It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
The holidays get underway this weekend with the Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade in Silver Spring on Saturday and the Christmas-themed Enchant at Nationals Park, the Downtown Holiday Market in Penn Quarter, A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre and the Washington Ballet’s version of The Nutcracker at THEARC Theater all kicking off this weekend.
The Wiehle-Reston East Metro station will be closed as new construction is tied into the existing track. As a result, buses replace trains between Wiehle-Reston and Spring Hill. Silver Line trains will operate on a regular weekend schedule between Spring Hill and Largo Town Center. Orange Line trains will operate in two segments. Trains will run on a regular weekend schedule between West Falls Church and New Carrollton. Trains between West Falls Church and Vienna will operate every 24 minutes on Saturday and every 30 minutes on Sunday. Red Line trains single track between Friendship Heights and Medical center with trains running every 16 minutes and additional trains running every 8 minuets Glenmont and Van Ness between 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Blue, Yellow and Green Line trains operate on regular weekend schedules.
Enchant
Enchant, the 90,000-square-foot light maze billed as the biggest in the world, makes its home in D.C. at Nationals Park beginning Friday. When a mischievous little elf named Eddie accidentally sets Santa’s reindeer free, you have to help find them inside the luminescent land of larger-than-life of sculptures as snow gently falls around you. There are also ice skating trails (skate rental is $4.72 for kids and $9.43 for adults) and a large holiday market offering products from more than 40 vendors, including local businesses and international brands. Kids can visit Santa with their Christmas wishes and pose for photos, plus there will be plenty of Instagram-friendly settings and holiday spirit. Then warm up with soup, chili from Ben’s Chili Bowl, raclette pretzels, treats from Maribeth’s Bakery, Capital Candy & Jar and Dog Tag Bakery. There is also a 40-foot bar with mulled wine, cider, cocktails, spiked coffees and local beers.
Nov. 22 through Dec. 29 from 4:30-10:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 4:30-11 Friday and Saturday from Nov. 22-Dec. 12 and 4:30-11:30 p.m. from Dec. 13-30 at Nationals Park, 1500 South Capitol Street SE. Tickets are $14.99-$33.99.
Becoming Jane
If you had childhood dreams of venturing into the wilderness to study chimpanzees, a new exhibit gives you a chance to fulfill that fantasy without leaving the city. The National Geographic Museum’s Becoming Jane celebrates the life of famed primatologist Jane Goodall and her decades of study. The centerpiece of the show is a 3-D simulation of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park, where Goodall conducted her research of one of our closest evolutionary relatives. The museum will also project a life-size hologram of Goodall as you peek inside her research tent and learn about conservation efforts with the chimpanzee population around the world.
Nov. 22 through summer 2020 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily at the National Geographic Museum, 1145 17th St. NW. Tickets are $10-$15.
Beijing Day Cultural Festival
It has been 35 years since D.C. first called Beijing its Sister City. Celebrate the bond between both cities at the Beijing Day Cultural Festival fittingly held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Guests who arrive hungry are in luck, as chefs from the Embassy of China will be cooking up authentic cuisine. Chinese musicians will provide a live soundtrack to a range of experiences, from chop-stick-challenges to kite-making to face-painting.
Nov. 22 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. Tickets, which are required, are FREE!
Downtown Holiday Market
The free-to-frequent Downtown Holiday Market is centrally located at Eighth and F Streets NW, in front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Scope out eclectic wares from dozens of pop-up tents with seasonally flavored music performed live in the background. Locally roasted coffee and crafted-before-your-eyes mini-doughnuts inspire a cold-weather appetite, creating a holiday atmosphere you won’t find anywhere else in DC.
Nov. 22 through Dec. 23 from noon-8 p.m. daily along F Street between Seventh and Ninth Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
A Christmas Carol
Acclaimed actor Craig Wallace assumes the role of Ebenezer Scrooge in a lavish Victorian-style musical production of Charles Dickens’ timeless classic A Christmas Carol, the staging of which is a time-honored holiday tradition in the nation’s capital. Scrooge’s riveting journey alongside the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future is a joy even if you have experienced it a hundred times before – especially in one of the world’s most historic theaters.
