribati is located in the central Pacific Ocean and straddles the equator. It's located roughly halfway between Hawai’i and Australia.

Becoming the Unaine is a collaborative exhibition by photographer Liz Louise Johnson and linguist Tereua Miracle Oliphant Kaintoka. Johnson lived in Kiribati for eighteen months between 2013 and 2014, and after returning to the United States, studied Kiribati language and culture in a university course taught by Kaintoka, an i-Kiribati scholar. It was the first university-level course dedicated entirely to the culture and language of the small island nation of 112,000 people. Johnson was in the very first classroom, and Kaintoka was the very first professor. It was in this classroom learning about dialects and rituals that a seed was planted, one that would grow, years later, into the beginnings of this project.

Years later, the two reunited and returned to Kiribati to create a project that allowed them to step into a shared circle: a love of the Kiribati people and language, and the common ground of womanhood. It was in this space that Becoming the Unaine was created. 

The project centers on the translation of the Kiribati word unaine: a respected elderly woman of wisdom. Johnson and Kaintoka recreated chronologically the arc of womanhood starting with pregnancy and continued through menarche, and marriage. It weaves together one lived life through 16 women at different ages. 

This weaving is significant. Kiribati, a low-lying island nation in the central Pacific, is among one of the most vulnerable places on earth to climate change. Recent reports warn that the islands are predicted to become uninhabitable within the next 30 to 50 years. With this urgency in mind, Becoming the Unaine gathers stories from what may be one of the last generations of women to live in an uninterrupted lineage on their ancestral land. This exhibition marks a moment in time when the land, the language, and the people are still united.

For more info go here. 

Current Artist in Residence: Zaq Landsberg

Final Weekend! ~ Museum of Contemporary Art, Arlington, 525 14th Street S. Arlington. Residency Dates through Nov. 23.

Current Artist in Residence:  Zaq Landsberg is a Brooklyn based artist. He specializes in large scale, site-specific sculptures, absurd objects and potentially treasonous conceptual art projects. Much of his work involves things that look like other things.

Residency Dates Through Nov. 23: visit him in studio while he’s here!

Artist Studio: The Innovation Studio + Store hosts a six-to-eight-week Artist Residency, during which, the artist develops and creates work, interacts with the public, and shares about their artistic practice and process. Drop in to meet the artist, learn more, and even, engage in making some art alongside them.

Free Public Event: Saturday, Nov. 22, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. — Family Friendly Art Workshop: Wearable Sculptures!

For more info go here. 

Colorburst

Stacy C. Sherwood Center, 3740 Blenheim Blvd., Fairfax, Through December 19.

Colorburst showcases artistic creations across all genres, unified by their emphasis on bold and vibrant colors as the primary thematic element. Carefully curated by The Rogue Art Project, this exhibition features powerful interpretation of color realized through a diverse array of materials, spanning the spectrum from realism to abstraction. EnChroma eyewear available. Open during business hours.

For more info go here. 

Material Acts of Resistance: Michèle Colburn

Founders Gallery at Mason Square, Van Metre Hall Lobby, Mason Square Campus, 3351 North Fairfax Drive, Arlington. Open daily, 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Through Feb. 6.

Material Acts of Resistance: Michèle Colburn brings together a selection of mixed-media works that transform the materials of conflict into meditations on endurance, vulnerability, and dissent. Through the use of gunpowder, wire, thread, and burnt paper, Colburn reconfigures symbols of violence into gestures of reflection and renewal. Her practice explores how the act of making can itself become a form of resistance, translating the volatile into the contemplative, and the destructive into the poetic.

Courtesy Arlington Arts.

For more info go here. 

Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection

The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St., NW. Through: Feb. 15.

Special Exhibition

Coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the United States, Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection is a celebration and examination of the beauty and complexity of this nation’s history. Presenting artists well-known and understudied from the permanent collection, Out of Many builds a dynamic story about how, from the early 20th century to the present, various artists have imagined and depicted the people, cultures, landscapes, and histories of the United States. To tell a more diverse constellation of stories, the exhibition includes artworks from the historic collections of African American art at Howard University Gallery of Art and The David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, among other institutions. 

