From a National Gallery block party and an America 250 festival to museum openings, film screenings and major concerts, Washington offers plenty of reasons to get out this weekend. Visitors can celebrate at the Spirit of Independence Festival near the National Archives, explore the opening of American Icon: The U.S. Flag in Art, catch the LightReel Film Festival, or see performers ranging from Martin Garrix and Gary Clark Jr. to the National Symphony Orchestra.
Martin Garrix at The Anthem opens this weekend, adding to a calendar that already includes The Motion at Arena Stage, Fichandler Stage and Trump Kennedy Center: Free Millennium Stage at Trump Kennedy Center Grand Foyer.
We’ve pulled together 46 picks this weekend. For everything else on the calendar, head to the Washington Times DC Events Calendar.
Theater & Performing Arts
The Motion — A new play by Obie Award-winner Christopher Chen, running in Arena Stage’s signature in-the-round Fichandler space during prime spring season. Get Tickets →
May 6 – June 14, 2026 | Arena Stage, Fichandler Stage | Tickets Required
Signature Theatre: Pippin — Bob Fosse’s iconic Tony Award–winning musical returns at Arlington’s Signature Theatre. More Info →
May 12–Jul 26, 2026 | Signature Theatre | From $47
Othello — Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Elsbeth) stars in the title role of Shakespeare’s towering tragedy, directed by STC Artistic Director Simon Godwin. More Info →
May 19–Jun 28, 2026 | Shakespeare Theatre Company — Sidney Harman Hall | From $35
Sally & Tom — Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks delivers a sharp, layered new play in which a scrappy theater company stages a show about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. Get Tickets →
May 27 – June 28, 2026 | Round House Theatre | Tickets Required
A Fine Madness — Company artist Justin Weaks recounts his personal journey as a Black gay man in Washington, DC, newly diagnosed with HIV — through poetry, music, games, and storytelling that blur the line between performer and audience. Get Tickets →
June 2–21, 2026 | Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company | Tickets Required
Music & Concerts
Trump Kennedy Center: Free Millennium Stage — The Trump Kennedy Center Millennium Stage offers free performances Wednesday through Saturday at 6 PM in the Grand Foyer — music, dance, and theater from local and national artists. Performance Schedule →
Wed–Sat at 6 PM | Trump Kennedy Center Grand Foyer | Free
Jazz in the Garden — Free outdoor jazz concerts every Friday evening, May 22 through Aug 14, 2026. Event Info →
Fridays May 22 – Aug 14, 2026 (no June 5 or July 3) | NGA Sculpture Garden | Free (lottery entry)
Rock the Dock Free Summer Concerts — Free Friday night concerts on the waterfront at The Wharf Transit Pier, kicking off Memorial Day weekend. Concert Schedule →
Fri nights, late May–Sep 2026 | The Wharf — Transit Pier | Free
Carter Barron Amphitheatre Summer Series — Carter Barron Amphitheatre in Rock Creek Park is undergoing a major NPS restoration and is targeted to reopen in summer 2026 with a free concert series as part of America’s 250th anniversary programming. Summer Schedule →
Jun–Aug 2026 | Carter Barron Amphitheatre | Free to low-cost
Martin Garrix — Dutch DJ and electronic music producer Martin Garrix plays two nights at The Anthem. More Info →
Fri–Sat, Jun 5–6, 2026 | The Anthem | Tickets Required
NSO: Cann Plays Coleman (World Premiere) — Pianist Michelle Cann premieres a new concerto by Valerie Coleman alongside Dvořák and Gershwin in a program celebrating American music for the 250th anniversary. Get Tickets →
Jun 5–6, 2026 · 8:00 PM | Trump Kennedy Center Concert Hall | Tickets Required
Gary Clark Jr. with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram — Blues-rock powerhouse Gary Clark Jr. More Info →
Sat, Jun 6, 2026 | Wolf Trap — The Filene Center
The Beach Boys — The legendary Beach Boys bring their classic California sounds to Wolf Trap’s outdoor stage. More Info →
Sun, Jun 7, 2026 | Wolf Trap — The Filene Center
Festivals & Free Events
Artomatic — Artomatic is DC’s celebrated open, unjuried, multi-week arts festival where hundreds of artists take over a large building for weeks at a time. Artomatic Info →
