Every Thursday, we share weekend events happening around the city. Are you planning an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup? Send it to our team using this form. Find more events in our Civics Roundup, which focuses on ways to get more involved locally.
Editors' note: This is our final Weekend Events roundup for 2025. We'll be back on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026!
We are in the middle of Hanukkah, with Christmas and Kwanzaa imminent, and the District is in full holiday spirit. Channel it this weekend into hitting the ice in Anacostia, visiting as many holiday markets as possible, or taking in art at a local institution.
As of publication time, this weekend’s forecast offers highs above 45 degrees. Don’t come for us if that changes — winter can be unpredictable — but seems like a perfect excuse to get outside and explore over one of the year’s final weekends.
THURSDAY, DEC. 18
Live! At The Library 📍 Thomas Jefferson Building, Library of Congress (10 First St. SE) ⏰ 5 - 8 p.m. 💸 FREE It’s Thursday, which means the Library of Congress is open for extended hours, with drinks and snacks for purchase. Reserve your timed-entry ticket in advance, and explore an exhibit on “The Two Georges” of the American Revolution, a recreation of Thomas Jefferson’s library, and Instagram-ready marble backdrops. Free tickets for the 8 p.m. Isidore String Quartet show are currently sold out, but you may be able to get a RUSH pass by showing up early.
Third Thursday at the Phillips Collection 📍 The Phillips Collection (1600 21st St. NW) ⏰ 5 - 8 p.m. 💸 FREE For the last time this year, you can visit the Phillips Collection for free during their monthly extended hours. Head to Dupont Circle to catch the “James McLaughlin Memorial Staff Show,” featuring works by the people who keep the museum running, or the “Out of Many: Reframing an American Art Collection,” which explores how various 20th-century artists depicted America. The Bread Furst café will be open and serving its full menu, including wine and beer. No registration is needed for this one.
Celebrate the fifth night of Hanukkah at Sixth and I with food, drinks, and a donation drive. (Ted Eytan / Flickr)
Fried & Festive: A Chanukah Party 📍 Sixth & I (600 I St. NW) ⏰ 7 - 8:30 p.m. 💸 $21.23 (but reach out for financial support!) Are you team applesauce or team sour cream? Mark the fifth night of the festival of lights with latkes, donuts, drinks, and a dreidel competition. Attendees are encouraged to bring donations to a toy drive benefiting the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Holiday Kickoff Party at Swingers Crazy Golf 📍 Swingers Dupont Circle (1330 19th St. NW) ⏰ 7 - 10:30 p.m. 💸 $12.29 Kick off the weekend early by getting a little silly in your favorite holiday fit. Hosted by local event organizer Something Different, the mini golf party also includes carnival games and competitions, and a happy hour menu for your ~holiday spirits~. Listen for festive raffle drawings throughout the night as a live DJ sets the vibes.
Listening Session: Factory Records with Buena Suerte 📍 La Betty (420 K St. NW) ⏰ 8 - 11 p.m. 💸 FREE The team behind Baked & Wired has been hosting vinyl listening sessions at the Mt. Vernon Triangle restaurant space they reopened this year — featuring natural wine and wide-ranging small plates. Thursday’s lineup, hosted by the DJs with Buena Suerte, features Manchester’s Factory Records. The bar opens at 5 p.m. if you’d like to enjoy a pet nat on your own before the event!
Open skate is free through December at Anacostia’s newly reopened Fort Dupont Ice Arena. (Martin Austermuhle)
FRIDAY, DEC. 19
Wii Party 📍 Black Cat (1811 14th St. NW) ⏰ 8 pm. doors, 9 p.m. show 💸 $13 Wuhu’s with Mii for this Nintendo-themed drag show? Hosted by Manny Quinn at the Black Cat, the show promises high camp drag and mid-2000s nostalgia. Remember to bring cash to tip!
Sip & Shop Holiday Market 📍 Wunder Garten (1101 First St. NE) ⏰ 2 - 7 p.m. 💸 FREE We’ve heard that sipping a cozy drink (alcoholic or not) helps you pick out better presents. Head to this dog-friendly pop-up market to find the artisan gifts you need to round out your holiday shopping.
