Date: November 1, 2025
Location: Adams Morgan
Cost: Free
One of the District’s most popular neighborhoods showcases some of DC’s best musical talent. Adams Morgan Fall PorchFest will feature nearly 100 artists playing an array of genres, including classic rock, funk, go-go, rap, reggae, bluegrass, classical, and pop. Twenty porches, business patios and parks, as well as the closed 18th Street, will become stages for the day, drawing music-lovers from around the region into the tree-lined streets and small businesses of Adams Morgan.
Korean Treasures: Collected, Cherished, Shared
Date: November 8, 2025 – February 1, 2026
Location: National Museum of Asian Art, 1050 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, DC 20560
Cost: Free
The National Museum of Asian Art surveys ancient times to the present in a stunning exhibit that displays works that beautifully speak to the diversity of Korea’s artistic legacy across the world. Once private treasures are now public, depicting the evolution of innovation, shifts in style, and technology.
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage-Extraordinary Cinema: Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
Date: November 9, 2025
Location: 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC 20566 in the Justice Forum at the REACH.
Cost: Free
Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight captures the childhood of eight-year-old Bobo on her family farm in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) at the end of the Zimbabwean War for independence in 1980.
African American Civil War Museum Reopening
Date: November 10-11, 2025
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th & G Streets, NW, Washington, DC 20004
Cost: Free
Celebrate the grand reopening of the African American Civil War Museum (which is supported by the African American Civil War Memorial) with two days of events. The DC institution will debut its new home (part of the redevelopment of the Grimke School) with a dedication of its new Lincoln statue (depicting the 16th President signing the Emancipation Proclamation), a trail march, a public ribbon-cutting, a happy hour, a Reading of the Names, and more.
Veterans Day: Honor Those Who Served
Date: November 11, 2025
Location: various monuments, memorials, and special programming
Cost: Free
Many of the monuments and memorials in the nation’s capital honor service members, shedding light on the immense sacrifices that the U.S. Armed Forces have made to protect this country. Any time of year, but especially on Veterans Day, choose from a collection of monuments, memorials, and special programming to celebrate and honor those who served.
DC Holiday Market at Dupont Circle
Date: November 14, 2025 – December 23, 2025
Location: 1500 Block of 19th Street NW, Washington, DC
Cost: Free
30-plus small businesses with artisanal goods, boutique brands, worldwide handcrafts, and unique gift items, plus festive decor, local performers, and beloved holiday treats.
Date: November 21, 2025 – December 23, 2025
Location: F Street between 7th and 9th Streets NW, Washington, DC
Cost: Free
This year's edition of the DowntownDC Holiday Market will occupy the street and sidewalk on F Street between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. Now in its 21st year, its bright lights bring Penn Quarter and Chinatown to life, providing a holiday spark to the neighborhood. The spacious, open-air village is free and open to the public, kicking off the season just ahead of Thanksgiving (closed on Thanksgiving Day) and closing just before Christmas.
Date: November 21, 2025 – January 3, 2026
Location: Smithsonian’s National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20008
Cost: $6
Join the thousands of visitors who make ZooLights, powered by Pepco, a part of their annual holiday tradition. The event includes live music performances, tasty winter treats, and plenty of opportunities for holiday shopping. Environmentally friendly LED lights and dozens of glowing animal lanterns transform the Smithsonian's National Zoo into a winter wonderland. Note that timed passes are required. Admission is just $6.
Date: November 22, 2025 – January 4, 2026
Location: U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20001
Cost: Free
Trade in your dreams of a white Christmas for something even better – a green Christmas. At this year's Season's Greenings exhibit at the U.S. Botanic Garden, displays will feature not only holiday lights, but thousands of poinsettias, unbelievable plant-based sculptures, a circuit of model trains, and pollinators galore. Tickets are not required. This year's theme? Dinosaurs.
The Botanic Garden will stay open late on Dec. 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, and Jan. 1. It is closed on Dec. 25.
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Films – Extraordinary Cinema: East of Wall
Date: November 23, 2025
Location: 2700 F St., NW, Washington, DC 20566 in the Justice Forum at the REACH.
Cost: Free
East of Wall is an authentic portrait of female resilience in the “New West,” inspired and played by the women and girls who live it.
Date: December 2, 2025
Location: Edlavitch DCJCC, 1529 Sixteenth Street, NW, Washington, DC
Cost: Free but RSVP required
Join us for one of the largest Chanukah holiday markets in the city! Shop handmade goods from independent artists and food vendors – we’ll have everything from holiday cards to jewelry to baked goods. It’s Etsy IRL! In addition to our vendors, we will also have hot beverages and snacks for sale.
