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Washington DC Temple Festival of Lights 2024

The Festival of Lights at the Washington DC Temple features over 500,000 lights and beautifully decorated Christmas Trees. The Visitors’ Center exhibits beautiful Créche displays featuring nativities from around the world and hosts daily holiday performances that are free and open to the public.

For more details about the 2024 Festival of Lights, please visit DCTempleVisitorsCenter.org.

May the Festival of Lights bring the Spirit of Christmas into your heart!

Come & see the Festival of Lights at the Washington DC Temple. Enjoy over 400,000 lights and beautifully decorated Christmas Trees. The Visitors’ Center is open from 10 AM to 9 PM every day for you to see beautiful Créche displays featuring nativities from around the world, take in one of the many performances, and give back to the community at the Light the World Giving Machines. Parking and performances are free, but performances require tickets. Scroll down or click one of the buttons for more information. May the Festival of Lights bring the Spirit of Christmas into your heart!

Performances

Unfortunately, we have reached the end of our performances.  The Festival of Lights is still continuing through the 2nd of January.  Come and see the crèche displays, the Christmas trees, the Light the World Giving Machines, and of course, the dazzling lights.  Parking is free.

December 1 – January 2

Dusk – 9:00 pm – Christmas Lights Open to Public

Crèche Displays

The French word crèche is used to describe a distinctive nativity scene displayed during the Christmas season. These scenes, depicting the birth of Jesus Christ became popular in communities throughout the Christian world beginning in the 13th century. This exhibit features 87 crèches representing 64 countries.

Receive updates about the Festival of Lights

Parking Information

Parking to see the Festival of Lights and the Visitors’ Center is free and no parking pass is needed.

Three parking lots are available, all within walking distance of the displays. After dark, there will be parking attendants at each entrance to direct you to available parking.

Visitors’ Center – 9900 Stoneybrook Dr.

Temple – 9900 Stoneybrook Dr.

Stake Center (overflow) – 10000 Stoneybrook Dr.

If you are driving north on Stoneybrook, the first entrance on the left is the Visitors’ Center, the second is the Temple, and the third is the Stake Center.

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Festival of Lights FAQs

All of the Festival of Lights events and displays at the Washington D.C. Temple are free of charge. The performances require you to reserve free tickets in advance. Ticket holders are asked to be in their seats no later than 15 minutes prior to the performance. After this time, the standby line will be admitted to fill in any remaining seats.
All of the performances require a ticket to get in. We recommend that you make advanced ticket reservations to assure you have seats. However, if you do not have a ticket, arrive early and get in the standby line to the left of the main entrance. Ticket holders will be admitted first. They are asked to be in their seats 15 minutes prior to the performance. About 10-15 minutes before showtime, tickets expire, allowing those in the standby line to be seated in any remaining seats.

Absolutely! Everyone is welcome to attend our events and our worship services (learn more about our worship services). We only request that all attendees dress modestly, use clean language, and treat everyone with respect. We are Christians who do our best to follow the commandments and teachings of Christ. Whatever your background, you’re invited to join us!

The dress depends on the type of event. Business casual is a good rule of thumb for Auditorium events. You’re welcome to wear any modest clothes that you feel comfortable in. For Devotionals and Sunday worship services, most men wear suits, sport coats, or shirts and ties, and women wear dresses or skirts. Children also typically dress up.

All of the Festival of Lights events are family friendly and children are welcome! However, out of respect for the performers and other audience members, we suggest that the children in attendance be old enough to remain seated and attentive throughout the performance and that any disruptive children be calmed in the lobby.

Ticket holders for a particular event will automatically receive important email updates regarding that event and you can find other helpful information on the individual event listings on dctemple.org. We also recommend following Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center on Facebook for general Christmas updates and helpful tips and reminders on upcoming events, parking, dress, etc. We also invite you to subscribe to our website to stay updated on everything happening at the Washington D.C. Temple.

Parking to see the Festival of Lights Parking is free and no pass is needed. Three parking lots are available, all within walking distance of the displays. There will be parking attendants at each entrance to direct you to available parking.

Visitors’ Center – 9900 Stoneybrook Dr.
Temple – 9900 Stoneybrook Dr.
Stake Center (overflow) – 10000 Stoneybrook Dr. 

(If you are driving north on Stoneybrook, the first entrance on the left is the Visitors’ Center, the second is the Temple, and the third is the Stake Center.)

The theater doors usually open about 30 minutes prior to performances, (sometimes earlier), but the line to enter for large events will begin earlier than that. We recommend arriving early enough to enjoy the Nativity displays and other seasonal favorites, as well as the regular Visitors’ Center exhibits.

You may update or cancel any free tickets through Eventbrite. We appreciate you doing this if you can’t attend so that we have a more accurate count of attendees.

It depends on the event, so check individual event listings, and listen for any announcements made prior to the performance. Visitors are always encouraged to take pictures and videos before and after the performance, or outside on the temple grounds. We’d love to see your pictures! Make sure to TAG us, @DCTempleVC.

If you have additional questions, please write us at [email protected].  We will respond as quickly as possible, and within 24 hours.  

And behold, I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Father hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world, in the which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning.

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