Open Skate at Fort Dupont 📍 Fort Dupont Ice Arena (3779 Ely Pl. SE) ⏰ Timed tickets available in intervals from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. 💸 FREE The Anacostia ice rink has finally reopened, and its open skate hours are free through the month of December. Anyone is welcome to book a timed ticket, from showoffs to skating first-timers, though children under the age of 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Union Station’s main hall is decked with a holiday market. (Tim Evanson / Flickr)
SATURDAY, DEC. 20
Search for Santa’s Critters 📍 Potomac Overlook Regional Park (2845 Marcey Rd.; Arlington, Virginia) ⏰ 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. 💸 $5 per child Bring your budding detective to NoVa Parks’ festive scavenger hunt, where children of all ages are invited to help locate Santa’s “animal friends.” We hear the big guy needs help delivering treats in time for the holidays! Please note that if the weather outside is frightful, the hunt may be cancelled.
Santa Visits Frosted 📍 Franklin Park (1332 I St. NW) ⏰ 6 - 7 p.m. 💸 FREE Santa Claus is coming to … Franklin Park? Head to the DowntownDC BID’s celebration for a live ice sculpture demonstration, carolers, free coloring books, and celebrities like the Gingerbread Lady, the Nutcracker, and Kris Kringle himself.
Union Station Holiday Market 📍 Union Station (50 Massachusetts Ave. NE) ⏰ 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. 💸 FREE It’s the last day to take a walk through Union Station’s main hall and check out gifts from local artisans. There’s even a sweepstakes to win a gift basket filled with goods from the market, valued at $400!
DC Braulesque’s “Snowed In: Winter Mix” 📍 DC Brau (3178-B Bladensburg Rd. NE) ⏰ 8 - 11 p.m. 💸 $28.52 This running burlesque show in a brewery promises to keep it “lewd, nerdy and sparkling” — maybe even more so than usual, since organizers say it’s their last show ever. Attendees who bring a donation for Bread For The City will receive a free drink ticket, and those who come dressed in a nerdy costume (categories are “cozy” and “classy”) could win prizes!
Homegrown Holidays Pop-Up Shop 📍 MLK Jr. Library (901 G St. NW) ⏰ 1 - 4 p.m. (continues Sunday) 💸 FREE The DC Makers’ Guild's time at the downtown library ends this weekend. Snag must-have gifts while supplies last, from local artisans like Carlos Carmona Medina and Lyvette Crawford. While you’re there, Saturday is your last chance to catch another fun pop-up, the Metro Shop!
EVERYDAY DC 📍 Western Market (2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW) ⏰ opening reception 12 - 3 p.m., exhibit open 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. (continues through February) 💸 FREE It’s the opening day of beloved local camera shop Pro Photo’s first gallery exhibition, which explores the District through the eyes of local photographers. Attend the opening reception, which coincides with a Photo Book Fair from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or see the exhibition on your own time throughout Western Market through February 20, 2026.
Wild Flowers: Rock’s Iconic Women 📍 Studio 1469 (1469 Harvard St. NW) ⏰ 12 - 4 p.m. 💸 $26.50 art prints, $33.50 printed shirts Watch as screen printer Beth Hansen creates on-the-spot art honoring some of the pioneering women in rock ‘n’ roll. Choose from either a shirt or a small print celebrating Janis Joplin, Tina Turner, Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, and Siouxsie Sioux. Light refreshments will be served.
SUNDAY, DEC. 21
Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins 📍 The Puppet Co. Playhouse at Glen Echo Park (7300 Macarthur Blvd.; Glen Echo, Maryland) ⏰ 3 p.m. 💸 $16 One of the few theaters in the country dedicated entirely to the art form of puppetry is in Montgomery County. At Sunday’s show, see if our hero Hershel is able to defeat the will of the Queen and King of the Goblins so that his community can celebrate the candle-lighting. This Hanukkah classic is recommended for kids 5 and older, but adults will also enjoy watching this theatrical art form come to life. Pro tip: if you arrive early, you can browse the Holiday Art Show and find some last-minute gifts for your list, too.
UMOJA Market 📍 2323 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE ⏰ 12 - 8 p.m., with maker workshops 12 - 5 p.m. 💸 FREE It’s the last day of Anacostia’s own UMOJA Market, which has featured local music and other cultural programming in addition to artisan vendors. Come to pick up everything from handcrafted skin-care and hair products to snacks and specialty foods, or to learn from a local artist before 5 p.m.
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