Washington, D.C

The Weekend Scene: Downtown Holiday Market and more to do around DC, through Nov. 23

Published

8 months ago

November 20, 2025

The Weekend Scene: Downtown Holiday Market and more to do around DC, through Nov. 23

Happy “Wicked: For Good” opening weekend! After you see the movie, let your stan flag fly with drink specials, trivia and karaoke – there’s even a one-day choir where singers can channel their inner Ariana Grande or Cynthia Erivo. Check out our roundup here.

Swap your pink and green for yellow to cheer on the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League championship Saturday night. Watch parties will be happening at Franklin Hall, metrobar and across the Spirit Bar Network.

Grocery shopping, traveling and/or welcoming family into town might be your focus on the last weekend before Thanksgiving, but make some time to enjoy festive fun all over the D.C. area.

Weekend weather: The weekend might start with rain before the weather takes a turn for the better. Here’s the forecast.

D.C. highlights

Downtown Holiday Market
Nov. 21 to Dec. 23, F Street NW (between 7th and 9th streets), free entry
🔗 Details

Browse dozens of vendors while picking up gifts for everyone on your nice list.

The market is right outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, so why not check out some art before shopping?

Family-friendly
ZooLights
Nov. 21 to Jan. 3, National Zoo, $9
🔗 Details

The National Zoo was closed for weeks during the government shutdown, but ZooLights is happening, and it’s opening on time. You can visit Friday, Saturday and Sunday, plus more days into the new year. Read more and see the full list of ZooLights dates here.

“Our team has been working around the clock to make ZooLights happen,” the National Zoo’s Director of Business Operations, Nikki Mounts, said.

The shutdown is gone, and Zoo Lights is on. News4’s Tommy McFly has a preview of the National Zoo’s annual holiday attraction.

One million environmentally friendly LED twinkle lights and more than 100 animal lanterns await visitors as they wind down the zoo’s main walkway, dotted with scenes of rainforests, deserts and pandas.

We suggest buying tickets in advance for this popular event.

D.C.’s free Umbrella Art Fair returns for its fifth year. News4’s Eun Yang talks with one of the organizers about what to expect.

Free & family-friendly
Umbrella Art Fair
Fri. to Sun., The Square at International Square (1850 K St NW)
🔗 Details

One of the biggest showings of art is back again, showcasing more than 100 artists’ work across over 35,000 square feet in downtown D.C. Expect to see work by Autumn Spears, Rose Jaffe, Alex Solis, Tracie Ching, Jessie and Katey, Tom Kim (aka Death by Narwhals) and more.

It’s the Umbrella Art Fair’s fifth year. It will be open to the public 6-10 p.m. Friday, noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Family-friendly
Washington Harbour Ice Rink opens
Opens Thurs., Georgetown Waterfront, $9-$11 admission, $7 skate rental
🔗 Details

One of D.C.’s most scenic ice rinks is back for the winter season! Glide near the Georgetown waterfront until 8:30 p.m. on work nights and 10:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and during winter break (Dec. 22-31).

The rink is even open on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s (check holiday hours on their website).

Want to make a day of it? We shared suggestions on what to do nearby in this edition of The Weekend Scene newsletter.

Maryland highlights

Family-friendly
LuminoCity’s Wonder Journey holiday lights festival
Through Jan. 1, Montgomery County Fairgrounds, peak admission, including taxes and fees, costs $33.47 (child)/$40.23 (adult)
🔗 Details

Step into a wintery fairy tale filled with lights spanning 12 acres. Don’t miss the red heart slide in the “Alice in Wonderland” zone.

Beyond the lights, you can visit dozens of roaring life-size dinosaurs, boogie on an LED dance floor or dig for fossils. You can also pay extra for train rides, a safari dig and a bounce zone.

Free & family-friendly
Holiday Share Fair
Sat., Black Hill Discovery Center in Boyds
🔗 Details

An old coat that’s too small? Boots you just don’t wear? A board game you’ve outgrown? If you’re decluttering before the holidays or looking for winter gear on a budget (i.e. FREE!), we’ve got the spot.

Imagine a trunk-or-treat for adults where “Givers” are invited to dress up their tables of fun finds.

Family-friendly
Festival of Lights – Bikes and Lights
Sun., in Upper Marlboro, $5
🔗 Details

Put a unique spin on your holiday lights tradition by biking through the enchanting displays in Watkins Regional Park.

This display with thousands of bulbs is usually a drive-through experience, so biking by will be extra special.

