Things to do the week of Sept. 21-24, 2026
We've gathered up things to do across the nation's capital, including museum exhibits, concerts, only-in-DC events and much more. Don't miss our things to do this weekend and things to do this month as well.
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Monday
WalkingTown DC
On September, Events DC showcases the incredible walkability of the nation’s capital during this free, week-long public tour program. In total, dozens of guided walking tours will be held throughout the District, including neighborhood showcases, themed excursions, historical journeys and many more. Historians, licensed tour guides, community leaders and business owners, among others, host these adventures that will take you to both well-known and hidden gems across DC.
DC Public Library
District Vibes / American Pride: How DC Changed American Culture
DC gave the world the football huddle, the modern blood bank and legends like Marvin Gaye. Discover the vibrant contributions of Washingtonians through images, artifacts, storytelling and free programs. The main exhibit location is Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, but satellite locations can be found across the city.
More Info | Free Admission
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
Homelands
Discover how people and places relate to each other in a new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art’s East Building. Across 20 pieces, see the ways in which artists consider ancestral links, pressures that caused them to move from one place to the next and the larger histories to be found all across the United States.
10 a.m. – 5 p.m. | Free Admission
National Gallery of Art, 4th Street & Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20565
Tuesday
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California
The National Museum of Women in the Arts' new exhibit traces the flow and flourishing of quilts in the context of the Second Great Migration, a mass movement of approximately five million African Americans from the rural South to cities in the North and West between 1940 and 1970 in search of a more equitable life. Many of the hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived in California carried quilts for warmth and protection, as containers for ancestral memory and as emblems of cultural survival. America itself has always been a quilt of many cultures; come celebrate the art form in the country’s 250th year.
Hours & Admission
National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
Library of Congress
Alive in Many Hands
The Library of Congress debuts a new exhibit that explores how the American Folklife Center has preserved and shared cultural traditions across generations. The Center's collections are the source for the in-depth display that includes more than 150 items; standout treasures include a performance by Go-Go legend Chuck Brown of "Bustin' Loose" at the 2002 American Folklife Center Homegrown concert, a Diné (Navajo) rug that blends traditional and contemporary imagery (pictured above) and a banjo signed by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger and other folk music legends.
Hours & Admission (free; timed-entry required)
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540
Photo by Manuel Harlan, Shakespeare Theatre Company
The Score
Brian Cox, the iconic actor of stage and screen, visits Harman Hall in this production’s only American engagement. Acclaimed director Trevor Nunn is at the helm for this tale of Johann Sebastian Bach (Cox) and his visit to the court of the devious Frederick II, where he’s presented with a stirring challenge to his morality.
Tickets
Harman Hall, 610 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Wednesday
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Much Here Is Beautiful: Photography Surveys of the U.S. Bicentennial
From the California coast to the Kansas heartland to the streets of New York City, the photographs in this exhibit (which takes its name from Robert Hayden’s poem “American Journal”) offer an expansive and evocative portrait of America in the 1970s and early 1980s. Explore selected images from photography surveys that document people and places in the United States from the 19th century to the years before and after the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976.
11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. | Free Admission
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and G Streets NW, Washington, DC 20004
Capital Harvest on the Plaza
Located at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Capital Harvest on the Plaza is open from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Wednesdays from May through October. During your visit, you’ll find plenty of farm-fresh deliciousness and artisanal crafts, as well as recipes and tips for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Check out the full list of vendors to start planning your haul.
10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Wednesdays | Free Admission
Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004
Arena Stage
The Fruits of Our Labor
Legendary DC dance company Step Afrika! honors America’s 250th anniversary with a new show set to premiere at Arena Stage. The Fruits of Our Labor uses percussion, stepping, moving visual imagery and a bold red, white and blue color palette to explore the American experience.
Tickets
Arena Stage, 1101 6th Street SW, Washington, DC 20024
Signature Theatre
Merrily We Roll Along
Stephen Sondheim and George Furth collaborated on this beloved play that turns the traditional musical on its ear. Signature Theatre in Arlington, Va. stages the duo’s brilliant rumination on friendship, compromise and the cost of success. The audience follows a trio of close friends across 20 years, tracing the narrative backwards in time from their lowest moment to their highest, with the journey marked by incredible songs and routines.
Tickets
Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington, VA 22206
Thursday
Art in Embassies
Passport to Patriotism
The Art Museum of the Americas hosts a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition thanks to Art in Embassies. Passport to Patriotism showcases the work of more than 30 American artists. The pieces reflect how the American story transcends boundaries and politics and how the country’s ideals and values have been formed. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Free Admission
Art Museum of the Americas, 201 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20540
National Museum of African American History and Culture’s 10th Anniversary Celebration
Honor a decade of one of the most important museums in the District with programming and events at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. After many years of advocacy for a showcase of the African American experience, the museum debuted in 2016. Across four days, connect with important history and a vibrant community in the nation’s capital.
More Info
Theatre Week
Theatre Week
Celebrate the theatre season in the Washington, DC region with a weeks-long promotion from TheatreWashington which includes $25, $45 and $65 tickets to highly anticipated productions at venues all over the DC area. There are musicals, dramas, comedies, theatre for young audiences and much more. In addition to discounted tickets, Theatre Week also includes special events (most of which are free) designed to entertain, educate and inspire, including the free Kickoff Fest.
Measure for Measure
Psalmayene 24, Helen Hayes Award winner, directs this rare staging of a Shakespeare comedy. The story of societal upheaval, which concerns a corrupt official and a young nun, will make the audience wonder whose voices are elevated and whose are silenced.
Tickets
Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
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