Join us for the 48th Annual Washington DC Temple Visitors' Center Festival of Lights!

4 de diciembre de 2025 – 1 de enero de 2026 | 4:30 – 8:45 p.m.

9900 Stoneybrook Dr | Kensington, MD 20895

Free Timed Entry Parking Passes Required for Every Car

Horario del Centro de Visitantes:
10:00 a. m. – 9:00 p. m. todos los días

The Festival of Lights features over 500,000 Christmas lights outside,
and an international créche display and decorated Christmas trees inside the Visitors’ Center.

There will be holiday performances in the Visitors’ Center auditorium December 4-24, beginning at 6:30 PM.

Luces de Navidad

Festival of Lights is open from December 4, 2025, to January 1, 2026.  Lights are on from 4:30 PM to 8:45 PM each evening.  A marked pathway around the lights is available for viewing and should take 20 minutes to complete.  After viewing the lights, guests are invited to enter the Visitors’ Center to see an exhibit of nativities from around the world and beautifully decorated Christmas trees.

Performance Schedule

All events are free and open to the public.

Auditorium etiquette:  Saving seats is no allowed for any performance.

Out of respect for those performing, please remain seated for the entire performance.

Performances may be viewed online through this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5585483458?pwd=f9cD8p0xM7Y3iiFvfbNM2irkSjurSJ.1

Actuaciones

Ranging from vocal performances to brass and string orchestras and from country to classical music, the lineup for the 2025 Festival of Lights is spectacular. Each performance will be held in the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center Auditorium.

Free timed entry parking passes are required this year, so please reserve a pass for your car and come early for performances.  For 6:30 performances, a 5:30 parking pass is recommended. Performance attendee cars will be allowed to remain in the parking lot until 7:45. For 5:00 performances, a 4:00 parking pass is recommended and cars will be allowed to remain in the parking lot until 6:15. Seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click Here to see a printable list of this year’s performance schedule. 

Doors open 30 minutes prior to each performance.

Arboles de navidad

Dentro del Centro de Visitantes, se exhiben árboles de Navidad bellamente decorados. Aprenda cómo otras culturas celebran el nacimiento del Salvador Jesucristo y encuentre adornos y decoraciones de todo el mundo.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from nearby church congregations decorate the trees, which each highlight a scriptural theme. Watch a video that shows the sparkling trees from last year’s Festival of Lights.

Parking

A free timed entry parking pass is required for each car to park in either the adjacent Temple or Stake Center parking lots after 4:00 PM from December 4, 2025 to January 1, 2026.

Parking Details

Please see the map for the location of the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center and adjacent parking lots. Parking attendants at each entrance will admit cars to parking lots after the parking pass is displayed via smartphone or printed copy.  No street parking is allowed on Stoneybrook Drive, which leads to the Festival of Lights, and this rule will be strictly enforced. If you are driving north on Stoneybrook, the first entrance on the left is the Temple parking lot, and the second entrance is the Stake Center parking lot.   

Estacionamiento del templo – 9900 Stoneybrook Dr.

Stake Center parking – 10000 Stoneybrook Dr.                           

Todos los fines de semana y durante la segunda quincena de diciembre, tenemos mucha afluencia de visitantes. Para evitar las aglomeraciones, le recomendamos venir de lunes a jueves o durante la primera quincena de diciembre.

All buses will be permitted entrance to the Temple parking lot to drop off guests, returning at an appointed time to pick up guests.  There is no bus parking available.

Restrooms are available in the Visitors’ Center and in the two parking lots. There is a drinking fountain in the Visitors’ Center.

Belén (Nacimientos)

La palabra francesa guardería Se utiliza para describir un belén tradicional que se exhibe durante la Navidad. Representando el nacimiento de Jesucristo, estos belenes se popularizaron en todo el mundo cristiano a partir del siglo XIII. Esta exposición cuenta con más de 100 belenes. guarderías from countries all around the world. For a sneak peak, watch a short video of the 2024 crèche display.

Festival of Lights History

Temple-FOL.jpg

El Festival de las Luces ha sido una tradición navideña en el Centro de Visitantes del Templo de Washington D.C. desde 1977.