Virginia highlights

Free & family-friendly
Alexandria Holiday Tree Lighting with Santa
Sat., 6-8 p.m., near Alexandria City Hall (301 King St.)
🔗 Details

Take a stroll down King Street to Market Square for Alexandria’s tree lighting ceremony, which is expected to begin at or shortly after 6:40 p.m., followed by live music.

Make sure to stick around to watch Santa roll in on the King Street Trolley! Mr. and Mrs. Claus will greet families until 8 p.m.

Alexandria Cider Festival
Sat., Lloyd House (220 N. Washington St.), $55 or $25 for designated drivers
🔗 Details

Sample cider, enjoy live music and join in on tavern games at the Llyod House in Old Town. It’s a great opportunity to explore the historic Georgian house, one of five such buildings that still exist in Alexandria.

Concerts this weekend

Robyn Hitchcock, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, The Atlantis, $45.30

Listen to your elders. The Bob Dylan of alternative rock first made the scene in the ‘70s with psychedelic folk rock cult heroes The Soft Boys. Since then, with the Egyptians and later on as a solo act, the British singer/songwriter spent decades delighting fans with his surreal lyrics brimming with biting wit, as well as his esoteric stage banter. Not the artist to tell to shut up and play. In song and shtick, his storytelling is welcome and deserving of audience attention. Details.

Die Spitz, 7:30 Thursday, Black Cat, $26.40

Austin, Texas, quartet takes a wild and heavy approach to rock ‘n’ roll, leaning toward punk but too varied to pigeonhole. All things heavy — and wild. Band members trade instruments and share vocal responsibilities, with even the drummer getting out from behind the kit to take her turn at the mic. Their high-energy live shows will find them hanging from the rafters. Matching that energy — potentially upstaging it — North Carolina queer punk band Babe Haven opens. Details.

The OBGMs, 8 p.m. Thursday, Pie Shop, $21.44 (advance)/$24.54 (day of)

The Toronto punks’ music is thrilling, in your face and thought provoking. Their last two LPs — moving toward more accessible alternative rock — were shortlisted for Canada’s Polaris Prize. Details.

Silvana Estrada, 6 p.m. Friday, 9:30 Club, $45.30

Mexican singer/songwriter with a gorgeous, gently fluttering voice. The folk music of her country prevails, but her modern take is informed by many other styles. Her vocals need no translation to convey the emotion in her songwriting. Details.

American Analog Set, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Miracle Theatre, $40

This indie band from ‘90s Austin, Texas, shuffled along at the pace of Yo La Tengo’s mellow moods while involving the krautrock of Stereolab and post rock similar to that of The Sea and Cake and even decelerating into slowcore. They call this set “Magic Hour,” consisting of songs from their original run of six albums. (The band took another 18 years to release a seventh LP in 2023.) Details.

More to do in D.C.

Frosted at Franklin Park: Nov. 21 to Jan. 7, downtown D.C., free

Concert – Sir Chloe: Fri., Lincoln Theatre

Punk Rock Flea: Sat., noon to 5 p.m., St. Stephen & the Incarnation Episcopal Church, free entry

DowntownDC Holiday Market: Nov. 21 to Dec. 23, F Street NW, free entry

Theater – “ho ho ho ha ha ha ha” with Julia Masli: Through Dec. 21, Woolly Mammoth, $49

Theater – “Hadestown”: Through Sun., National Theatre

More to do in Maryland

Montgomery County Thanksgiving parade: Sat., 10 a.m., Silver Spring, free

Thanksgiving coaster craft: Sat., Brentwood Arts Exchange, free

Pyramid Atlantic Art Center 10×10 art sale: Nov. 22 opening reception, on view through Jan. 4, Hyattsville, free entry

Movies on the Potomac – “The Grinch”: Sun., 2 p.m., National Harbor, free

More to do in Virginia

Pet Nights With Santa: Mondays from Nov. 17 to Dec. 8., Tysons Corner Center lower level, free

Buffalo Plaid Christmas Wreath Workshop: Thurs., 6 p.m., Ono Brewing Company in Chantilly, $67 per person

Herndon Turkey Trot 5k: Sat., 4 p.m., Herndon Community Center, $25-$45

Alexandria Holiday Tree Lighting with Santa: Sat., 6-8 p.m., near Alexandria City Hall (301 King St.), free

Alexandria Cider Festival: Sat., Lloyd House (220 N. Washington St.), $55 or $25 for designated drivers

Winter Lantern Festival: Opens Thurs., Tysons, $18.99-$25.99

Want to know what’s up for your weekend? Sign up for The Weekend Scene, our newsletter about events, experiences and adventures for you and for your family around the DMV.

