Things to Do in Washington DC with Kids — Family Events & Weekend Planner
896 family events from official Washington DC library, park, and museum calendars, plus 1491 kid-friendly spots and ready-made weekend plans.
FamHop tracks 1491 kid-friendly spots and 896 upcoming family events across 40 Washington DC cities and towns. Most events come straight from official library, parks, and museum calendars like Montgomery County Public Libraries Events, Prince George's County Memorial Library Events, Fairfax County Public Library Events — real dates, times, and official links, refreshed every week. Biggest coverage: Washington (954 spots · 287 events), Arlington (138 spots · 115 events), Alexandria (75 spots · 140 events). Pick a few stops, build a 3-stop weekend plan, and share a link so co-parents and friends can vote.
Larriland Farm Apple Picking — August, Larriland Farm. Larriland Farm has been owned and operated by the Moore family since 1973, growing over 20 crops and 90-plus varieties on a pick-your-own farm open from late May into mid-November. Apples ripen late August through October with many varieties available, and a field ticket is required to pick. The Red Barn farm market needs no ticket, and a Fall Festival caps the apple season.
Prince William County Fair — August, Prince William County Fairgrounds. Virginia's largest county fair, held in Manassas every summer for 75 years: nine days of midway rides, demolition derbies and grandstand shows, livestock exhibitions, and fair food. General admission includes all grandstand and midway events.
Cox Farms Fall Festival — September, Cox Farms. Cox Farms runs its Fall Festival on Braddock Road in Centreville from mid-September into early November. The festival is built around the farm's hayride and its giant slides, with the Cornundrum cornfield adventure, rope swings, straw tunnels, themed play areas, a goat village, a kiddie zone, and farm animals and their babies. Live entertainment, local apples, fresh cider, and Foamhenge round out a visit.
Butler's Orchard Pumpkin Festival — September, Butler's Orchard. Butler's Orchard on Davis Mill Road in Germantown has run its Pumpkin Festival for more than four decades, opening in late September and closing in early November, Wednesday through Sunday plus the Columbus Day holiday. Admission includes access to the pick-your-own pumpkin fields, where pumpkins are weighed and paid for at checkout, along with hayrides, a corn maze, a straw maze, a corn pool, giant slides, jump pads, pedal tractors, a playground, and live music. Weekend days sell out, so the farm strongly encourages reservations ahead of time.
H Street Festival — September, H Street NE. One of DC's largest neighborhood street festivals shuts down H Street NE for a day of live music across multiple stages, local vendors, food, art, and family activities along the corridor.
ZooLights at the National Zoo — December, Smithsonian's National Zoo. The Smithsonian's National Zoo holiday tradition: more than 100 hand-painted animal lanterns, roughly a million LED lights, train rides, and festive entertainment on select evenings from late November through December.
Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens — December, Brookside Gardens. A half-mile walk-through display of more than a million lights along Brookside Gardens' paved trail, a Montgomery County tradition since 1998 running from late November through early January.
Recurring & returning programs in Washington DC
Carnival in DE Capital — Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, last held June 2026. A Caribbean carnival celebration at DC's Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library — music, dance, and family activities in the central library's event space.
PokeFair Renaissance at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds — Montgomery County Fairgrounds, last held June 2026. A Pokémon trading-card and collectibles fair at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Gaithersburg — vendors, trading tables, and family-friendly fandom under one roof.
Library Day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts — National Museum of Women in the Arts, last held July 2026. DC Public Library's Library Day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts — free museum exploring during a community day for library families.
Celebrate DC Public Library's 130th Birthday — Rosedale Neighborhood Library, last held July 2026. Celebrate DC Public Library's 130th Birthday — a special family program at Rosedale Neighborhood Library in Washington, DC.