Nov. 21 through Jan. 1 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday as well as Nov. 27 and 29 and Dec. Dec. 11, 12, 18, 19, 23 and 26 and Jan. 1, and noon Dec. 4 and 5 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. Tickets are $32-$124.
Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade
The Montgomery County Thanksgiving Parade held annually the Saturday before Thanksgiving in Silver Spring heralds in the holiday season. The streets are overrun with turkeys, dinosaurs, penguins and reindeer. With marching bands, Bolivian dancers, floats, giant characters and balloons, Santa arrives. There will also be a free “corn maze” on Veterans Plaza to explore before the parade.
Nov. 23 from 10 a.m.-noon beginning at Veterans Plaza at Ellsworth Drive and Fenton Street and proceeds south on Georgia Avenue ending at Silver Spring Avenue. Admission is FREE!
Hokusai: Mad about Painting
While Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai is mainly known for his unforgettable and iconic Great Wave Off the Coast of Kanagawa, he composed thousands of pieces during his nearly 90 years on Earth. The Freer Gallery, in honor of the centennial of its namesake’s death, presents Hokusai: Mad About Paintting with a wide range of the artist’s works that were acquired by Charles Lang Freer roughly a century ago. Visitors will be able to experience Hokusai’s mastery in woodblock printing, painting, drawing and view his renderings of everyday Japanese life, known as manga.
Nov. 23 through Nov. 8, 2020 from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily at the Freer Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The Nutcracker
The Washington Ballet pulls out all the stops for this classic Christmas tale of The Nutcracker that features a special D.C. twist. The Russian ballet goes local thanks to a Nutcracker Prince in the likeness of George Washington and cherry blossom set designs. Set in historic Georgetown, you will be dazzled by an impressive roster of dancers and the beautiful Tchaikovsky score. The production is staged at THEARC Theater on Saturday and Sunday, then shifts to the Warner Theatre
Nov. 23 and 24 at 1:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. at THEARC Theater, 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE. Tickets are $30-$55.
Ongoing events
Airness at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 30 at Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $41-$51.
All Work, No Pay from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through February at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Alonso Berruguete: First Sculpture of Renaissance Spain from 10 a.m.-5 p.m Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Feb. 17 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Amadeus at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday (except Nov. 19) through Dec. 22 at Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol St. SE. Tickets are $27-$85.
Animals, Collected from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.6 p.m. Sunday through Spring 2020 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $7-$10.
Americans from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2022 at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
American’s First Veterans from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-4 p.m. Sunday through Apr 5 at Anderson House, 2118 Massachusetts Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Bonnard to Vuillard: The Intimate Poetry of Everyday Life from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-6:30 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 26 at The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for students and seniors 62+, and children 18 and younger are FREE!
By the Light of the Silvery Moon: A Century of Lunar Photographs from the 1850s to Apollo 11 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 5 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
LAST CHANCE! Capital Harvest on the Plaza from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays through Nov. 22 at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Elephants and Us: Considering Extinction from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 13 at the National Museum of American History, 1300 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice across Asia from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Nov. 29, 2020 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The End: A Mediation on Death and Extinction from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 20 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older and students older than 18, and FREE for children 18 and younger.
The Eye of the Sun: Nineteenth-Century Photographs from the National Gallery of Art from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 1 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Feel the Sun in Your Mouth: Recent Acquisitions from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through February at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Game Change: Elephants from Prey to Preservation from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Feb. 1, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Ginny Ruffner: Reforestation of the Imagination from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 5 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Heroes: Principles of African Greatness, from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Dec. 31, 2020 at the National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Hoops from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 5 at the National Building Museum, 401 F St. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for youth ages 3-17, students with ID and seniors ages 60 and older.
I Am . . . Contemporary Women Artists of Africa from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through July 5 at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, 950 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
In Mid-Sentence from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Mar. 8 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Intersections: Los Carpinteros from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and noon-6:30 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 12 at the Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors 62 and older. Children 18 and younger are FREE!