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Washington, D.C

About 120 Iowa National Guard soldiers leave today for D.C. deployment – Radio Iowa

Published

3 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

Dozens of Iowa National Guard soldiers leaving Iowa today will spend the next six months serving in Washington, D.C..

Last August, President Trump issued an executive order declaring there was an epidemic of crime in the nation’s capitol and he immediately mobilized National Guard troops from the District of Columbia. The Pentagon then started asking state guard units to deploy to D.C. and made a request of Governor Kim Reynolds last year. “They asked earlier and I said no because we had one of the largest deployments that we’ve had for a long, long time and I just felt we were stretched pretty thin,” Reynolds said.

In May of last year, nearly 2000 Iowa National Guard soldiers were deployed to the Middle East. The final group of those soldiers returned to Iowa last month. Reynolds said the Pentagon “circled back” recently and asked her to send a group of Iowa Guard soldiers to D.C. and she’s deployed 120 Iowa Guard soldiers to D.C. “to ensure the safety and security” of people who are in the nation’s capitol, “especially with everything that’s going on with the 250th birthday of our country,” Reynolds said, “and so we were able to participate and do our share.”

Reynolds told reporters the federal government will pay the entire cost of the deployment. Reynolds will speak this morning at a private send off ceremony for the Iowa Guard soldiers before they leave for D.C. There were over 5000 National Guard troops in Washington this past Sunday, including 185 from Nebraska and over 100 from Minnesota.

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Washington, D.C

Why Gov. Kim Reynolds turned down previous request to send National Guard to D.C.

Published

13 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Why Gov. Kim Reynolds turned down previous request to send National Guard to D.C.

DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — One hundred and twenty members of the Iowa National Guard are leaving Friday for Washington, D.C., where they will assist with security measures and America 250 celebrations at the request of the Trump administration.

Reynolds initially said no

Gov. Kim Reynolds said she had previously declined the Trump administration’s request, citing the strain of one of the state’s largest recent deployments.

“They asked earlier, and I said no because we had one of the largest deployments that we’ve had for a long, long time and I just felt that we were stretched pretty thin,” Reynolds said.

Nearly 2,000 Iowa National Guard members had spent a year or more deployed to the Middle East. Those soldiers have since returned home.

Guard members now available following Middle East return

With those troops back, Reynolds said Iowa was in a position to fulfill the president’s request.

“We have them all back. They circled back, especially with everything that’s going on with the 250th uh birthday uh of our country. And so we were able to participate and do our share,” Reynolds said.

Different states have sent National Guard members to Washington, D.C., since last August.

Reynolds said the federal government will pay the costs of Iowa’s deployment to Washington, D.C.

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Washington, D.C

Metro Red Line Summer Shutdown: Changes to shuttle bus service after concerns

Published

23 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Metro Red Line Summer Shutdown: Changes to shuttle bus service after concerns

WASHINGTON – Metro riders are seeing changes Thursday morning as WMATA adjusts its shuttle bus system following concerns about long lines and confusion tied to the Red Line summer shutdown.

Express shuttles to North Bethesda will now only pick up on Wisconsin Avenue near the Trader Joe’s. Local shuttles serving Bethesda, Medical Center and Grosvenor have been moved to the Friendship Heights Metro station, while some regular Metrobus routes are picking up on Western Avenue.

Red Line Shuttle Service Updates

• Local shuttle boarding will be relocated to Bus Bay K – the current C83/D96 bus stop on Wisconsin Ave.
• C83 and D96 buses will be relocated to the bus shelter on Western Ave near Wisconsin Ave.
• Express shuttle boarding will remain in the 5300 block of Wisconsin Ave NW.

What we know:

FOX 5’s Melanie Alnwick says Red Line riders say the shutdown has added time to their commute, though many are trying to stay positive. The shuttles connect North Bethesda and Friendship Heights through September 6, when Purple Line construction is expected to wrap up.

Metro Red Line summer shutdown leads to long shuttle lines

Metro Red Line Summer Shutdown: Changes to shuttle bus service after concerns

The workaround relies on dedicated shuttle bus lanes along northbound and southbound Wisconsin Avenue/355 and up to Rockville Pike. But truck drivers, delivery drivers and passenger vehicles have been stopping or parking in those lanes, forcing shuttles to go around and slowing traffic.

Metro and Montgomery County police have increased enforcement to keep the lanes clear. Metro Transit Police say they asked more than 60 drivers to move out of the bus lanes in the first days of the shutdown.

Metro is also adding about 100 parking spaces at Friendship Heights in the former Lord & Taylor garage. Some Montgomery County riders are opting for the MARC train downtown instead.

Metro’s Red Line shutdown is now in full effect: Here’s what you need to know