NOVA This Week (11/05): 33rd Annual Northern Virginia Christmas Market

Don't Miss This Week

The 33rd Annual Northern Virginia Christmas Market opens Friday, November 6, with handmade work from artists and makers — the kind of early-holiday shopping trip that beats the mall crowds by a solid month.

Saturday, November 7, Adams Morgan turns its stoops into stages for the Adams Morgan Fall PorchFest, a free, roam-the-neighborhood music festival that's become one of the DC area's best excuses to wander a Saturday away.

Thursday, November 5

The library gets a little punk this week: DC Public Library hosts BAD BRAINS: ARE YOU READY, a rare conversation and listening session marking the release of an early Bad Brains studio recording.

Out and about: Cox Farms Fall Festival runs its final weekend before the season wraps, and Fairfax basketball fans have an easy night out with George Mason Women's Basketball vs. Akron.

At the library: kids can try 3D Printing Basics for Kids, while adults can dress the Art Deco part for an Agatha Christie Night book club discussion.

Friday, November 6

Embassy and global culture: the National Museum of Asian Art marks the holiday with a Diwali Festival of classical music, talks and dancing; the Austrian Embassy hosts its annual Viennese Ball with live orchestra, dinner and waltzing; and the DC Jazz Festival's embassy series brings Spanish-Catalan trumpeter and vocalist Andrea Motis to a distinctive diplomatic setting.

Screen and stage: start the day easy with Coffee & a Classic: Morning Glory at Richard Byrd Library, then head to Loudoun for A Grave Misunderstanding, an interactive murder mystery dinner theater.

Saturday, November 7

The Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra marks 100 years of jazz giants in a performance built around a century of influential artists.

Drink and shop: Nationals Park turns into the 2026 Fall DC Beer Fest, with more than 80 breweries pouring, while the embassy-hosted Czech Christmas Market offers a smaller, more distinctive holiday-shopping detour.

At the MLK Library, And if I Die Before I Wake brings author George M. Johnson in for conversation.

Sunday, November 8

DC Public Library stages Challenging Books: A Live Theatre Experience, turning book challenges and intellectual freedom into original live theater.

Creative workshops: Hill Center runs an EAST poetry workshop with Taru Thompson, while Loudoun offers a step-by-step Paint with Acrylics class themed around Agatha Christie's Evil Under the Sun.

For families: young readers can practice with therapy dogs at Paws to Read, and Pokémon fans can mark the franchise's 30th anniversary with a Pokémon Scavenger Hunt.

Monday, November 9

The Smithsonian hosts a Hmong New Year celebration, with folk songs and cooking demonstrations.

For families: Alexandria's Doll Days pairs a diya craft with Diwali books and American Girl's Kavi Sharma, and Loudoun's Family Read-a-Thon adds raffle incentives to a themed reading session.

For book lovers: Alexandria's Native American Heritage Month Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Tasting highlights genre fiction by Indigenous authors, and Lovettsville's self-guided Agatha Christie Mystery Walk turns the town into a puzzle.

Tuesday, November 10

Cook something: Union Market runs a hands-on Handmade Dumplings Cooking Class, and Loudoun's Stories You Can Taste pairs food with community storytelling.

Telling stories, your way: Arlington's Aurora Hills Writer's Cafe gives adult writers a supportive space to work, while Alexandria teens roll dice for a dino-themed Duncan and Dragons adventure.

More:

• Loudoun homeschoolers get a practical outing at Homeschool Enrichment: Science.
• Loudoun County holds a Public Hearing on Housing and Community Development Needs for residents who want a say in local priorities.

Wednesday, November 11

Veterans Day brings two local ways to mark it: the Annual Veterans Day Program at the Military Women's Memorial, and a hands-on activity to Support Veterans on Veterans Day at the NMAJMH.

Thursday, November 12

For families: Alexandria's Art with Julie turns autumn leaves into a nature-inspired art session, After-School Party Games gathers kids for unusual group games, and Arlington's Westover branch offers a music-and-movement Tunes and Tales Storytime.

Middle schoolers can try the newest console at Arlington's Ready, Set, Game!: Nintendo Switch 2 meetup.

Stories and spoken word: the Korean Cultural Center's My Korea Story 2: Share Your Memory opens up personal connections to Korea, while a DC venue hosts a Spoken Word Poetry Album Listening Party for a new release.

Friday, November 13

Embassy and global culture: the French Embassy stages Le Chalet: Opera Comique, a comic Swiss romance in an unusual setting, and the Spanish Cultural Center opens its doors for Fall Open Doors.

Brewing a Revolution: After Hours connects drinks with American history for a distinctive museum night out.

At the library: Alexandria's Book Sale offers thousands of bargain titles, and Arlington teens get a low-key Brick and Chill LEGO Hangout.

More:

• Musée Noir: A Mosaic of Black Womanhood showcases Black womanhood through art.

Saturday, November 14

For pet owners: Loudoun's All About Animals: Pet Sitting Basics covers the practical side of caring for other people's pets, and Alexandria's Building Better Bonds! offers advice for getting along better with the ones at home.

For families: Arlington pairs crafting with a film for Knits & Flicks at Westover, and toddlers get storytime plus play at Saturday Play Day at Central.

Around town: Loudoun celebrates its newest school with the Union Street School Ribbon Cutting and Open House, and local artists set up for the Art in the Attic Pop-Up Market, with a cider stop built in.

Sunday, November 15

The Korean Cultural Center's Kimjang Day 2026 lets visitors make kimchi and take part in the hands-on Korean tradition, with K-pop on the side.

At the library: Alexandria's Book Sale continues with low-cost titles, and Board Game Bliss gathers players for a casual afternoon of new and classic games.

The National Gallery of Art offers two guided tours of portraiture, one in English and one in Italian.

All Week

• Arlington's Before Virginia: Native American Life in Northern Virginia is a family-friendly look at Indigenous history close to home, with a hands-on craft.
• Alexandria hosts a writing workshop, Celebrating Poet Mary Oliver, inspired by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet.
• Fairfax County's D&D Character Building Workshop is a playful entry point for first-time players.
• Union Market's DC Mural Tour explores the neighborhood's street art with a guide.
• DC Public Library's DiNovember Fossil Hunt is a quirky, hands-on science activity for young fossil hunters.
• Arlington's Federal Workers Support Group offers a timely gathering for federal workers and others affected by workforce layoffs.
• Alexandria screens The Devil Wears Prada 2 free, ahead of the fashion-world sequel's wide release.
• Union Market's Handmade Pasta Cooking Class is a hands-on way to make dinner and learn a new trick.
• DC Public Library's Historic Easements: What Homeowners Need to Know is a practical briefing for owners curious about historic-preservation easements.
• Singer-songwriter Josh Rouse brings his indie-pop and folk catalog to the area.