It’s Hip to Be Square: The Mint Family from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Nov. 31 at the U.S. Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Live Dangerously from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 20 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors 65 and older and students older than 18, and FREE for children 18 and younger.
Lucid Motion from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5:30 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday through Dec. 1 at Artechouse, 1238 Maryland Ave. SW. Advance tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for students, seniors and military and $8 for children 2-14 and $20, $15 and $10, respectively, at the door.
Manifesto: Art x Agency from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Jan. 5 at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Independence Avenue and Seventh Street SW. Admission is FREE!
Marcel Duchamp: The Barbara and Aaron Levine Collection from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Oct. 12 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Michael Sherrill Retrospective from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 5 at the Renwick Gallery, Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street NW. Admission is FREE!
Mid-Century Master: The Photography of Alfred Eisentaedt from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday through Jan. 12 at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens, 4155 Linnean Ave. NW. Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for college students, $5 for children ages 6-18 and children younger than 6 are FREE!
Newsies at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday through Dec. 29 at Arena Stage,1101 Sixth St. SW. Tickets are $66-$102.
Occupant at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday (except Nov. 23), and 7:30 p.m. Sunday and Tuesday through Dec. 8 at Edlavitch D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $30-$52.
One Life: Marian Anderson from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through May 17 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Outbreak from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2021 at the National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 30 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Pat Steir: Color Wheel from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Sept. 7 at the Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
Picture Books of the Past: Reading an Old Master Painting from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through Sept. 30 at the Museum of the Bible, 400 Fourth St. SW. Advance tickets are $19.99 for adults, $9.99 for children 7-17 and children and younger are FREE. Tickets at the door at $24.99 for adults, $19.99 for seniors, military, first responders and students, $14.99 for children 7-17 and children 6 and younger are FREE!
Picturing the American Buffalo: George Catlin and Modern Native American Artists from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Apr. 12 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Recent Acquisitions from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through Aug. 30 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. through Jan. 3, 2021, at the National Archives, 701 Constitution Ave. NW. Admission is FREE!
Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 31 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $12.71-$21.21 online or $14.95-$24.95 at the door.
Sacred Dedication: A Korean Buddhist Masterpiece from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through Mar. 22 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Sculpture Down to Scale: Models for Public Art at Federal Buildings, 1974-1985 from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. through June 6 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Sea Monsters Unearthed, Life in Angola’s Ancient Seas from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily through 2020 at the National Museum of Natural History, 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Section 14: The Other Palm Springs, California from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through January at the National Museum of the American Indian, Fourth Street and Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
Seriously Funny: From the Desk of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 31 at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Admission is $12.71-$21.21 in online or $14.95-$24.95 at the door.
Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday through September at the Library of Congress’ Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First St. SE. Admission is FREE!
Subodh Gupta: Terminal from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through 2020 at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, 1050 Independence Ave. SW. Admission is FREE!
The Touch of Color: Pastels at the National Gallery of Art from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 26 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
Verrocchio: Sculptor and Painter of Renaissance Florence from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 12 at the National Gallery of Art, Fourth Street and Constitution Avenue NW. Admission is FREE!
What Absence Is Made Of from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. daily through March at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Seventh Street and Independence Avenue SW. Admission is FREE!
EXTENDED! White Pearl at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and 7 p.m. Sunday through Dec. 15 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. Tickets are $20-$111.
Women Artists of the Dutch Golden Age from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday through Jan. 5 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $8 for seniors 65 and older and students. Children 18 and younger are FREE!
Women of Progress: Early Camera Portraits from 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. daily through May 31 at the National Portrait Gallery, Eighth and F Streets NW. Admission is FREE!
Editor-in-Chief Mark Heckathorn is a journalist, movie buff and foodie. He oversees DC on Heels editorial operations as well as strategic planning and staff development. Reach him with story ideas or suggestions at dcoheditor (at) gmail (dot) com.