What To Do This Weekend in the DMV

Looking for things to do this weekend in the DMV? The second weekend of October is one of the fall's fullest. Snallygaster, the region's biggest outdoor beer festival, takes over Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington on Saturday, the US Women's National Team plays Spain at Audi Field the same afternoon, and Pike Fest fills Columbia Pike in the city of Arlington. Here is the day-by-day guide to October 9 through 11.

Friday, October 9

The weekend opens downtown, where the Washington Capitals host the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena in Chinatown at 7 PM. It is an early-season Metropolitan Division matchup, and the arena's events calendar has the full October schedule. Expect the streets around Gallery Place to be busy well past the final horn.

In Maryland, Mexican electronic trio 3BallMTY plays The Fillmore Silver Spring at 8 PM, a short walk from the Red Line station in downtown Silver Spring. Tickets and show details are on The Fillmore Silver Spring's official site. For families with young children, Montgomery Parks' free Little Jams concerts run Friday mornings through October 16 at parks across the county, part of the Montgomery Parks events lineup.

Saturday, October 10

Saturday's headliner is Snallygaster, which closes Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 3rd and 7th Streets from noon to 6 PM. The festival pours 450+ beers from 175 brewers across two live-music stages, with wine, cider, and food trucks in the mix. It is family-friendly, benefits Arcadia, and tickets start around $75. The Snallygaster official site has the full brewery list and stage schedule.

A few blocks to the southwest, the US Women's National Team plays Spain at Audi Field in Buzzard Point at 2:30 PM, a World Cup tune-up on the Southwest Waterfront. If you are coming from Snallygaster, it is a straight shot down 7th Street SW. After the match, the Immigration Film Fest wraps its run Sunday at the Festival Center and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, with screenings listed in Washington.org's October events calendar.

In the city of Arlington, Pike Fest takes over Penrose Square at 2597 Columbia Pike from noon to 5 PM with live music, food, artisan makers, and family activities along the avenue. Columbia Pike is one of the many neighborhoods inside Arlington, which is home to more than 250,000 residents. Event details are on Stay Arlington's October roundup. If Columbia Pike's walk-to-everything balance is your style, Claude's Arlington guide covers the city's neighborhoods, schools, and commute options. The same day, the Fall Heritage Festival at Fort C.F. Smith Park at 2411 24th Street N brings historic-skills demonstrations and family activities to one of Arlington's oldest parklands.

Across the Potomac in the city of Alexandria, Saturday morning starts at the Old Town Farmers' Market in Market Square on the 100 block of North Royal Street from 7 AM to noon, one of the oldest continuously operating farmers markets in the country. Later, the Del Ray Vintage & Flea Market sets up at 1900 Mount Vernon Avenue in the Del Ray neighborhood at 11 AM, and the Grand African Run 5K starts at 9 AM at 1100 Main Line Boulevard. Visit Alexandria's fall things-to-do guide rounds up the whole weekend. For a sense of daily life in the city's walkable districts, see Claude's Alexandria guide.

Saturday night, Mo Lowda & the Humble bring their Tailing the Ghost Tour to the 9:30 Club on V Street NW, with tickets on the 9:30 Club's site. In Montgomery County, the Derwood Farmers Market in Rockville runs 9 AM to 1 PM and closes out its 2026 season, and the Fall Festival at Clarksburg Premium Outlets fills the afternoon with family activities.

Sunday, October 11

Sunday in Montgomery County means the City of Gaithersburg Oktoberfest at Kentlands Village Green, with German food, music, and family activities in the Kentlands neighborhood of Gaithersburg. The Visit Montgomery events calendar has details, and the county's fall festivities guide covers the season's farm festivals, including the Butler's Orchard Pumpkin Festival in Germantown, which runs weekends through November 1 with pumpkin picking, hayrides, and farm animals.

In the city of Alexandria, the Ethiopian Fall Festival at Chinquapin Park runs all day Sunday with traditional dance, local food, and live music, and Paws in the Park at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria brings adoptable pets, live music, shopping, and food to the shelter's grounds. Both are family-friendly ways to close out the weekend.

Sunday night, Two Door Cinema Club celebrates the 15th anniversary of Tourist History at The Anthem on the Southwest Waterfront at 8 PM, with STRFKR opening. Show details are on The Anthem's upcoming shows list. Earlier in the day, the Bethesda Central Farm Market runs 9 AM to 1:30 PM in the Bethesda Elementary School lot at 7600 Arlington Road, a year-round market for produce, baked goods, and flowers in the community of Bethesda, listed on Montgomery County's farmers market directory.

Out in Fairfax County, the Mount Vernon Fall Wine Festival & Sunset Tour runs Friday through Sunday at the Mount Vernon estate, a 21-and-over evening of Virginia wines and lantern-lit grounds on the Potomac. With activities across all three jurisdictions, this is a good weekend to see how the DMV's cities each keep their own character, from the festival blocks of downtown Washington to the village streets of Columbia Pike, the waterfront districts of the city of Alexandria, and the farm country of upper Montgomery County.

If a weekend of festivals gets you thinking about where you want to live, the region's market varies more than people expect, and Claude's county-by-county breakdown of DC, Montgomery, and Fairfax is a good place to start. Last week's weekend guide covered Olivia Rodrigo at Capital One Arena, the Takoma Park Street Festival, and Oktoberfest at The Wharf, and the buying guide walks through the full search process. A weekend of festivals is a decent preview of how a city treats its residents. Come see it for yourself.

Claude Labbe

REALTOR · Douglas Elliman · DC, MD, VA