Name: Fairmont's 23rd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony
Start: 2026-12-01T17:30:00-05:00
Location: Fairmont Washington D.C. Georgetown

Fairmont Washington D.C. Georgetown

Fairmont Washington, D.C. Georgetown is pleased to announce its 23rd annual tree lighting ceremony in the hotel’s Courtyard beginning at 5:30pm on Tuesday, December 1.Families will take the chill off next to heaters as they listen to the award-winning Georgetown Visitation Madrigals perform holiday classics. Children will enjoy decorating holiday cards and tasting holiday treats. All families will be entered to win prizes. 
A Master of Ceremonies and special guests will introduce Santa Claus as he makes his first appearance.He will spend time listening to children’s Christmas wishes after the ceremony, by the life-size Gingerbread House.
 Fairmont’s tree lighting ceremony, which is free and open to the public, encourages all guests to bring a gift for Horton’s Kids* - such as Legos, basketballs, footballs, dolls, books, games or arts and crafts. The donations will help spread holiday cheer to over 500 children, ages 5 – 18.
For reservations visit: <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fairmonts-23rd-annual-tree-lighting-ceremony-tickets-2002566904519?aff=oddtdtcreator" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Tree Lighting Registration</a>.

Local Event: Fairmont's 23rd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

District of Columbia

Washington Metropolitan Area

Georgetown

District Of Columbia

Fairmont's 23rd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

Fairmont Washington, D.C. Georgetown is pleased to announce its 23rd annual tree lighting ceremony in the hotel’s Courtyard...

Penn Social

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Washington’s Spookiest Days,” on local seances and other efforts to communicate with the beyond during the early 20th century, with Mark Benbow, lecturer in American history at George Washington University and former historian at the Woodrow Wilson House Museum.&nbsp;
What do Harry Houdini, Woodrow Wilson, Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous Washington brewmaster Christian Heurich, and the spirit of a Native-American “Princess” named Monotowah have in common?
They’re all part of an eerie chapter of Washington history, the 1910s and 1920s, when seances were the focus of both harmless parlor games and serious religious practices, and when skeptics of the occult clashed with its believers in the halls of Congress.
Learn about this fascinating time with Mark Benbow, a historian who wrote two books on Wilson and one on Heurich, and who has earned great reviews in giving this talk in the past.
He’ll discuss how a Spiritualist movement that had arisen in the nineteenth century, combined with a spike in interest in contacting the dead following the First World War, left many Washingtonians trying to reach those on “the other side.”
Among the fascinating figures he’ll summon up: Madame Marcia Champney, a popular Washington D.C. medium, who claimed to have visited Edith Wilson and other First Ladies in the White House. She bragged of having fatally cursed debunker Harry Houdini during a Congressional hearing in which he testified in favor of legislation banning seances.
Edith Wilson, Woodrow’s second wife, was not the only believer in his circle. Her brother Randolph hosted seances in their S Street home using a Ouija board and color-coded lights and music, to contact wise spirits including a Native American maiden and a “Hindoo” mystic.
Benbow will share a few ghost stories from his time as the Woodrow Wilson House Historian and even let you know where the house’s “haunted” bathroom is. He’ll leave you with a better sense of where to look for ghosts when Halloween arrives. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-spooky-washington" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image by Canva.

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Washington’s Spookiest Days

Profs & Pints DC: Washington’s Spookiest Days

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Washington’s Spookiest Days,” on local seances and other efforts to communicate with the beyond...

Monday, October 12 from 5 to 7 P.M.
In this workshop, Jennifer Wilkin Penick will lead participants through two accessible and engaging projects -- both inspired by the colorful art of Henri Matisse. In one project participants&nbsp;will create hand-cut stencils and use them to make layered monoprints, and in the second they will create colorful collages. Participants will leave with a series of colorful and unique monoprints and collages, with their favorite work matted and ready to frame.&nbsp;
This single-session workshop will familiarize participants with gel plate printing techniques, designing and cutting stencils, and abstract collage.
 Adults, no experience needed 12 Participants
$50 Supplies:&nbsp;: $10 supply fee paid directly to instructor

Local Event: Gel Plate Printing & Collage Workshop: inspired by the art of Henri Matisse with Jennifer Penick

Gel Plate Printing & Collage Workshop: inspired...

