Trees and menorahs will light the evening skies this month and next, often as part of larger celebrations with drinks, food, live performances and inflatables. Here are a handful of places in the DMV to enjoy the season of light.
Mosaic District Holiday Tree Lighting and Santa Firetruck Parade
Nov. 24, 6-9 p.m.
Cellist Benjamin Gates will kick off this celebration with a performance, followed by Santa parading on a firetruck through Penny Park at 6:40 p.m. and the tree lighting at 7:05 p.m. Stay for additional performances by the Metropolitan School of the Arts at 7:30 p.m. and salsa singer Izis De La Enfermera at 8 p.m. Mingle with Kris Kringle and have your photo taken with him in the Target lobby throughout the evening. // 2910 District Ave., Fairfax
Reston Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting
Nov. 24, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.
Reston Town Center’s annual half-mile Holiday Parade will march down Market Street the day after Thanksgiving. Viewers can watch for the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus in a horse-drawn carriage. The party also includes balloons, marching bands, antique cars and ice skating in the town center’s outdoor rink, culminating in a ceremonial tree lighting at 6 p.m.
Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration at CityCenterDC
Nov. 25, 5-7 p.m.
CityCenterDC celebrates its 10th anniversary with a holiday tree lighting, live band performance, surprise treats, face painting, balloon art and other fun. A handmade, limited-edition ornament will be for sale ($50), with proceeds benefiting Children’s National hospital. The shopping district will also debut Haute for the Holidays, an installation for which local artists Maggie O’Neill, Annie Broderick, and No Kings Collective each created an interpretation of a festive holiday tree.
City of Falls Church Lighting of the Trees
Nov. 27, 6-8 p.m.
Hosted by Modera Founders Row, this free tree lighting in The Little City promises music, theater performances, food options and a Santa cameo on a fire truck. Parking is free at Founders Row from 5-9 p.m. //110 Founders Ave., Falls Church
U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree
Nov. 28, 5 p.m.
Head to our nation’s capital to take festive photos on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol building. A 38-year-old, 63-foot-tall Norway spruce from Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia arrived Nov. 17 and is now being prepped for its ceremonial lighting. A tradition for more than 50 years, visiting the tree is free and open to the public. It will be lit from dusk to 11 p.m. daily through Jan. 1. // First and East Capitol streets, Washington, D.C.
Shirlington’s Light Up the Village
Nov. 30, 6-8:30 p.m.
Emcee’d by NBC4’s Joseph Olmo, the Village at Shirlington’s annual tree lighting celebration kicks off with a musical performance by Signature Theatre at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting at 6:30. Horse and carriage rides start at 6:40 (bring a nonperishable food item or make a cash donation to the Arlington Food Assistance Center as admission). Photos with Santa will get underway at 7 p.m. at Hardwood Artisans (2800 S. Randolph St., Arlington). Other activities include a makers market, live performances by Bishop O’Connell High School students, and free face painting and balloon art. Admission is free and open to the public. // 4280 Campbell Ave., Arlington (Shirlington)
National Christmas Tree Lighting
Nov. 30
This event has been a tradition at President’s Park outside the White House since Dec. 24, 1923, when President Calvin Coolidge lit a 48-foot balsam fir decorated in 2,500 red, white and green lights. This year’s lighting event will be open only to guests who won a free ticket through a lottery earlier this month. But you can visit the tree once it opens to the public from Dec. 2-Jan. 1. The main tree and dozens of smaller ones surrounding it will illuminate at sunset each evening, with lights off at 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Can’t get there in person? CBS will broadcast a special on Dec. 15 at 8 p.m. // 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
Melwood’s Annual Miracle on 23rd Street
Dec. 2, 6-8 p.m.
Kick off the holiday season with this free community event at Melwood Arlington, which supports children, youth and adults with disabilities. In addition to the tree lighting, there will be photos with Santa, refreshments and fun festivities. Bring a nonperishable item for Melwood’s food drive. // 750 23rd St., South, Arlington (Aurora Highlands)
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Shipgarten
Dec. 2, 1-9 p.m.
