Washington, D.C
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.
Washington, D.C
‘It’s a twilight zone’: Iran war casts deep shadows over IMF gathering in Washington
The most severe energy shock since the 1970s, the risk of a global recession and households everywhere stomaching a renewed surge in the cost of living – hitting the most vulnerable hardest.
In a sweltering hot Washington DC this week, the message at the International Monetary Fund meetings was chilling: things had been looking up for living standards around the world. But then came the Iran war.
“Some countries are in panic,” said the fund’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, addressing the finance ministers and central bank bosses in town for the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. “The sooner it [the Iran war] ends, the better for everybody.”
Such gatherings are not typically used to fight geopolitical battles. “You don’t get people shouting at one another at these things,” one senior figure remarked. But, as a record-breaking April heatwave swept the US capital, no one could ignore the mounting damage from the Iran war.
Those familiar with the mood over breakfast at a meeting of the G20’s representatives on Thursday, which included Donald Trump’s treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and the outgoing US Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell – said the atmosphere in the room was sombre amid an open exchange of serious views.
“It is such a twilight-zone meeting,” said Mohamed El-Erian, a former IMF deputy managing director who is now chief economic adviser at the Allianz insurance group. “There are several shadows hanging over it: one is the shadow that comes from concern about the global economy as a whole.
“The second is that some countries are going to be particularly hard hit, and it’s mostly countries that very few people are talking about. But the third concern is the adding of insult to injury: the fact that the US, which started a war of choice, is going to be hit, but by a lot less than elsewhere in relative terms.”
Before Thursday’s breakfast, Rachel Reeves had started her day with an early-morning jog. Joined by her counterparts from Spain, Australia and New Zealand for a run down the iconic National Mall, she posted an Instagram selfie with a not-so-subtle dig: “Friends that run together – work together.”
A day earlier, the chancellor had told a CNBC conference that she thought “friends are allowed to disagree on things” as she criticised Trump’s Iran war as a “mistake” and a “folly” that had not made the world safer.
Speaking at a venue just steps away from the White House, before a one-on-one meeting with Bessent, she said this “fair message” was needed because UK families and businesses were feeling the pain from higher energy prices triggered by the conflict.
Those close to Reeves insist her meeting remained cordial. Britain and the US have significant shared interests in AI, financial services and trade. The chancellor also said the UK government had little time for the Iranian regime.
But with the IMF having warned on Tuesday that the Iran war could risk a global recession – in which Britain would be the biggest G7 casualty – it was clear Reeves had travelled to Washington ready to pick a fight.
“I’m struck by how vocal she has been and the words she used,” said one global financier. “We know the disagreement between Bessent and [European Central Bank president] Christine Lagarde earlier in the year. But that was in private.”
At a cocktail party held at the British ambassador’s residence for hundreds of diplomats and financiers – including the Bank of England’s governor, Andrew Bailey, the chief executive of Barclays, CS Venkatakrishnan, and dozens of senior figures – this transatlantic tension, weeks before King Charles’s US state visit, was a major topic of conversation.
The other, in the balmy residence gardens, was one of its former occupants, Peter Mandelson, as revelations about the former ambassador’s appointment threatened to further rock the UK government.
Before the war, the agenda for the IMF had been about global cooperation; the adoption of AI, jobs and work to eradicate poverty. Each of those tasks had now been complicated, but not least the task of countries working together.
For many at the meetings, the focus was on forging closer global cooperation without the world’s pre-eminent superpower.
“Everybody is talking about how you hedge against American decisions,” said David Miliband, the former UK foreign secretary, who now runs the International Rescue Committee. “You can’t do without them, because they’re 25% of the global economy. But, in a lot of fora, they’ve pulled out.
“So everyone has to think, how does one structure international cooperation? The old west is not coming back. And so everyone has to figure out how to position themselves for that world.”
For those gathering in Washington, there was irony in the fact that they were meeting in the halls of institutions founded, under US leadership, to promote global cooperation after the second world war. The whole idea of the Bretton Woods institutions was to avoid the dire economic conditions and warfare of the 1930s and 1940s. Yet this year’s meeting was taking place amid these intertwining problems.
In their conversations about the best economic policy response to the shock of conflict, the economists also knew the real power to make a difference lay two blocks across town from the IMF and the World Bank – behind the security cordons and construction equipment blocking the White House from public view. “It is not clear they can do anything about it,” said El-Erian.
Still, with a booming economy driven by AI – including Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, the topic of much conversation – most countries cannot afford to completely break off US ties.
“People want to find ways to insulate themselves from the mess. But, on the other hand, they admire the US private sector,” El-Erian said. “The best way I’ve heard it put, is: they want to go long the private sector and short the mess. But it’s almost impossible to do.”
Washington, D.C. (7News) — Rosselli is the newest restaurant to open in DC.
Bringing in classic Italian flavors, Chef Carlos explained how he hopes his food is a unique addition to the Italian food scene in the DMV.
Chef also demoed a signature dish with Brian and Megan.
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You can learn more and book your table here.
Washington, D.C
DC Navy Yard shooting: What happened in Washington? ‘Targeted attack’ feared as scary visuals emerge
A shooting reportedly took place in Washington DC’s Navy Yard on Thursday, and visuals from the scene were shared online. Independent journalist Nick Sortor shared a clip saying “Heavily armed US Capitol Police officers are RACING to a reported shooting in the vicinity of a high-ranking US government official in Washington, DC’s Navy Yard.”
Sortor noted that US Capitol Police were rushing to the scene. He noted that the black SUV seen in the clip was an armored Chevrolet Suburban which was used by members of the Congress and members of the President’s cabinet. Sortor further reported that it was ‘unclear’ if the attack was targeted.
The alleged shooter is reportedly not in custody yet and police are searching the area. “I personally witnessed that official be EXTRACTED via undercover Capitol Police officers, protected by uniformed officers carrying long rifles. I will not name the official without their express permission, as I don’t want to dox their home. Other officers can be seen sweeping the area for evidence like shell casings,” Sortor further said.
Also Read | Towson University: Shooting reports on campus in Maryland spark fears; first details
The DC Police Department and the US Capitol Police are yet to comment on the matter.
Navy Yard shooting: Reactions and fears
Several people wondered about the politicians who live in the Navy Yard neighborhood. Grok, the AI chatbot, helped out, saying “Publicly reported ones include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—she’s been living in a Navy Yard apartment for years. The area’s also drawn younger congressional staffers and some Trump admin folks in the past for the modern housing near the river. Can’t list “all” though—most officials’ exact homes aren’t public for obvious security reasons.”
It added “No, no current Trump cabinet members are publicly reported as living in DC’s Navy Yard neighborhood. Several senior officials (SecState Marco Rubio, SecDef Pete Hegseth, AG Pam Bondi, ex-DHS Sec Kristi Noem) have moved into secure military housing at Fort McNair or Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling for safety. Noem previously rented in Navy Yard but relocated. Exact private residences aren’t public record.”
To be sure, the name of the official has not been released yet, so Grok’s answers are only guesses based on public record or past information. One wild claim was made on X that the shooting ‘targeted Donald Trump’. However, this came from an unverified profile and no corroboration was provided. President Trump is not publicly known to be in the Navy Yard area, rather remaining in the White House when he is in Washington.
The news of the DC Navy Yard shooting comes days after a takeover by a teen mob. The unruly incident saw four teenagers charged with disorderly conduct, reports on April 12 noted.
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