Monday, October 12 from 5 to 7 P.M.
In this workshop, Jennifer Wilkin Penick will lead participants through two accessible and...

Gel Plate Printing & Collage Workshop: inspired by the art of Henri Matisse with Jennifer Penick

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Witches of Antiquity,” on the sorceresses of ancient Greece and Rome, with Barbette Stanley Spaeth, professor emerita of classical studies at William &amp; Mary and scholar of magic and the supernatural in the ancient world.
Seductive enchantress. Murderous sorceress. Corpse-mangling hag. The witches of the ancient world were among antiquity’s most vivid and disturbing characters.&nbsp;
Get to know some of antiquity’s most unforgettable women with the help of Barbette Stanley Spaeth, who last year gave fantastic Profs and Pints talks on ancient magic and ancient terrors of the night.
We’ll spend time with Homer’s beautiful Circe, Euripides’ passionate Medea, and Horace’s sinister Canidia. You’ll encounter Lucan’s terrifying Erictho, a witch so powerful she could raise the dead and force even the gods to obey her.
Along the way, we’ll ask why the image of the witch changed so dramatically as it traveled from Greece to Rome. Greek writers often imagined witches as beautiful, alluring, and sometimes even helpful. Roman authors, on the other hand, increasingly portrayed them as ugly, lustful, dangerous old women. What can these frightening figures tell us about ancient attitudes toward magic, women, sexuality, and power?
The answers take us beyond spells and potions into some of the deepest anxieties of the ancient world, about women who possessed power, men who feared losing it, and what might happen when accepted boundaries—between male and female, human and divine, living and dead, and even order and chaos—began to break down.
For over thirty years at William &amp; Mary and Tulane University, Dr. Spaeth taught courses on ancient magic and the supernatural. She has published several studies of ancient witchcraft and is currently working on a book on the subject. Her talk is sure to leave you spellbound. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-witches-of-antiquity" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: From “Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus,” an 1891 painting by John William Waterhouse (Gallery Oldham / Public Domain).

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Witches of Antiquity

Profs & Pints DC: Witches of Antiquity

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Witches of Antiquity,” on the sorceresses of ancient Greece and Rome, with Barbette Stanley...

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “Horror in the East,” a look at truly frightening Buddhist beliefs and rituals, with Justin McDaniel, professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania, founder of the Penn Ghost Project, and former Buddhist monk.
Profs and Pints is bringing to Penn Social one of its most fascinating speakers, Professor Justin McDaniel, a former Buddhist monk whose teachings about macabre Eastern beliefs and practices are sure to expand your horizons when it comes to horror.
Westerners often regard Buddhism as a religion of peace, meditation, and compassion. While this is often true, it ignores the horrific and phantasmagoric side of many Buddhist rituals and beliefs. Those include practices such as meditating on corpses, strolling through giant “Hell Gardens” filled with terrifying images, and telling stories about haunting and highly sexualized ghosts. It’s no wonder that Buddhist countries produce some of the most violent horror films in the world.
Professor McDaniel will give an entertaining and highly visual talk looking at the ways in which Buddhists in Japan, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Singapore, and other places embrace the macabre. You’ll leave with a much richer understanding of Buddhism and the cultures and worldviews that gave rise to horror movies that can scare the wits out of you.
Dr. McDaniel has lived a life that gives him distinct expertise on this subject matter. He has published award-winning books on meditation, ghosts, and Buddhist literature, and he studies Buddhist art and translates Buddhist manuscripts. He lived for many years in Southeast Asia, where he conducted research as a Fulbright Fellow, taught and translated, and became a Buddhist monk. He also has regularly given cemetery tours and founded the Penn Ghost Project, an interdisciplinary effort to study beliefs in spirits from the beyond.&nbsp;
His talk will give you a much richer perspective on horror as a worldwide phenomenon. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-horror-in-the-east" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. The talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: Punishment depicted in the hell garden at Aluvihara Rock Cave Temple in Sri Lanka (Photo by istolethetv/ Creative Commons).

