Updated for 2025 by Azariah Jackson
As the weather turns brisk and the holidays creep closer, something magical happens in Fairfax County! Brilliant light displays illuminate the night sky, local restaurants serve up comfort food favorites, outdoor winter activities and ice skating rinks open for the season, and a variety of festive shows fill our event calendar. Make your days merry and bright with these local holiday and Christmas performances that even Scrooge would love.
1. A Chanticleer Christmas
November 29, 2025
It's almost "impossi-bell" to avoid yuletide cheer when an orchestra of voices blesses one's ears. Coming to the Center for the Arts at George Mason University, Grammy Award-winning Chanticleer will be taking the stage with their program A Chanticleer Christmas. Containing both early works and holiday wonders, including traditional carols as well as gospel numbers, their performance is bound to be a symphonic delight!
2. "Nutcracker! Magic of Christmas Ballet"
November 30, 2025
This Christmas, the beloved family tradition is back: NUTCRACKER! Magical Christmas Ballet! The acclaimed holiday tradition is LIVE in theaters once again at Capital One Hall. Gather friends and family to re-live your fondest childhood dreams, overflowing with larger-than-life puppets, breathtaking acrobatics, and dazzling costumes. Experience the exquisite artistry of the international cast performing at the highest level of classical technique. Share in the message of Peace and Harmony and get tickets now!
3. The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show
December 1, 2025
The perfect way to "sleigh" the night away with slaying Queens, The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show, will be held at Capital One Hall. From the minds of award-winning comedy icons, writers, actors, and drag queen powerhouses BenDeLaCreme & Jinkx Monsoon, this show contains delightfully over-the-top camp spectacle, side-splitting gags, brand new songs, heartfelt storytelling, thrilling dance numbers, and iconic costumes. A celebration of community and holiday spirit, the Queens' show is a tree-mendously wild ride!
4. Wolf Trap Holiday Sing-A-Long
December 6, 2025
Local choirs and vocal groups from the area are coming together to spread the spirit of the holidays through music. The free, iconic Holiday Sing-Along returns to Fairfax County! This cherished tradition invites everyone to join the choir as they sing Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs. Bring your best (or ugliest!) Christmas sweater for an unforgettable performance featuring the United States Marine Band to welcome the winter season.
5. Holiday Celebration with the VCO Brass
December 7, 2025
The holiday season sometimes needs a certain "je ne sais quoi," and the Virginia Chamber Orchestra Brass Quintet is bringing its infectiously positive performance to Capital One Hall. This famous brass quintet will entertain the audience with its signature takes on holiday classics and perform a delightful selection of holiday favorites to entertain kids and adults alike! After all, nothing says holiday glee more than the melodies of brass instruments!
6. American Festival Pops Orchestra: Songs of the Season
December 13, 2025
Ding-dong, ding-dong, what a time for Christmas songs! Gather with the American Festival Pops Orchestra and special guests for its Annual Holiday Pops Concert at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University, which is sure to make spirits bright! A beloved tradition, this heartwarming evening of holiday favorites includes a festive audience sing-along.
7. Virginia Bronze Handbell Ensemble: Your Favorite Things
December 13, 2025
"Orna-ment" to be, the cheerful jingle of handbells will be heard from the Virginia Bronze (VAB) Handbell Ensemble at Capital One Hall on December 13. With holiday tunes in queue from fans old and new, the VAB will be performing "Your Favorite Things," a delightful handbell concert featuring repertoire chosen by their very own community!
8. Encore Theatrical Arts Project presents "The Christmas Wish"
December 13 - 21, 2025
Encore Theatrical Arts Project presents an original Broadway-style holiday musical, "The Christmas Wish," taking place at Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center. The story follows Daniel, who has no time for Christmas magic because he must save his hotel from closing down. As Daniel's life is thrown into an exciting holiday loop upon meeting a special wish-granting visitor named Felix, some major questions need to be answered! For example: how did Felix get to the hotel, why is Felix mistaken for the hotel's Christmas Consultant, and can Christmas really be saved? Come and see how the story unfolds! "The Christmas Wish" is a glamorous and dazzling holiday musical appropriate for audiences of all ages, with more than 30 performers, creative choreography, elaborate sets, stunning costumes, and 20+ musical numbers!
9. Songs of the Season: A Holiday Celebration
December 14, 2025
'Tis the Season, and this Virginia Chamber Orchestra performance is a great reason to visit Capital One Hall. Led by Margaret Woods, this joyful holiday sing-along features excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, along with beloved holiday classics including O Holy Night and Silent Night. Songs of the Season: A Holiday Celebration is a jolly tradition fitting for all ages!
10. CELTIC WOMAN Symphony Christmas Tour 2025
December 16, 2025
A mistle-toast to their success as the most successful all-female group in Irish history, Celtic Woman's Symphony Christmas Tour will be gracing the halls of the Center for the Arts at George Mason University this year. An exemplary complement to the holiday season, the Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum Irish singing sensation's performance will include the ensemble's favorite Yuletide songs: O Holy Night, Little Drummer Boy, Carol of the Bells & more, along with Celtic Woman classics and some Irish tunes with a Christmas twist.
11. Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" with the FSO & Fairfax Ballet
December 20-21, 2025
Ready to "crack" a smile? Experience this timeless holiday classic as The Fairfax Ballet Company performs The Nutcracker, presented with live musical accompaniment by a full orchestra! Enjoy a winter wonderland of dancing snowflakes, sugar plum fairies, and epic battles between heroic toy soldiers and mischievous mice. This special performance at the Center for the Arts at George Mason University features guest soloist Emily Kikta and Aaron Sanz of the New York City Ballet and is sure to be a holiday treat!
12. Natalie Grant and Danny Gokey: Celebrate Christmas Tour
December 21, 2025
Better than 10 lords a-leaping is the experience of joining Natalie Grant and Danny Gokey at Capital One Hall for the 10th anniversary of their Celebrate Christmas Tour! Wholeheartedly a brand new show, it's packed with reimagined holiday favorites and powerful worship-filled moments. Designed to incorporate all the best parts of Christmas, completely refreshed for 2025, this collaborative concert with two world-class vocalists is the perfect holiday outing for the entire family!
13. Meredith Wilson's Miracle on 34th Street, The Musical
December 26 - 28, 2025
Believe... believe... It's never silly to believe in the power of a musical! Based on the movie of the same name, Meredith Wilson's Miracle on 34th Street, The Musical at Capital One Hall brings joyous, heartwarming, and wholesome entertainment to the whole family and features beloved songs like “Pinecones and Hollyberries,” “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” and “My State, My Kansas." Able to melt hearts as cynical as those in the original story, the musical is positively a gift worthy of the Holidays!
From classic and beloved tales to musical ensembles, there's no shortage of holiday cheer in Fairfax County's local and performance venues. Which shows will you attend? Be sure to tag us in your holiday adventures using #FXVA and @VisitFairfax so we can see all of the fun you have with your loved ones!