For more info go here. 

Hiromi Isobe: Can I See?

Museum of Contemporary Art, Arlington, 3550 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Through Nov. 30.

MoCA Arlington is pleased to present Can I See?, a solo exhibition by MFA Candidate Hiromi Isobe, on view in the Jenkins Community Gallery.

In Can I See?, artist Hiromi Isobe works across media including painting, mixed media, fiber and sculpture to give form to the invisible systems that shape our world. Charting Isobe’s interest in scientific study, spirituality and existential queries, Can I See? is both a question and a practice: an ongoing search for understanding that offers answers through the act of creation.

Isobe’s work embraces uncertainty as a space for discovery. Rather than seeking clear answers, Isobe approaches art-making as an inquiry, guided by her innate sense of wonder and sensitivity. Using the recurring motif of the circle, layered and highly tactile materials, and fancifully imagined characters, Isobe poetically visualizes emotional states and the threads that connect individuals to the cosmos.

A key sculptural element of the exhibition, My World, features hand-crafted characters and forms that inhabit a fictional realm. There, Isobe’s characters enact an allegorical narrative about interconnectedness and individuality. By weaving together whimsical figures with organic structures, My World combines playfulness and complexity, exploring ideas about belonging, memory, and the ways we construct meaning.

In its quest to express the ineffable, Can I See? is both a question and an invitation: to pause, reflect, and imagine what lies beyond the visible.

For more info go here. 

“Bernard (Bernie) Boston Retrospective: A Photojournalist, Social Justice Advocate, and Family Man”  

McLean Project for the Arts, 1234 Ingleside Ave., McLean. Open: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Through Feb. 24, 2026.

McLean Project for the Arts (MPA) will open its next Atrium Gallery exhibition, Bernard (Bernie) Boston Retrospective: A Photojournalist, Social Justice Advocate, and Family Man, on Thursday, November 6, 2025, with an Opening Exhibition Reception from 4-6:00 pm. 

An award-winning photo journalist, Bernie Boston made history by becoming the first African American member of the White House press corps, covering every president from Truman through Clinton. Boston was a long-time McLean resident, and former Chairman of the McLean Community Center Governing Board (1977-1979). The Atrium Gallery exhibit will feature framed photographs from his fascinating, decades-long career. 

Phoebe Mills Farris, Ph.D. (Powhatan-Pamunkey) — a retired Purdue University professor emerita, photographer, and freelance art critic — curated the exhibition. 

‘We’re very excited about the exhibit. It’s something new for us, as we usually only work with living artists, and Bernie was more of a journalistic photographer than a strictly artistic one. We are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate and build community with Historic Pleasant Grove Church,” said Nancy Sausser, MPA Artistic Director.

The exhibit is a collaboration between MPA and the Friends of Historic Pleasant Grove Church in McLean and will be held concurrently in MPA’s Atrium Gallery and at the Historic Pleasant Grove Church. An opening reception for the Pleasant Grove Church exhibition will be held Saturday, November 8, 2025, from 3-5:00 p.m., and will include light refreshments. Visit www.historicpleasantgrove.org to RSVP.

The MPA Atrium Gallery is available for viewing during McLean Community Center operating hours. The Historic Pleasant Grove exhibition is available for viewing November 23, from 2-4:00 p.m.; December 7 and 21, from 2-4:00 p.m.; January 11 and 25, from 2-4:00 p.m.; and February 8 and 22, from 2-4:00 p.m.

Bernard (Bernie) Boston Retrospective: A Photojournalist, Social Justice Advocate, and Family Man runs through February 24, 2026. The McLean Project for the Arts Emerson Gallery Visit www.mpaart.org for exhibition information. To learn more about Bernie Boston, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Boston.

For more info go here. 

Imagining Together: 

Share Your Memories and Dreams

Mosaic Arts, The PARC Gallery at Tysons, 8508 Leesburg Pike, Tysons.

