Everything You Need to Know About DC's Downtown Holiday Market

Where is the Downtown Holiday Market? What’s nearby?

This year's edition of the Downtown Holiday Market will be on the street, filling two entire blocks of F Street NW from 7th to 9th Streets. Now in its 16th year, its bright lights bring Penn Quarter and Chinatown to life, providing a holiday spark to the neighborhood, complete with new health and safety protocols. The spacious, open-air village is free and open to the public, and opens ahead of Thanksgiving week, on Friday, Nov. 20, and will be open daily 12-8 p.m. through Dec. 23.The Downtown Holiday Market will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and on the following Mondays: Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and Dec. 14.

After you peruse the market, you can check out the free-to-enter Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, both housed in the same building nearby. Dinner and cocktails can be enjoyed at nearby restaurants like Jaleo, Zaytinya, Clyde’s of Gallery Place and Carmine’s, or get your food to-go. Please make sure to wear a mask when not eating or drinking.

What will I find at the Downtown Holiday Market?

This year's Downtown Holiday Market will feature 70 exhibitors. Visitors can expect a range of family-friendly offerings including emerging artisan makers, returning favorite vendors, festive decor and lights. For a full lineup of featured artists, visit Downtown Holiday Market’s exhibitor list.

This year, additions to the market include an exciting mixture of interactive digital experiences. ARTECHOUSE presents a first-of-its-kind mixed reality (XR) adventure around the market, utilizing smartphone technology to unveil Instagrammable surprises at various checkpoints hidden among vendors.

What else will I find there?

Shoppers can watch the market’s Jumbotron screen that illuminates the heart of the village. Live center stage performances have been replaced with curated, streaming entertainment, including holiday-fun films and musical acts like the Howard University’s Gospel Choir, King Street Bluegrass, Jazz Trotters the Washington Youth Choir and others.

For a full lineup of featured musicians, visit Downtown Holiday Market’s website.

What’s there to eat and drink at the Downtown Holiday Market?

Food and drink vendors this year include The Taste of Germany, Alexa’s Empanadas, Old Blue BBQ, The Capital Candy Jar, Bindaas and Migue’s Mini Donuts.

What COVID-19 protocols will be in place to ensure customer safety at the Downtown Holiday Market?

Streamlined, one-way, socially distanced foot traffic will be utilized to ensure safe circulation around the market's back-to-back retail vendor tents. All affiliated market workers, exhibitors and shoppers will be required to wear masks or other personal protective equipment upon entry and at all times within the market. Hand sanitizing dispensers will be widely available and easily accessed throughout.

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