Gather around a fire pit, sip a hot drink from the Winter Wonderland menu and watch the tree light up at 6 p.m. at Shipgarten in Tysons. Christmas carols will be sung at 6:30 p.m. and a DJ will begin spinning tunes for a dance party starting at 8 p.m. Drink options include Irish coffee, spiked hot cocoa, an eggnog cocktail, honey-bourbon cocktail and hot toddy. Youngsters (and the young at heart) can stay warm by bouncing around in more than 25 holiday-themed inflatables. // 7581 Colshire Drive, McLean
Del Ray Holiday Tree and Menorah Lighting
Dec. 3, 6 p.m.
Alexandria’s Del Ray community will light a menorah (a bit ahead of the first night of Hanukkah on Dec. 7) and a Christmas tree as carolers sing holiday tunes in Pat Miller Neighborhood Square. NBC4’s Pat Collins will host the countdown (with his snow stick in hand?), and Santa will be there to take photos. Afterward, stroll down Mount Vernon Ave. to marvel at the local storefronts’ hand-painted holiday windows. // Mount Vernon and Oxford avenues, Alexandria
Ballston Singing Tree Lighting
Dec. 6, 5-7 p.m.
Join the Arlington Children’s Chorus and other local musicians for the lighting of the Ballston Singing Tree, an artistic, interactive, sound-responsive lighting system in Welburn Square. Sponsored by Piedmont Office Realty Trust, the Singing Tree was custom-crafted by Canadian software developer Limbic Media. The system features 1,200 lights and microphones that capture audio input from the surrounding environment, translating that data into colors and pattern displays that light up the tree. The lighting ceremony will also feature food from Rustico and DMV Empanadas, hot beverages from The Ballstonian, a hot chocolate bar, and a Jingle Bar for guests 21 and over.
Rosslyn Cheer Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony
Dec. 7, 5-8 p.m.
Rosslyn’s Central Place Plaza is the place to be for music, raffles and an outdoor bar serving beer, wine and spiked cider as the lights turn on during this Rosslyn Business Improvement District event. Keep your hands warm with a bag of Pop’s Praiseworthy Popcorn. This event is free and open to the public. // 1800 N. Lynn St., Arlington (Rosslyn)
National Menorah Lighting
Dec. 7, 3-6 p.m.
More than 5,000 attend this annual event on the White House Ellipse that includes food, musical performances by the Military Bands of the Military District of Washington, and appearances by prominent guests such as the president, members of Congress and the diplomatic corps, and Jewish celebrities. The event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required. Request them here. // 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
Chanukah Grand Celebration
Dec. 10, 4-6:30 p.m.
Help build Northern Virginia’s largest Lego menorah and make a Lego dreidel at this free event hosted by Chabad of Springfield and Burke. Happening on the Grand Court Lower Level at the Springfield Mall, the party includes a menorah lighting, hot potato pancakes called latkes, face painting, music raffles and more. // 6500 Springfield Mall, Springfield
Light Up Arlington
Dec. 10, 5 p.m.
Celebrate the Jewish Festival of Lights with the lighting of a giant, 9-foot menorah in Clarendon. Hosted by Chabad Lubavitch of Alexandria-Arlington, this event also includes traditional music, dreidel spinning, latkes, hot cocoa, chocolate gelt and other treats. Admission is free, but registration is required. // 1307 N. Highland St., Arlington (Clarendon)
National Landing Menorah Lighting
Dec. 11, 5:30 p.m.
“Unite for Light” at Met Park to light the candles on a 9-foot menorah for the fifth night of Hanukkah. Latkes will be served, along with hot cocoa, doughnuts and chocolate gelt (coins). Play a few rounds of dreidel, a traditional Hanukkah game, while listening to live music. Presented by Chabad Lubavitch of Alexandria-Arlington, the event is free, but capacity is limited, so register in advance through Eventbrite. // 1330 S. Fair St., Arlington (National Landing)
Community Menorah Lighting at Mosaic
Dec. 14, 5-6:30 p.m.
Celebrate the seventh of Hanukkah’s eight nights in the Mosaic District with the Pozez Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia. The festivities will include music, games of dreidel and more fun at the Blue Dock, between Shake Shack and West Elm. // 2910 District Ave., Fairfax