MosaicARTs Gallery is proud to partner with Celebrate Fairfax to present Imagining Together: Share Your Memories and Dreams — a community art show that brings together artists of all ages from across the DMV. This special exhibition features work by young artists (ages 7–17) as well as emerging and established adult artists (18+). Through painting, drawing, mixed-media, and more, participants share personal memories and dreams, creating a heartfelt and inspiring collection of stories told through art.

Imagining Together celebrates creativity, connection, and imagination across generations. It’s a space where different voices come together to explore what unites us — and what makes each of us unique. Join us as we celebrate the power of art to bring people together.

For more info go here. 

Wild Spaces by Lisa Green

Rare Bird Coffee Roasters, 230 W. Broad St. Free and open to the public. Through Jan. 11.

Local landscape artist Lisa Green will present her new solo exhibition, Wild Spaces, at Rare Bird Coffee Roasters in Falls Church from October 13 through Jan. 11.

Wild Spaces invites visitors to step away from the daily rush and reconnect with the rhythms of the natural world. Through her paintings, Green explores meadows, mountains, and coastlines where shifting light, rich textures, and open space create a sense of presence and wonder.

“Noticing wild spaces, whether they’re vast landscapes or a patch of meadow by the roadside, is essential to my everyday life,” says Green. “When we pay attention to the beauty around us, we build a sense of connection and responsibility. I hope these paintings encourage people to see and value the natural world so that it can be protected and enjoyed by others for years to come.”

The collection includes a range of colorful oil paintings and black and white ink wash paintings, from intimate 8x10 pieces to larger works up to 36x36 inches. All pieces are available for purchase through Green’s website, with QR codes onsite linking directly to the online shop.

Lisa Green is a Herndon–based artist whose work reflects her deep connection to the landscape. Her paintings are collected nationwide and recognized for their luminous color and sense of place.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during Rare Bird’s regular business hours.

For more info go to: www.lisagreenfineart.com.

Rik Freeman: Wade in the Waters

The Phillips Collection, Phillips@THEARC Exhibition, 1801 Mississippi Ave., SE. Free and in-person. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 12-5:00 p.m., and second and third Wednesdays open until 8:30 p.m. Through Feb. 19.

Pioneering D.C. artist Rik Freeman has been creating paintings and murals that focus on the African diaspora for over three decades. Wade in the Waters features artworks that engage themes of history, community, resilience, joy, and faith. The power and rhythm of water flows through the paintings — from the beaches of Bahia to the Anacostia River — sharing stories of both survival and triumph. Through a kaleidoscope of narratives, the exhibition draws from several of Freeman’s series, exploring waterways and their connection to the diaspora over generations. 

About Rik Freeman 

A native of Athens, Georgia, Rik Freeman began his professional career as an artist in Washington, D.C. in 1989, painting numerous murals throughout the metropolitan area. Some of his most notable commissions are “Ode to Barry Farms” (2016), Barry Farms Recreation Center; “KNOWLEDGE” (2011), Dorothy I. Height Library, “Learn From Your Past” (2011), H.D. Woodson High School, “Shaw Rhythms” (2003), Washington Convention Center; “ARL@200” (2002), Arlington County Courthouse; and “A Libertade de Maria Felipe” (2012), library in Itaparica, Brazil.

Freeman has widely exhibited his works on canvas, including at the Honfleur Gallery, Hill Center, and the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. From 2008-11, Freeman’s critically acclaimed series “The Chittlin’ Circuit Review,” based on the early history of Blues music, toured seven venues in seven states. Currently he's working on his series “Black Beaches During Segregation,” which began in 2022 with the support of the Honfleur Artist-in Residence fellowship and award. He is also continuing his series “BAHIA!,” about the African contribution to Brazil’s history and culture and based in part on his two residencies at Instituto Sacatar in Itaparica (2011 and 2015).

For more info go here. 

Material Witness

Rubell Museum DC, 65 i Street SW. Through Fall, 2026.

