"After nine successful years, we are taking a hiatus from GLOW in 2025," the Georgetown BID wrote on its GLOW page. The BID said it was "exploring and focusing on new partnerships for it and other events in Georgetown." That notice is still the page's latest word. The BID's 2026 events calendar, last updated July 10, 2026, has no GLOW entry at all for November or December.
For nine years, Georgetown's holiday season had a single walk at its center. This year it's spread out. The season is now a string of smaller, dated events, and the first one that runs every day is the ice at Washington Harbour.
What The 2026 Calendar Actually Lists
Under November, the BID calendar lists holiday gift guides and advertising, the Washington Harbour Ice Rink opening, and Small Business Saturday. December lists the BID's holiday gift and cocktail-crawl guides, BID Georgetown Holiday Programming on December 5, the House of Sweden Holiday Market on December 5, and two Georgetown Main Street items still marked TBA, the Tree Lighting and the Cookie Tours. Since that update, Georgetown Main Street has set the Cookie Tour dates.
Here is the season in order, from the sources that set each date:
| Date | Event | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Nov 7, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. | Georgetown Canal Community Days | C&O Canal, mile marker 0 to the Key Bridge overpass | Confirmed |
| Thu, Nov 19 | Washington Harbour Ice Rink season opens, through Feb 28, 2027 | 3000–3050 K St NW | Confirmed, weather permitting |
| Sat, Nov 28 | Small Business Saturday | Neighborhood-wide | On BID calendar |
| Sat, Dec 5 | BID Georgetown Holiday Programming | Not yet announced | On BID calendar, no details |
| Sat, Dec 5 | House of Sweden Holiday Market | House of Sweden | On BID calendar |
| Sat, Dec 5 and Sat, Dec 12 | Georgetown Main Street Cookie Tour | Stops TBA | Confirmed dates |
Most of the season lands in two clusters. One covers late November, starting with the rink and ending with Small Business Saturday. The other is the first two Saturdays of December. The first date on the table is something else.
November 7 Starts At Mile Marker 0
The first date is a cleanup. Georgetown Canal Community Days runs Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It covers the stretch of park between mile marker 0 and the Key Bridge overpass, and the Canal Trust's event page lists the Georgetown Visitor Center at 1057 Thomas Jefferson St NW as the venue.
That's the Saturday after this post goes up. It's also the only event on the November and December list that puts people on the canal itself rather than on the commercial streets. Everything after it pulls the season down to K Street and up toward M Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
November 19: The Rink Becomes The Season's Fixed Point
The Washington Harbour Ice Rink opens November 19, 2026, and runs through February 28, 2027, weather permitting. That's more than three months of daily operation, which makes it the longest-running fixture of Georgetown's winter.
The details for planning, from Washington Harbour's rink page:
- General skating runs in 90-minute sessions.
- Adults pay $12. Children 12 and under, seniors and military pay $10.
- Skate rental is $8, and a skate aid rental is $10.
- Groups of 10 or more pay $15 per person, rental included.
- Weather closures are posted on Washington Harbour's Instagram and Facebook pages.
An adult who rents skates spends $20 for a 90-minute session. A child 12 or under spends $18. Those figures are useful when hosting relatives over Thanksgiving week, since the rink opens exactly one week before the holiday. On weather-uncertain days, check Instagram or Facebook before heading down, because that's where Washington Harbour posts closures.
GLOW used to give a visit to Georgetown a route. The rink gives it a starting point. Your evening after the rink depends on which way you walk, and that's where the fall's openings come in.
The Walk Up From K Street Passes A Different Set Of Doors
Between mid-August and early October, a run of openings changed the blocks between the waterfront and Book Hill. Most of them were reported in The Georgetowner's September 17 business roundup and its October 1 follow-up.
Close to the water, just off M Street. Café Tulúm is new at 3210 Grace St NW. Eater DC reported in late August that it was set to open September 4. Alfie's opened September 2 at 1228½ 31st St NW. Both sit a short walk uphill from K Street, which makes them easy stops after a skate session.
Along M Street. The retail strip turned over quickly this fall:
- UNIQLO Georgetown opened August 28 at 3262 M St NW.
- Pop Mart was open at 3221 M St NW by October 1.
- Garage Clothing opened Saturday, October 3, at 3295 M St NW.
- Flavor Hive was open at 3287½ M St NW by mid-September.
- Adriana Hoyos opened at 3328 M St NW, reported in the September 17 roundup.
- Rag & Bone moved its separate men's and women's stores into one location at 3034 M St NW, which reopened October 2.
- Lemon Nail Bar recently took over 3064 M St NW.
Up Wisconsin Avenue. Dutch Darlings Stroopwafels & Sweets opened Friday, October 2, at 1003 Wisconsin Ave NW, just above the canal. Farther up, Bombas opened its first DC store at 1400 Wisconsin Ave NW on August 14. Delhi Belly opened in August at 1560 Wisconsin Ave NW. Dolcezza Gelato is slated to return at 1300 Wisconsin Ave NW in what The Georgetowner described as "late fall or early winter," with no exact date set.
On O Street. O Street Collection, an art boutique at 3213 O St NW, had a soft opening timed to Art All Night on September 12.
That list matters for the calendar. Small Business Saturday falls on November 28, and a holiday-shopping loop of M Street and Wisconsin that day runs past every one of these new storefronts.
December 5 Is Where The Season Stacks Up
With no light-art walk spreading foot traffic across a multi-week installation period, the busiest single date this season is Saturday, December 5. The calendars list three items for that day.
- BID Georgetown Holiday Programming. The calendar lists it with no schedule, format or locations yet.
- House of Sweden Holiday Market, listed on the BID calendar for the same day.
- The first Georgetown Main Street Cookie Tour. The second runs Saturday, December 12. The Cookie Tour page still lists its stops and cookie providers as TBA.
Last year's equivalent was Georgetown Jingle. The BID's 2025 holiday page describes it as Saturday, December 6, 2025, with musical performances at outdoor locations around the neighborhood. The 2026 calendar doesn't use the Jingle name for December 5. It says "Holiday Programming," so the format of this year's event is still open. Georgetown Main Street's Tree Lighting also has no date yet.
Two December details are still open: what the BID's December 5 program will be, and which shops will host the Cookie Tour stops. Whichever stores host the tour on December 5 and 12, they'll draw from the same blocks that turned over this fall. The Cookie Tour runs along the same M Street and Wisconsin Avenue doors listed above.
A Season Planned By Date
Without GLOW, Georgetown's November and December come down to five dates and one long-running rink:
- November 7, morning on the canal at mile marker 0.
- November 19, the rink opens at 3000–3050 K St NW.
- November 28, Small Business Saturday along the new M Street and Wisconsin storefronts.
- December 5, BID holiday programming, the House of Sweden market and the first Cookie Tour.
- December 12, the second Cookie Tour.
The rink is the only one that runs every day, from November 19 to February 28.
At District Property Group, we keep track of which Georgetown storefronts are changing hands and what's opening in them, because those changes shape the blocks our clients live on. If you're curious how this fall's turnover on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue affects your corner of the neighborhood, let's connect to discuss your real estate goals.