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: Horror in the East

Profs & Pints DC: Horror in the East

Profs and Pints DC presents: “Horror in the East,” a look at truly frightening Buddhist beliefs and rituals, with Justin...

Georgetown Neighborhood Library

4,500+ gently used books in all genres. Proceeds go to library programs.

Local Event: Used book sale

Used book sale

4,500+ gently used books in all genres. Proceeds go to library programs.

To Be Provided

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective is excited to announce that registration is open for the ’26-’27 season of its youth chorus, Capital Force! Students learn barbershop from top educators and will perform locally and on the Barbershop Harmony Society International stage at Virginia Beach in February in the beautiful Sandler Center for the Performing Arts.Join the kickoff rehearsal

The kickoff meeting on October 18 includes voice placement, an informal audition, vocal warm-ups, and singing together. You will also learn about the season’s dates and rehearsal expectations. Interested singers are welcome to register and try the first rehearsal before deciding whether to join.
Who can join?
Capital Force welcomes singers in grades 7-12 from the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Seventh graders are considered on a case-by-case basis with a recommendation from a parent and teacher.
Location and registration
Rehearsals take place in Alexandria. For participant safety, the exact rehearsal location is emailed to registered participants. Capital Force is supported in part by a grant from the Alexandria Commission for the Arts. Questions to info@aaccsings.org. For more information and registration go to <a href="https://sites.google.com/view/capital-force-youth-chorus/home" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">sites.google.com/view/capital-force-youth-chorus/home</a>

Local Event: Capital Force Youth Chorus Kickoff

Alexandria city

Old Town Alexandria

Virginia

Capital Force Youth Chorus Kickoff

The Alexandria A Cappella Collective is excited to announce that registration is open for the ’26-’27 season of its youth...

<a href="https://www.profsandpints.com/washingtondc" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Profs and Pints DC</a> presents: “The Macabre Poe,” a look at Edgar Allan Poe’s most gruesome and horrifying works and what inspired them, with Amy Branam Armiento, professor of English at Frostburg State University, past president of the Poe Studies Association, and editor of two books on the acclaimed American author.&nbsp;
Stephen King has said that he and other horror writers are all “the children of Poe,” a reference to how they’re unable to escape his shadow. Although Edgar Allan Poe penned works in a long list of genres, including fantasy, detective fiction, and poetry, his most prominent legacy is as the master of the macabre. Over the nearly two centuries since Poe lived, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Cask of Amontillado,” and “The Masque of the Red Death” have haunted millions of readers.
Who, exactly, was Poe? Why does he remain as one of the United States’ best-known writers at home and abroad? Why do his works continue to resonate with readers more than 150 years after they were published?
Come hear such questions tackled by Amy Branam Armiento, a leading Poe scholar who edited More Than Love: The Enduring Fascination with Edgar Allan Poe, co-edited Poe and Women: Recognition and Revision, and formerly served as president of an international organization that supports the scholarly and informal exchange of information on Poe’s life, works, times, and influence.&nbsp;
Professor Armiento will look at which people and events influenced Poe’s literary works. His troubled life included the slow deaths of his mother, brother, foster mother, and wife, as well as a problematic relationship with alcohol and a difficult relationship with his foster father. All shaped his relationship with death, horror, and the unknown.
She'll also look at how Poe’s horror tales laid the groundwork for the characters, circumstances, and other conventions of horror stories. We’ll explore how Poe shattered literary conventions of his own time by embracing lurid descriptions of violence, especially violence perpetrated between family members and loved ones. You’ll learn how Poe adapted conventions of the fairy tale to create his memorable, haunting tales, an aspect of his work that is hidden in plain sight.
The presentation will also include examples of evocative artwork used to illustrate editions of Poe's works. (<a href="https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/profsandpints/dc-the-macabre-poe" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Advance tickets</a>: $13.50 plus sales tax and processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later.)
Image: Poe as depicted in a modern retouched version of a daguerreotype by Mathew Benjamin Brady. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.)

Local Event: Profs & Pints DC: The Macabre Poe

Profs & Pints DC: The Macabre Poe

Profs and Pints DC presents: “The Macabre Poe,” a look at Edgar Allan Poe’s most gruesome and horrifying works and what...

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Fairmont's 23rd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony

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