Material Witness presents 30 of today’s most compelling and innovative artists employing non-traditional materials and processes. Squid ink, Coca-Cola, ostrich eggs, anointing oil, lipstick, discarded metal, and animal hides are several of the preformed, natural, and unnatural mediums incorporated into three-dimensional works that expand upon the storied legacy of assemblage — a critical approach to artmaking that was first formalized in the 1961 exhibition The Art of Assemblage at New York’s Museum of Modern Art.

With echoes of land art, Arte Povera, abject art, and readymades these artists employ industrial waste, organic detritus, and mass-produced commodities to explore formal, environmental, political, and social concerns. Found objects in various entropic states provide the backbone for many of these works, illuminating cycles of consumption, decay, and renewal.

Material Witness spans 23 galleries across the museum’s three floors and presents individual artist rooms as well as group presentations connecting artists who share similar materials and motives. For many of these artists, Material Witness represents their first exhibition in our nation’s capital or at the Rubell Museum.

For more info go here. 

Basil Kincaid: Spirit in the Gift

Rubell Museum DC, 65 I Street SW. Through Fall, 2026.

Basil Kincaid: Spirit in the Gift marks the first solo museum exhibition in Washington D.C. for Kincaid (b. 1986, St. Louis, Missouri). Four large-scale quilted artworks created during the artist’s residency at the Rubell Museum in Miami in 2023 will be presented in the D.C. museum’s largest gallery. Kincaid’s work pays homage to the long history of quilt-making while exploring the relationships between identity, ancestry, and place. Some themes are deeply personal and autobiographical, others are more universal, but all evoke the joy inherent in the artist’s love for and nurturing of community. The entailed and labor-intensive process of creating these monumental works is balanced by an improvisational, spontaneous, and fluid quality that runs throughout them. The result is as indebted to freehand drawing and jazz music as it is to patchwork quilt making and embroidery.

For more info go here. 

A Land and 河/River

Tephra Institute of Contemporary Art, 12001 Market St., #103, Reston. Through Dec. 20.

Kimberly M. Becoat & Hong Hong

A Land and 河/River explores the powerful and intricate relationship between place, our histories, and imaginings of self. Artist Kimberly M. Becoat uses acrylic paint, sumi ink, and watercolor as well as tar paper, candy wrappers, and other detritus to investigate the idea of urban displacement. Her series, Seneca Village – Everywhere explores the idea of Seneca Village; a 19th Century free-black community of landowners in New York City that was removed for the construction of Central Park. Learn more about Seneca Village here.

Hong Hong’s work 河/River is her first thematic, research-based project that considers her personal relationship with water. The paper-based installation imagines and presents water as a long-form poem, documenting the river as meteorological occurrences, the artists’ birth, her family’s immigration process, and texts she and her mother both love. Hong Hong (whose last name means flood) makes no distinction between our symbolic understanding of water, its nurturing properties, or its ability to destroy or divide.

For more info go here. 

Fairfax Art League's New Fall Show

LOCAL HISTORY

Founding Frenemies

Fairfax Museum & Visitor Center, 10209 Main St., Fairfax. Open: 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Through Dec. 8.

Virginians were among Alexander Hamilton's most influential allies and his worst enemies. Hamilton’s relationships with these Virginians helped shape the character of the United States, its founding institutions, and patterns of civil discourse still felt today. 

This traveling exhibit will be located at the Fairfax Museum & Visitor Center from October 29 - December 8. The museum is closed on Tuesdays.

For more info go here. 

Nurture Animals!

Feeding Animals

NOVA Parks, Potomac Overlook Regional Park, 2845 Marcey Rd., Arlington. Nov. 26, 3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

The holidays are a time to appreciate friends, family, and of course… FOOD! Potomac Overlook's animals are just as hungry as we are, so come help us feed the turtles, snakes and birds with a bountiful feast of mealworms, mice and more! NOVA Parks' Naturalist will introduce you to many of the Nature Center animals, and let participants feed a few of them as well. 

