It starts with the White House’s annual Pardoning of the Thanksgiving Turkey. The Washington DC area embraces the holidays wholeheartedly as the entire district comes together with lights and decorations, holiday markets, parades, and more. Join in on the merriment while you already have family and friends gathered for Thanksgiving!
ZooLights – nothing more need be said!
The National Zoo has been putting on their annual Zoo Lights event for years. It’s a family favorite because you can combine seeing some of your favorite furry friends in the day and stick around to view the LED animated light displays at night when the zoo is illuminated with over 500,000 lights, LED animal displays, two laser shows, and holiday music. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/events/zoolights for free tickets.
Kickback at Wunder Garten after a Black Friday spree
Inspired by the beer gardens of Germany, Wunder Garten (1101 1st Street, NE) is a charming beer garden with a large selection of beers. It’s a great spot for friends and family to gather during Thanksgiving weekend and have a few. The beer garden hosts cabanas and tents, fire puts, board games, DJs, and live entertainment. https://www.wundergartendc.com/
Stop by the Downtown Holiday Market
The 18th Annual Downtown Holiday Market, Washington D.C.’s outdoor shopping village, kicks off the holiday season Friday, November 18. The beloved outdoor market continues to support small businesses and entrepreneurs across the region, welcoming shoppers for a safe, secure and enhanced shopping experience in the heart of the District this year.
Operated by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District (BID) and Diverse Markets Management, this year’s market will again take over two entire blocks of F Street NW, from 7th to 9th Streets NW. With its main grand entrance located on the sidewalk in front of the National Portrait Gallery, the outdoor shopping village’s expansive footprint allows for wide aisles for shopping, browsing, and enjoying the foods and live entertainment. http://downtownholidaymarket.com/
Clean up Rock Creek Park
Blue Planet DC has many similar events scheduled throughout the year but also has an annual morning cleanup post-Thanksgiving. Wear comfortable clothes, grab your gloves and a couple of trash bags, and help keep the neighborhood clean!
Keep the kids active
Which other race gives all registrants a commemorative race shirt, a coloring bib with crayons, and a finisher’s ribbon? None that we can think of! The virtual Gingerbread Man Mile is a fun activity for the littles to keep active after devouring the turkey. This year it is being held between November 26-29. http://www.prraces.com/gingerbread/race-info/