Spring/Summer 2026 (dates TBD) | 2100 M Street NW, Washington DC | Free
LightReel Film Festival — A multicultural film festival celebrating Black and BIPOC storytellers, with 82 films — 20 features and 60 shorts — from 15 countries, including a world premiere and two DC premieres. Festival Info →
June 3–6, 2026 | Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market | Tickets Required
Spirit of Independence Festival — A three-day family festival outside the National Archives as part of the America 250th celebration. Festival Info →
Jun 5–7, 2026 | National Archives / Constitution Avenue | Free
Museums & Exhibitions
Adam Pendleton: Love, Queen — A major solo exhibition by celebrated American artist Adam Pendleton at the Hirshhorn Museum, exploring themes of Blackness, abstraction, and language through paintings, videos, and installations. Museum Info →
Through Jan 3, 2027 | Hirshhorn Museum | Free
Capilla de Maíz & State Fairs: Growing American Craft — Two concurrent shows at the Renwick Gallery: a site-specific installation by Justin Favela featuring gold-fringed walls and piñata corncobs celebrating maize in North American visual culture, alongside “State Fairs: Growing American Craft,” organized with Craft in America. Gallery Info →
Aug 22, 2025 – Sep 7, 2026 | Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum | Free
International Spy Museum — The world most visited spy museum explores the real world of espionage through immersive exhibitions, artifact-packed galleries, and hands-on experiences across 140,000 square feet. Get Tickets →
Daily | International Spy Museum | From $24.95
Holocaust Museum: Americans and the Holocaust — A powerful permanent exhibition examining the American response to Nazism and the refugee crisis of the 1930s and 1940s. More Info →
Ongoing | United States Holocaust Memorial Museum | Free (timed passes recommended)
National Museum of African American History: Power of Place — The newest Smithsonian museum presents Power of Place — a landmark exhibition exploring how African American communities have shaped and been shaped by the places they call home. Reserve Passes →
Ongoing | National Museum of African American History and Culture | Free (timed passes required)
America’s Presidents — The National Portrait Gallery’s signature exhibition of presidential portraits, tracing American leadership from George Washington to the present. Gallery Hours →
Ongoing | National Portrait Gallery | Free
Mary Cassatt: An American in Paris — Roughly 40 paintings, drawings, and prints examining how Mary Cassatt created her radically modern impressionist works. Gallery Info →
Through Aug 30, 2026 | National Gallery of Art | Free
The Outwin 2025: American Portraiture Today — The Smithsonian’s triennial juried portraiture competition showcasing 35 contemporary American portrait artists working across painting, photography, sculpture, and new media. Learn More →
Jan 24 – Aug 30, 2026 | National Portrait Gallery | Free
Star Power: Hollywood Photographs by George Hurrell (A Sequel) — Following the success of the first installment, the National Portrait Gallery presents a sequel exhibition of George Hurrell’s iconic Hollywood glamour photographs from the Golden Age of cinema. Gallery Info →
Feb 13, 2026 – Jan 10, 2027 | National Portrait Gallery | Free
Nick Cave: Mammoth — Internationally renowned artist Nick Cave explores the entanglement of land and race in American consciousness. Museum Info →
Feb 13, 2026 – Jan 3, 2027 | Smithsonian American Art Museum | Free
A Better Life for Their Children — Chronicles the extraordinary partnership between Sears Roebuck founder Julius Rosenwald and Booker T. Museum Info →
Through Jan 2027 | National Building Museum | Admission Required
Into the Waters: Senju and Bingyi — Two contemporary painters — Japanese artist Hiroshi Senju and Chinese artist Bingyi — explore water through dramatically different lenses in this Smithsonian Asian Art Museum exhibition. Learn More →
Apr 2 – Sep 27, 2026 | Smithsonian Asian Art Museum | Free
America’s State Flowers — The U.S. Garden Info →
Apr 10 – Oct 12, 2026 | U.S. Botanic Garden | Free
Dear America — A landmark exhibition at the National Gallery of Art featuring works by American artists responding to the nation’s history, ideals, and ongoing story. Gallery Info →
