Free Fun in D.C.

By Elisabeth Grant

On any given night in D.C. you can impress a date at a museum exhibit, take an out-of-town friend to a concert event, or entertain yourself with a theater performance… all for FREE.  Sure, there are plenty of things going on that cost money, but who has time for them when there’s a myriad of free fun available in the city. Below you’ll find year-round, seasonal, and annual free events.

Year-round Free Options

1. Museums and Memorials
D.C. locals and tourists alike enjoy the freeness of most of the museums and memorials in D.C. (a luxury most take for granted until they visit a city like New York or Philadelphia). Admission is free at all of the D.C. Smithsonian museums, including (but not limited to) the Natural History Museum, the American Indian Museum, the Air and Space Museum, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Even the Zoo is free! Which is amazing to me, since I’d definitely pay some money to come face to face with a Giant Panda cub. Of course not all museums are free in D.C. (we’re looking at you Spy Museum), but you can easily fill up a day, a weekend, heck, probably a month, with the ones that are.

The memorials around the National Mall and the Tidal Basin are the landmarks that make D.C. recognizable. Most are open-air, and as already mentioned, free to the public. Make sure you check out the Washington Monument (you know, the giant pencil featured in any movie or TV drama set in D.C.), the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the numerous war memorials (Vietnam, Korean, and WWII).

2. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage
The Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage presents free performances every day at 6pm. Every day! And the selection offers something for everyone. One night stop by to hear some classical piano, another night enjoy a Hungarian storyteller, or a funk band, or a magic show, or a puppeteer, or an Israeli singer/songwriter/composer. The variety and the talent showcased at the Millennium Stage is staggering. Now that you’ve learned about these daily free events you’re never allowed to say you’re bored and have nothing to do.

3. National Theater
Monday, Monday… Most of the time Mondays get a bad rap. They can be manic, and you can even have “a case of them.” Mondays at the National Theater on the other hand are quite entertaining. Every Monday this fall enjoy a free performance at 6 and 7:30 pm in the Helen Hayes Gallery. Upcoming events have a decidedly international flavor, including Hawaiian music and hula, Indian classical dance, Chinese opera, and more.

4. National Gallery of Art
Throughout the year the National Gallery of Art offers free concerts in its Sculpture Garden and West Building. The music selections are presented “in honor” of current exhibitions at the gallery. For instance, the National Gallery Piano Trio (performing this October 18th at 6:30 pm) correlates with the current exhibition of The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850-1900, which takes a look at the “discreet world of individual collecting in which prints, drawings, and small sculpture were kept aside in portfolios or stored away in cabinets” in the late 19th century.

5. Free in D.C. Blog
There are so many free events going on in D.C. day to day that it’s hard to keep track of them all. Luckily, the Free in D.C. blog takes care of this for you. Nearly every day of the week this blog tracks free poetry open mic nights, film screenings, yoga classes, book signings, talks, tastings, concerts, festivals, and more.

Seasonal and Annual Free Events

1. Jazz in the Garden
Jazz in the Garden is one category of free concert offered by the National Gallery of Art. It’s worth mentioning again though, due to it’s popularity. Labor Day through mid-November get to the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden early to snag a seat, then sit back and relax from 5 to 8:30 pm to all types of jazz. Hear fusion rock/jazz, a capella, R&B, and more.

2. Screen on the Green
The annual Screen on the Green outdoor film showcase on the National Mall almost didn’t happen this year when HBO dropped their sponsorship of it. Film fanatics rallied together with such a fervor (on Facebook at least) that Comcast, the Trust for the National Mall, and HBO combined forces to allow the shows to go on. Two films in July and two films in August were shown this year, and included “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “On the Waterfront,” and “Rebel Without a Cause.” Here’s hoping that next year Screen on the Green can continue the summer tradition, and D.C. can enjoy more free films.

3. Nationals Park
This year marked the second annual Opera in the Outfield event at Nationals Park. For the second year in a row the Nationals baseball stadium opened its stands to offer a simulcast of the opening night of the Washington National Opera. Picnic blankets scattered across the outfield, seats were filled in nearly every section, and everyone sat back and enjoyed a free night of arias.

Whether you’re a starving college student, a poor professional, or just a thrifty individual, D.C. has an astounding number of free events at your fingertips. There’s something for everyone, every night of the week.