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It's the last full weekend before Christmas and even the skies are getting festive with holiday lights.
The Geminid meteor shower just reached its peak, and the celestial event will continue until Christmas Eve, according to EarthSky.
This year's timing is also great news for stargazers: We just had a new moon, meaning that moonlight won’t be able to drown out most of the meteors that will be visible to the naked eye. Just remember to give your eyes time to adjust.
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And if you want to keep the "celebration" going, Madonna will play Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday. There are still tickets, material girls!
From holiday markets in many D.C. neighborhoods to a special performance of "The Nutcracker," here's what else to do this weekend in the DMV.
Hot Wheels Champion Experience
📅 Opens Fri.
📍 Tysons Corner Center, 2nd Level near Barnes & Noble
💲 $25+
🔗 Details
This immersive experience puts you inside a Hot Wheels video game. It’s geared for kids, but visitors of all ages can play in both the virtual and physical worlds.
There’s even a game where you can draw your own Hot Wheel, then race it on screen!
Holiday markets this weekend
At the Holly Jolly Sidewalk Market on Saturday, 30 local stores will create a special shopping experience in the Logan Circle and U Street area where you can see shops lit up for the holidays. Here’s a map of participating businesses.
On Saturday, you can also check out another neighborhood market in NoMa and Cleveland Park Santa Bar Crawl.
The Norooz Holiday Market (Sat., 3-7 p.m., free) celebrating the Persian new year and winter solstice is worth a trip to the Brookland Arts Walk. There's also the Umoja Market at Anacostia Arts Center (Sat., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., free entry), Holiday Artisan Market in downtown Silver Spring (Sat. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., free entry) and Unique Markets at Union Market (Sat. and Sun., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., $12).
Classic holiday shows in the DMV
Nothing makes the season sing like a spectacular holiday show for the whole family.
- “A Christmas Carol” is a holiday tradition at Ford’s Theatre, complete with our favorite Scrooge Craig Wallace. It’s open through Dec. 31. Our Jummy Olabanji has a preview.
- The seventh Fairfax Symphony Orchestra and Fairfax Ballet Company production says they’re the only “Nutcracker” in town where dancers share the stage with a live orchestra. Tickets are available now for Saturday and Sunday.
- Cirque Dreams Holidaze brings together a Broadway-style musical and circus artistry into five shows Friday to Sunday at MGM National Harbor.
Holiday bars
It's the ho-ho-ho-lidays which means weeks of getting merry and bright under the twinkling lights. Cue the fake (and real!) snow, it's time to get those spirits bright.
We shook the snow globe to find creative cocktails in Santa Claus cups, global holiday traditions and grandma-inspired decor.
In Maryland, the Grinch takes over Whoville at the Fialova restaurant in the Bethesda Hotel in “A Grinch Experience.” Grinch-themed drinks include a ginger beer and vodka drink named “Max’s Mule." Don’t want to order off the menu? Customize your drink with your choice of alcohol and top it off with toppings like toasted coconut shavings and graham crackers.
Wunder Garten's 7th Annual Winterfest is inspired by beer gardens in Germany. This pop-up beer garden bar will satisfy your taste for beer in the NoMa neighborhood. This weekend, check out A Night of 1,000's Santas on Friday and A Cher Christmas Dance Party on Saturday. Here's the full calendar of events.
Here are a dozen more pop-up bars to make your spirits extra bright.
Wreaths Across America
📅 Sat.
📍 Arlington National Cemetery and military cemeteries across the country
💲 Free
🔗 Details
Thousands of holiday wreaths are set to be placed on graves at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday in a momentous tribute to servicemembers. As volunteers place each wreath, they're asked to say the servicemember's name aloud.
If you want to help, you must register and go through security. Wreath placement begins at 8 a.m.
More than 155,000 wreaths have been sponsored for Arlington National Cemetery, and Wreaths Across America is fundraising to purchase nearly 103,000 more.
Wreaths Across America will bring volunteers to 3,100 cemeteries in a nationwide effort to honor fallen veterans and soldiers during the holidays. Find other cemeteries to volunteer at here.
Maggie O'Neill pop-up at Westfield Montgomery
📅 Sat., noon to 6 p.m.
📍 Westfield Montgomery Mall
💲 Free
🔗 Details
You may know Maggie O'Neill for her colorful work or as the designer who reimagined the iconic Willard Hotel earlier this year.
On Saturday, her work will be on display at a festive pop-up gallery near the Nordstrom store at Westfield Montgomery Mall so you can shop original pieces and limited-edition prints.
And if you have anything to pick up from Nordstrom, your purchase over $200 will come with a complimentary, signed Maggie O'Neill print.
Things to do in D.C.
Beyoncé Music Bingo
Thurs., 8-10 p.m., The Diner (2453 18th Street NW), free
A Diva Christmas Drag Show featuring Shi-Queeta-Lee
Fri., 8 p.m., The Hamilton, $20-$40
‘Calling all Blerds’: Creative Seedlings Holiday Edition
Fri., 6:30-8 p.m., Phillips@THEARC in Southeast, free
Merry Grinchmas: Photos with The Grinch in Adams Morgan
Sat., 10 a.m. to noon, Truist Bank Plaza at Columbia and Adams Mill Roads NW, free
Atlas Presents: Keng Siong Sim – Peace for Ukraine
Sat., 7 p.m., Atlas Performing Arts Center in Northeast, $22
Cleveland Park Santa Bar Crawl
Sat., 5-9 p.m., $17.85
Eba-Queeta-Scrooge: A Drag Lip-Synced Stage Play
Sun., 8 p.m., Howard Theatre, $25+
Zinzi Christmas Party
Sun., 7 p.m. National Building Museum, $150
Black tie optional fundraiser benefitting Capital Area Food Bank
Things to do in Maryland
Christmas Bird Count
Sat., 7:30-9 a.m., Meadowside Nature Center in Rockville, free, registration required
Winter Solstice Lantern Making (ages 6-12) and Lantern-led Hike and Campfire (ages 6+)
Sat., 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.; 4:30 to 6 p.m., Maydale Nature Classroom in Colesville, $7-$8
Etch and Sip: Holiday Ornaments (21+)
Sat., 3-5 p.m., Meadowside Nature Center in Rockville, $20
Things to do in Virginia
Community Menorah Lighting
Thurs., 5-6:30 p.m., Blue Dock at Mosaic in Fairfax, free
Christmas Village at Leesburg Animal Park
12/15-12/23, 6-9 p.m., 19246 James Monroe Hwy, $16.95 (free for kids 2 and under)
Wes Iseli's Magic Class and Magic & Illusion Show
Sat., 1 p.m./4 p.m., $25/$15-$30
Dopamine Land (Note: Now listed as sold out)
📅 Opens Fri.
📍 5333 Wisconsin Ave NW, D.C.
💲 $19+ for kids, $23+ for adults
🔗 Details
For some good feels of the nonholiday variety, explore “fantastical landscapes and into imaginary chambers” taking over a mostly-empty shopping center in Friendship Heights.
Inside, you’ll find optical illusions, a Yayoi Kusama-style Infinity Bliss room and photo-ready spaces with names like Lucid Dreams and Pillow Fight.
If you’re obsessed with the whacky golf trend or the Museum of Illusions, this might be for you.
Tickets are available through Feb. 11.
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