• $10 per participant for ages 5 and up. Any attendee over 5 (to include adults) is considered a participant.
• Children must be accompanied by an adult.
• Meet at the Nature Center.
• All participants must register in advance.

To register go here. 

Light Up at the National Zoo!

Zoo Lights

Opens Tonight! ~ Smithsonian's National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Nov. 21 - Jan. 3, 5:00 - 9:30 p.m., Mondays - Saturdays.; 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Sundays. Last entry 30 minutes before end of event.

Celebrate the holidays at ZooLights! Enjoy twinkling lights and a festive atmosphere as this beloved winter classic returns to the Smithsonian's National Zoo. Journey through magical displays of glowing animal lanterns, watch live musical performances, sip hot cocoa and other festive treats, and explore the Zoo under the dazzling glow of one million environmentally-friendly LED lights.

ZooLights is a family-friendly, conservation-minded holiday tradition — each visit helps support the Zoo’s mission to save species and protect habitats worldwide.

General Admission: $9 per guest (ages 2 and up).

Member Night (Dec. 9–11): Free for members (limit 6 tickets per membership).

Adults-Only Date Night (Dec. 17): $19 per person.

Parking: $30 per vehicle.

For ticket info go here. 

LOCAL SPORTS

That's the Spirit!

Enjoy a Watch Party: Spirit vs. Gotham in the NWSL Championship Final!

Solace Outpost, 444 West Broad Street, Saturday, Nov. 22, 8:00 p.m.

Rise Up! [clap, clap] DC!

Come watch the Washington Spirit take on NY Gotham in San Jose. Game will be on throughout the building, sound on in the Game Room.

For more info go here. 

Attend a Holiday Art Show & Sale

Glen Echo Holiday Art Show & Sale

Glen Echo, Partnership Galleries, Through Jan. 4. For Hours, See Below. (Hours May Vary.)

With so many unique gifts, the Holiday Art Show & Sale is a great place to shop for everyone on your holiday list! The show features the Park's resident artists and instructors, as well as other invited guests with works in:

Glass  |  Ceramics  |  Photography  |  Painting  |  Jewelry  |  Holiday Ornaments  | and more!

The Park's major resident visual arts organizations are represented, including the Art Glass Center, Glen Echo Glassworks, Glen Echo Pottery, SilverWorks, Photoworks, the Sculpture Studio, the Stone Tower Studio, and the Yellow Barn Studio.

Hours: Holiday Hours and Gallery Closures listed on the Holiday Art Show & Sale Page.

Popcorn Gallery & Stone Tower Gallery: Thursdays & Fridays, 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays, 12:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Park View Gallery: Monday - Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Partnership Galleries.

Admission: FREE

For more info go here. 

LOCAL RECREATION

Time to Sharpen Those Skates!

Southwest Skates! Preview of The Wharf Ice Rink

The Wharf Ice Rink, 970 Wharf St. SW, Nov. 23, 1:00 – 5:00 p.m. Free. Limited Availability (First-Come, First-Served).

Get a preview of The Wharf Ice Rink!

On November 23, The Wharf Ice Rink will open for a preview of the rink from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for everyone. If you're a Southwest D.C. resident, you skate for free — including free ice skate rental. Please bring proof of Southwest D.C. residency (ZIP code 20024 on a D.C. license, college ID, school ID, or other government-issued ID).

Limited availability on a first-come, first-served basis, with each free session starting on the hour and lasting about 50 minutes. Anyone under 16 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to participate. The Wharf Ice Rink officially opens on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 and will remain open every Wednesday-Sunday through February.

For more info go here. 

Enchant the Little Ones!

Winter Walk of Lights: Kids Nights

Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court, Vienna, Monday, Nov. 24, 5:30 - 10:00 p.m.

Children ages 2-12 years will be admitted for free when accompanied by a paying guest. The free child does not need a ticket. Paying guests may purchase tickets at the door and online. This buy-one, get-one discount cannot be combined with other discounts or specials. No refunds on prior purchased tickets.   

Learn more about Meadowlark's Winter Walk of Lights, taking place November 7 through January 4.

By Christopher Jones