Things to do the week of Oct. 12-15, 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
Together We Dine
Support DC's restaurant community during this month-long initiative hosted by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, Events DC and additional partners. Local spots will host events throughout the month that serve as showcases for DC chefs and restaurants woven throughout the city's diverse and distinct neighborhoods.
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art
From the Louvre: Masterpieces of Islamic Art
In its only U.S. stop, this exhibition comes to DC with 26 works from the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Some of the pieces, which showcase Islamic art from Spain to India, date back to the 7th century. The collection explores the evolution of artistic styles and reveals how art shaped cultural exchange, trade and diplomacy across centuries.
Free Admission
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, 1050 Independence Ave SW, Washington, DC 20013
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
Tuesday
Ford's Theatre
Come From Away
The Tony Award-winning masterpiece returns to Ford’s Theatre a decade after its debut at the historic venue. Come From Away concerns a small Canadian town that welcomed 6,579 airline passengers with open arms after their plane was stranded there on Sept. 11, 2001. The story of friendship and the bonds of community will warm your heart this fall.
Tickets
Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
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
Live Nation
Teddy Swims – Oct. 13
The chart-topping and GRAMMY-nominated songs of Teddy Swims showcase an artist who can deftly maneuver between genres, feelings and deliveries. Swims captivates audiences with electric live performances, and he only continues to add hits to his catalogue. Expect a raw and riveting performance from the singer at Capital One Arena.
7 p.m. | Tickets
Capital One Arena, 601 F Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
Wednesday
BlackDoctor Film Festival
A new festival comes to DC's True Reformer Building for a day centered around curated films, conversations and engagement. Storytelling will showcase health, wellness and the lived-in experiences of Black communities. Throughout the day, spaces will be created for education and dialogue as well as voices that are often underrepresented in traditional health stories.
Tickets
True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Frida…A Self Portrait
The Brazilian writer and performer Vanessa Severo plays Frida Kahlo on the eve of her death as her pain and passion are laid bare. Expect incredible physicality in Severo's one-woman performance, bringing the famous Mexican painter to vivid life in a play that illuminates a fascinating journey.
Tickets
Klein Theatre, 450 7th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004
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
D.C. United
D.C. United vs. New York Red Bulls
Celebrate soccer and the DMV's vibrant Latino community when D.C. United takes on the New York Red Bulls during Noche Latina at Audi Field. The evening brings Latin American culture to the match with music, Salvadoran pupusas and plenty of action on the pitch.
7:30 p.m. | Tickets
Audi Field, 100 Potomac Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20024
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
Be the People
An inextinguishable optimism about where we’ve come from and where we can go pervades the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream (MCAAD). Beginning October 3, MCAAD shines a light on the resource that gives America its tenacity: its people. Be the People is a national effort to make problem-solving the defining trait of American identity by focusing on the nation-altering civic engagement of “ordinary” people across our 250 years. The exhibit also features ways for visitors to get involved with their communities and make their own mark.
Free Admission | Timed Entry Passes
Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream, 1503 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005
The Keegan Theatre
Hundred Days
Keegan Theatre brings an incredible true story to the stage in a thrill-filled new production. What would you do if you only had 100 days to live? With folk-punk music as the soundtrack, Hundred Days goes for broke and welcomes you to embrace the unknown and take risks along the way.
Tickets
Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
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
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