Apr 11 – Sep 20, 2026 | National Gallery of Art | Free
¡Puro Ritmo! The Musical Journey of Salsa — A new exhibition at the National Museum of the American Latino tracing the origins and cultural journey of salsa music and dance across Latin America, New York, and beyond. Museum Info →
Opens Apr 18, 2026 (2.5-year run) | National Museum of the American Latino (in NMAH building) | Free
Hirshhorn: Basquiat × Banksy — Two landmark paintings in direct dialogue: Basquiat’s Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump (1982) and Banksy’s Banksquiat: Boy and Dog in Stop and Search (2018) — the first time either artist’s work has been shown at the nation’s museum of modern art. More Info →
Through Sep 7, 2026 | Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Free
Bison: Standing Strong — A major Smithsonian exhibition on the American bison with an immersive prairie soundscape and three larger-than-life bronze bison sculptures outside. Museum Info →
Opens May 7, 2026 | National Museum of Natural History | Free
American Aspirations — Smithsonian Castle — The iconic Smithsonian Castle reopens with this landmark exhibition featuring Thomas Jefferson desk used to draft the Declaration, Harriet Tubman hymnal, and gold from Sutter Mill — exploring 250 years of American aspiration. Visit Info →
June 2 – July 26, 2026 | Smithsonian Institution Building | Free
American Icon: The US Flag in Art — Over 30 works from the late 1800s through today illustrating changing American interpretations of the flag, opening as part of the NGA’s America 250 programming on the same day as the gallery’s massive Block Party event. Gallery Info →
June 6 – Dec 6, 2026 | National Gallery of Art, East Building | Free
Special Events
DC250 Programming — DC serves as the epicenter for America’s semiquincentennial celebration with special programming, exhibitions, and events. DC250 Info →
Throughout 2026 | Various Locations | Varies
National Gallery of Art Block Party — The NGA largest-ever public program spanning the entire museum campus with art-making, food, music, film screenings, dance workshops, and picnicking in the Sculpture Garden. Event Info →
Sat, June 6, 2026 | National Gallery of Art | Free
DC Farmers Markets — DC vibrant farmers market scene runs year-round. Market Locations →
Weekly | Various DC Neighborhoods | Free Entry
Meridian Hill Park Drum Circle — Every Sunday afternoon, Meridian Hill Park hosts one of DC most enduring community traditions — a spontaneous drum circle drawing dozens of drummers and hundreds of participants. Park Info →
Sundays 3–8 PM (weather permitting) | Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) | Free
Eastern Market — Historic public market with local farmers, artisans, and crafters. Market Info →
Tuesday–Sunday | Eastern Market, Capitol Hill | Free Entry
Georgetown Waterfront — Stroll the C&O Canal towpath, explore boutique shopping, and dine at waterfront restaurants with Potomac River views. Georgetown Info →
Daily | Georgetown | Free
Tidal Basin & Cherry Trees — Nearly 4,000 cherry trees surround the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson, FDR, and MLK Memorials. NPS Cherry Blossom Info →
Daily | Tidal Basin | Free
Drive-In at Union Market — DC’s beloved outdoor drive-in returns for its 13th year — one screening per month, $20 per car (up to 170 cars), free to watch on foot from Neal Place. Event Info →
Monthly, May 9 – Oct 3, 2026 | Union Market | $20/car or free on foot
Trump Kennedy Center Outdoor Film Series — Free outdoor film screenings on the Trump Kennedy Center REACH campus video wall, held most Friday evenings through late August. Event Info →
Fridays, May 30 – Aug 29, 2026 | Trump Kennedy Center REACH Campus | Free
Sunset Cinema at The Wharf — Outdoor waterfront movie screenings at The Wharf, with views of the Potomac. Event Info →
Summer 2026 | Transit Pier, The Wharf | Free
DowntownDC Summer Movie Series — Free open-air double-feature screenings in Franklin Park, with DJ sets before each show. Event Info →
Thursdays in June 2026 | Franklin Park | Free
Event dates, times, and prices are subject to change. Please verify details directly with venues before attending.
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