March Culture Guide: 47 Things to Do in the DC Area

Happy March, DC!

Peak bloom for cherry blossoms is on the horizon, which means spring festivals, water activities, and concerts are happening all month long. You can celebrate Women’s History Month at a 5K race, attend an outdoor festival, or dance to endless hits by superstar Lady Gaga at Capital One Arena.

 

10 Best Things to Do in DC

by Pat Padua

 

Music

Ratboys

March 6

The Chicago indie-rock band returns with a new album, Singin’ to an Empty Chair, that’s packed with chiming guitars and soaring vocals perfect for shaking off the late-winter chill.

 

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Music

Joshua Bell

March 6

It’s been nearly 20 years since the virtuoso violinist famously played incognito at L’Enfant Plaza during rush hour. Today, Bell is director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, which will perform works by Ives, Brahms, and Robert Schumann.

 

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Music

Treemonisha

February 10–March 1

Washington National Opera’s first production since leaving the Kennedy Center is Scott Joplin’s 1911 work about a young freedwoman whose rise to leadership is powered by education and self-determination.

 

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Museums

“Vishnu’s Cosmic Ocean”

March 7–September 7

Fragments of an 11th-century bronze Vishnu uncovered in 1936 have been reunited for the first time to form a monumental, 20-foot-long sculpture, on loan from the National Museum of Cambodia and accompanied by an illuminating contextual film.

 

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Theater

Jonah

February 11–15

Playwright Rachel Bonds’s latest work begins as a tender coming-of-age romance at a boarding school before it unfolds into a time-jumping meditation on love, memory, and navigating adulthood in the 21st century.

 

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The audacious English musician brings her visually immersive Body High tour to DC, blending postmodern choreography and avant-pop music in support of her latest release, Eusexia Afterglow.

 

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Books

Erik Larson

March 19

The bestselling historian discusses his latest book, The Demon of Unrest, which chronicles the volatile months between Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration and the outbreak of the Civil War, offering sharp perspective on a nation in crisis.

 

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Museums

“Miró and the United States”

March 21–July 5

This exhibition traces Joan Miró’s deep connections with American artists such as Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeois, and Jackson Pollock, revealing an exchange that shaped modern art on both sides of the Atlantic.

 

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Museums

“Shirley Gorelick: Figuring It Out”

February 27

The Brooklyn-born painter, who lived in DC for a few years before she died in 2000, helped found women’s art collectives and pursued a striking realist style that defied trends. This exhibit includes three large-scale figurative works shown together for the first time.

 

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Books

David Pogue

March 30

With his new book, Apple: The First 50 Years, the prolific tech writer explores the company that reshaped daily life, tracing Apple’s evolution from clunky desktop computers to the pocket-size devices that define the modern world.

 

More Things to Do in March

by Briana Thomas

 

Arts and culture:

• Spot more than 150 living orchids at NMAAHC’s “More Than a Flower” exhibit (through April 26, free, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture).
• Discover the history of camouflage in espionage and covert missions at the Spy Museum’s new exhibit (March 1, $15+, Southwest DC).
• Tap into techno music and culture with music historian Adrian Loving at Phillips after 5 (March 5, $20, Dupont Circle).
• Aluminate the Night at the National Museum of Women in the Arts’ sparkling after-hours program featuring live mural art, pop-up activations, music, and drinks (March 5, $150+, Downtown).
• National Gallery Nights features an artsy garden party where you can dress in your best spring attire, craft floral art, and find more blossom-inspired fun (March 12, free but registration required, ticket lottery opens March 2, National Gallery of Art).
• Pop culture and anime fans can nerd out over cosplay and video games at Awesome Con (March 13-15, $70+, Mount Vernon Square).

Community and heritage:

• Celebrate International Women’s Day at Hotel Zena’s Her Plate multi-course dinner and meet local women chefs (March 6, $128, Downtown).
• Experience music, Irish dancers, pipe bands, and more luck at Ballyshaners St. Patrick’s Day parade (March 7, free, Alexandria).
• Runners and walkers can honor Women’s History Month during the HerStory 5K at Freedom Plaza (March 7, free, Downtown).
• Commemorate the start of springtime at the Nowruz Family Festival (March 14, free, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art).
• Race past the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and more landmarks to help raise funds for St. Jude’s (March 21, $109+, National Mall).

