U.S. Army Band – American Holiday Festival, Topflight Annual Ecumenical Celebratory Concert to Kick Off the Holiday season.
We have 50 tickets available for each of 3 performances: (1) Friday December 5 at 8 pm, (2) Saturday December 6 at 3 pm, and (3) Saturday December 6 at 8 pm.
When: Friday, December 5, 2025, 8:00 PM EST - REGISTER for Dec 5, 8PM
Saturday, December 6, 2026. 3:00 PM EST - Register on this page
OR Saturday, December 6, 2025. 8:00 PM EST REGISTER for Dec 6 8PM
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Join the Cornell Club of Washington again this year for the United States Army Orchestra's annual Holiday Concert and Show. We did this for the first time last year, and all the tickets were used, so please sign up right away to be sure to get tickets. This is one of the very best free holiday events in town!
We have 50 tickets available for each of 3 performances: (1) Friday December 5 at 8 pm, (2) Saturday December 6 at 3 pm (new this year, and great for families), and (3) Saturday December 6 at 8 pm.
Gather with friends and family to celebrate the holiday season. A tradition for many in the Metro DC area, these concerts have been a favorite for decades. American Holiday Festival 2025 will warm your heart with joy and get you into the holiday spirit!
The American Holiday Festival is nondenominational, but does acknowledge and celebrate the major faiths of the American people.
Metro: The nearest Metro stops are Farragut West (Blue, Orange, and Silver Lines) and Farragut North (Red Line).
Directions from Metro: From the corner of K Street and 17th Street, walk 7 blocks south on 17th street, mostly downhill, to the corner of 17th Street and D Street, then turn right on D Street one block to 18th Street, go left on 18th Street for half a block, and look for Chuck on the stairs with the tickets.
Parking: Constitution Avenue and the National Mall area and surrounding streets, or parking garages largely around the Farragut Square area
Here are the details of this event:
US ARMY ORCHESTRA "PERSHING'S OWN":
AMERICAN HOLIDAY FESTIVAL 2025--LET IT SNOW!
It is possible to obtain tickets for, and to attend, multiple performances. Both Cornell and non-Cornell guests are welcome. Please include guest names in your registration.
Tickets will be distributed the day of the performance outside DAR Hall beginning 45 minutes prior to the performance. Chuck Schilke will stand on the steps of the specified entrance on 18th Street between C and D Streets on the D Street side of the steps. Please come up to Chuck to pick up your tickets. Chuck will be wearing a Santa suit for easy identification (unless it rains or sleets).
While tickets are required, there are not assigned seats, so you may wish to come on the early side to obtain a good seat. Since seating is not assigned, the Cornellians who attend will probably not all be seated together as they would be with assigned seat tickets.
If you are late, you probably do not need to worry, because Constitution Hall is one of the largest concert venues in the District, so that there are usually seats remaining for latecomers in the upper reaches of the Hall, even though this event is well attended.
Have a wonderful holiday time at this splendid free event! It is CCW's holiday gift to our members!
Questions: Jeff Goldstein jgoldstein8@yahoo.com
CU there!!
Best regards, Cornell Club of Washington DC
EVENT DETAILS
We discovered this event 2 years ago, and it was so fabulous in quality—and extremely low cost-- that we wanted to share this striking multimedia event with all CCW members and their guests.
This is such a wonderful event that all (except perhaps Scrooge!) will enjoy it. Given its very low cost, it lends itself particularly well to families, but young and old, singles and couples, and everyone else will get a great deal of enjoyment out of it.
DAR Constitution Hall is one of the largest event venues in Washington DC, and accommodates several thousand guests. The Army Band is also very large, and really fills up the entire stage of the Hall.
One of the many distinctive things about this event is the sheer scale of the venue and audience. For example, you will be singing Christmas carols and other holiday songs with several thousand people in a vast space—really a quite different experience than singing with even a couple of hundred singers at your home or house of worship. The collective voices of this number of people really rouse you into the holiday spirit, and is a great way to start the holiday season.
The immense Constitution Hall is copiously decorated with Christmas trees with many lights and decorations lining the back and side stages, as well as other colorful backdrops. At times, the ceiling of Constitution Hall is festooned with electronic stars.
The basic premise of the American Holiday Festival is for audience members to see how different types of Americans in the US, and many other types of people all over the world, celebrate their holidays. This worldwide tour of people celebrating their holiday celebrations is depicted in a series of films projected on the walls next to the stage.
There is much variety in the overall American Holiday Festival. To be sure, the Army Band plays the standard warhorse Christmas carols. But there are other Army musical groups and soloists singing and playing some less familiar but appealing holiday tunes from the widest range of faith and ethnic traditions.
Although military personnel appear in the presentation as announcers, the American Holiday Festival is basically civilian and ecumenical, with significant recognition of all major US faith and ethnic traditions. Also, the festival is non-militaristic, and appears simply to represent the Army’s effort to obtain favorite public relations. The performances in DC also appear to be a kind of dress rehearsal for taking the American Holiday Festival on the road.
Following the Washington DC performances, the Army Band takes the American Holiday Festival on the road to Army bases all over the world and presents it as entertainment to the service men and women.
