At noon on Thursday, November 12, the block of New Hampshire Avenue NW between Q Street and the Circle stops being a street. The DC Holiday Market opens there for its 2026 run, and it will stay through Wednesday, December 23. Over the next seven weeks, the neighborhood's holiday shopping happens in places that have a closing date posted from the first day. A juried maker market in a museum garden runs for four days. The Sunday farmers market runs year-round but has its own last date of the season. Then on December 31, after the markets have packed up, True Value Hardware on 17th Street closes its doors after more than four decades.
Here is each stop in order, starting with the one that opens first.
Forty days on the 1500 block of New Hampshire Avenue
The DC Holiday Market is produced by Diverse Markets Management with support from the Dupont Circle BID. This year it brings more than 35 small businesses selling artisan goods, boutique brands and handmade gifts. Hours are noon to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The market is closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26, and again on Monday, November 30, when exhibitors turn over. By the organizers' count, the season covers 40 days and six weekends.
Michael Berman, president of Diverse Markets Management, explained the return in the DC Holiday Market announcement: "Dupont Circle has a longstanding tradition of small businesses, including galleries, boutiques, and neighborhood shops. The holiday market is a natural complement to the area's retail and dining community."
The location is what makes the market work. It sits one block from the Dupont Circle Metro station, and the organizers list the Dupont Circle Hotel, Kramers Books & Café, Rokuya and The Pembroke as neighbors within a few steps. If you live north of the Circle, Q Street will be busier than usual on weekday evenings through December 23, and the New Hampshire Avenue shortcut is closed until the market leaves.
Four days in the Castle Garden, farther down the same avenue
South of the Circle, at 1307 New Hampshire Avenue NW, the Heurich House Museum holds its 14th annual Christmas Markt from Thursday, December 3, through Sunday, December 6. It opens at 4 p.m. on Thursday and ends at 6 p.m. on Sunday.
The Christmas Markt is built differently from the New Hampshire Avenue market. Every vendor is a local maker, and a jury chose them. The jury had three community members and two museum staff, and they scored applicants with a rubric. The Markt has been in the Castle Garden since 2013. It is the museum's largest annual fundraiser and supports 15 percent of the museum's yearly budget. Tickets are sold through the Heurich House Christmas Markt page.
For those four days in early December, both markets are open at the same time, one on each side of the Circle along the same avenue. That Thursday-to-Sunday stretch is the busiest window of the season.
The calendar, start to finish
| Date | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 12 | DC Holiday Market opens at noon | 1500 block of New Hampshire Ave NW |
| Sun, Nov 22 | FRESHFARM Fresh Food Drive, 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. | 1600 20th St NW |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Holiday Market closed for Thanksgiving | New Hampshire Ave NW |
| Mon, Nov 30 | Holiday Market closed for exhibitor turnover | New Hampshire Ave NW |
| Thu, Dec 3 to Sun, Dec 6 | Heurich House Christmas Markt | 1307 New Hampshire Ave NW |
| Wed, Dec 23 | DC Holiday Market's final day | New Hampshire Ave NW |
| Sun, Dec 27 | Last FRESHFARM Dupont date listed for the 2026 season | 1600 20th St NW |
| Thu, Dec 31 | True Value Hardware on 17th Street closes | 1623-1627 17th St NW |
Sunday on 20th Street keeps its usual hours
The FRESHFARM Dupont Circle market is the one stop that doesn't switch to a holiday schedule. It runs year-round on Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on 20th Street NW between Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues, at 1600 20th St NW. FRESHFARM lists the 2026 season as January 4 through December 27.
On Sunday, November 22, during regular market hours, FRESHFARM is holding a Fresh Food Drive at Dupont Circle at the market. It falls the Sunday before Thanksgiving, when the holiday market has been open for 10 days and the Christmas Markt is still almost two weeks off. The farmers market's last listed date is December 27, four days after the New Hampshire Avenue market closes, which leaves one Sunday of fresh produce after the gift booths are gone.
17th Street's last holiday season with its hardware store
The market dates were set months ago, and so was the last one on the calendar. On September 23, PoPville reported that True Value Hardware at 1623-1627 17th Street NW had confirmed it will close at the end of the year. The store's own description, quoted in that report, explains why the news hit hard:
"True Value Hardware on 17th has been serving the Washington DC area since 1983. Located at 1623-1627 17th Street NW, we stock an extensive inventory of Hardware and Household items. We proudly sell Benjamin Moore Paint as well."
The store confirmed the date to PoPville by email: "True Value on 17th Street will be closing on December 31, 2026." That is 49 days after the holiday market opens, which covers the whole market run and one more week.
For anyone who keeps a rowhouse or condo running, the timing matters. The weeks of hanging lights, swapping furnace filters and patching drafty sash windows before guests arrive are also the store's last weeks. After December 31, the closest listed hardware options are a longer walk:
- Logan Hardware, 1734 14th St NW. The store page lists hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
- Adams Morgan Ace Hardware, 1704 Columbia Rd NW, which posts regular weekly hours on its Ace store profile.
Both are listed as operating. If your routine depends on store hours, check the stores' own pages before you go.
The permanent additions arriving between the markets
The New Hampshire Avenue booths come and go, but a few storefronts nearby have changed in ways that will last past the holidays.
La Merna, which serves Chicago tavern-style pizza, opened at 2153 P Street NW in August. Eater DC gave Thursday, August 13, as its opening date after a neighborhood preview the first weekend of the month. On 19th Street, Sol Mexican Grill closed its 1200 19th Street NW location in September, and by early October PoPville reported that Yafa Kabob had opened in the space.
Pure Green moved a short distance up Connecticut Avenue. It left 1630 Connecticut Avenue NW in mid-August and, as PoPville reported in October, reopened at 1605 Connecticut Avenue NW.
The addition with the most holiday-season timing is on 18th Street. Little Engine, the chicken spot from Capitol Hill, has leased the former Pupatella space at 18th and S Streets NW, according to PoPville. The owner told PoPville: "There is no official timeline yet for opening, but we are planning for before the end of the year." Pupatella operated there from 2020 until it closed in 2025, and before that the corner was home to Rosemary's Thyme. Little Engine is aiming for the same end-of-year window in which 17th Street loses its hardware store.
Through December 23, gifts are on New Hampshire Avenue. Through December 27, Sunday groceries are on 20th Street. Paint, keys and furnace filters are on 17th Street until December 31, and after that the trip is to 14th Street or Columbia Road.
When a store that has held a corner since 1983 closes, the people who own homes and buildings on that block want to know what comes next for the space and for the block. Chuck Burger has followed Dupont's commercial corridors through many tenant changes like the ones on this calendar. If you own near 17th, 18th or P Street and want to know how this year's turnover affects your property, request a free market valuation.