Theater:

• Indie-rock musical Safety Not Guaranteed opens at Signature Theatre (March 3 through April 12, $47+, Arlington).
• See romantic comedy As You Like It at Folger Theatre (March 10 through April 12, $20+, Capitol Hill).
• Ford’s Theatre’s 1776 musical presents an enlightening and comedic look at the founding fathers’ road to establishing America (March 13 through May 16, $58+, Penn Quarter).
• Shakespeare Theatre Company welcomes the US premiere of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s adaptation of Hamnet (March 17 through April 12, $43+, Downtown).
• All ages can relive the magic of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast live on stage (March 18 through April 5, $54+, National Theatre).
• The story and music of queen of rock n’ roll Tina Turner comes to life in this musical at Capital One Hall (March 20-22, $77+, Tysons).
• Lip-synced narratives walk audiences through an underground queer history in Travesty at Woolly Mammoth Theatre (March 24-April 12, pay-what-you-can+, Penn Quarter).

Shows and performances:

• The Harlem Globetrotters blend together basketball, air-defying stunts, and live performance at Capital One Arena (March 7, $47+, Capital One Arena).
• Capital Comedy Festival returns to DAR Constitution Hall with top comics Lavell Crawford, Sommore, Joe Clair, and Don DC Curry (March 14, $83+, Downtown).

Music:

• Listen to the melodies of Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s wind quintet at Wolf Trap (March 1, $55+, Vienna).
• Iconic rock band Journey arrives in DC for their farewell tour (March 4 $62+, Capital One Arena).
• Listen to Indian music and see cultural dance showcases in celebration of Holi (March 7, free, Dupont Circle).
• R&B singer Mario is live in concert at Ivy City’s tropical-themed bar and entertainment hangout Throw Social DC (March 14, $40+,  Ivy City).
• Black Cat spins Prince’s greatest hits to help raise support for immigrant families (March 20, $24, Shaw).
• Megastar Lady Gaga brings her star power to DC (March 23-24, $343+, Capital One Arena).
• DC’s dance-punk group Light Beams gets the party started at Rhizome (March 28, $10+, Takoma).

Cherry blossoms:

• Dance the night away at the Pink Tie Party (March 13, $275, Union Station).
• Race paddle boats in honor of Stumpy—DC’s beloved tiny cherry blossom tree (March 19, free for spectators, $100 per team, Tidal Basin).
• Cruise along the Potomac River in a water taxi to see budding cherry blossoms (opens March 20, $25+, Alexandria, Wharf).
• DC’s Cherry Blossom Festival kicks off this month with an opening ceremony packed with Japanese cultural performances such as sword dances by Futago Onikenbai and music by pop singer Ayaka Hirahara (March 21, free with $5 ticket fee, Downtown).
• Move your feet to live local music across multiple stages, and watch a fireworks finale at Bloomaroo (March 28, free, Wharf).
• Kite enthusiasts can soar their kites into the sky alongside neighbors at the Washington Monument Grounds (March 28, free, National Mall).
• National Harbor’s annual Sakura Sunday brings a Japanese pop-up market, art, music, dance, culinary treats, and more to the Maryland waterfront (March 29, free, National Harbor).

Things to do with kids:

• Kiddos can watch an interactive performance led by the Great Zucchini and make crafts at Atlas Performing Arts Center (March 7, free, H Street Corridor).
• Families and students can join coloring workshops, meet artists, and do more crafts at the Big Draw at the National Building Museum (March 14, free, Penn Quarter).
• Young children can participate in gentle, multi-sensory storytelling at Imagination Stage’s brand new production Good Morning, Good Night (March 21 through April 19, $25, Bethesda).

Part of this article appears in the March 2026 issue of Washingtonian.