On December 3, 2024, Elder Neil L. Andersen, an Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the Mongolian Ambassador to the United States, Batbayar Ulziidelger, ceremoniously flipped a switch together,  illuminating the grounds surrounding the Temple and Visitors’ Center and symbolically “Lighting the World” for another Christmas season in Washington DC.

Lea más sobre la ceremonia de iluminación del año pasado. aquí.

On November 28, 2023, for the 46th Annual Festival of Lights, three representatives of different organizations illuminated the temple grounds together. Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Mr. Jaime Ramon T. Ascalon, Jr., the Philippines Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission, and Mrs. Maria Lourdes M. Romualdez, wife of Jose Manuel G. Romauldez, Philippine Ambassador to the United States, joined together and ceremoniously pushed a button, lighting the temple grounds from inside the Visitors’ Center. David Marriot, and his parents, J.W. and Donna Marriott, joined them at the lighting ceremony.

Lea la crónica completa de la ceremonia de iluminación del año anterior. aquí.

Preguntas frecuentes

All Festival of Lights events and displays at the Washington DC Temple Visitors’ Center are free of charge, but entrance is limited to guests who have a timed parking pass for one of the two available parking lots. Parking is not permitted on the roads leading to the Visitors’ Center.

Absolutely! Everyone is welcome to attend our events. We request that all guests use clean language and treat everyone with respect. We are Christians who do our best to follow the commandments and teachings of Jesus Christ. Whatever your background, you’re invited to join us.  However, be sure to download a parking pass to be given entrance to our parking lots. Parking is not allowed on neighborhood streets.

Wear comfortable clothing to enjoy both indoor and outdoor activities.  Outside, where there is a pathway to view lights and other Christmas displays, we recommend warm coats and comfortable shoes. 

Todos los eventos del Festival de las Luces son aptos para toda la familia y los niños son bienvenidos. Sin embargo, si planea asistir a una función en nuestro auditorio, le sugerimos que los niños tengan la edad suficiente para permanecer sentados y atentos durante toda la función, y que, en caso de que algún niño se comporte de forma disruptiva, se le calme en el vestíbulo.

We recommend following the Washington D.C. Temple Visitors’ Center website  for Festival of Lights updates and helpful tips about parking, dress and hours of operation. 

Parking for the Festival of Lights is free, but a parking pass is required to park in one of  two parking lots (Temple parking and Stake Center parking) that are adjacent to the Visitors’ Center, where the event is being held.  Only the driver of each car (and not passengers) must show the parking pass. There will be parking attendants at each parking lot entrance to admit cars to one of the two parking lots after you display your parking pass on a smart phone or paper copy. There is no parking on Stoneybrook Drive which leads to the Festival of Lights, so be sure to get your parking pass. If you are driving north on Stoneybrook, the first entrance on the left is the the Temple parking lot and the second entrance is the Stake Center parking lot.   

Estacionamiento del templo – 9900 Stoneybrook Dr.

Estacionamiento del Centro de Estaca – 10000 Stoneybrook Dr.

Outdoor lights will be turned on at 4:30 and turned off at 8:45 every evening. In addition, within the Visitors’ Center, guests can see an international crèche exhibit, beautifully decorated Christmas trees and December 4-24, performances in our Auditorium, which start at 6:30 PM. The Auditorium doors open 30 minutes prior to performances, but the line to enter for large events may begin earlier.

Pictures and videos of the outdoor lights and the exhibits in the Visitors’ Center are permitted.  For performances, it depends on the event so check individual event listings and listen for any announcements made prior to the performance.

Avoid crowds by coming in early December. Dress for the weather, wear good comfortable shoes, and leave pets at home. Service animals are permitted as long as you bring your certificate. Smoking, drugs, and alcohol are prohibited in parking lots and in the Visitors’ Center.

It depends on how much you like crowds. Smaller crowds are expected on weekdays during the first half of December. Last year, after December 13,  as many as 8,000 – 10,000 guests attended Festival of Lights each evening. Guests are welcome to come to the Visitors’ Center between 10 AM and 4:30 PM to see the exhibits in the Visitors’ Center before the lights are turned on at 4:30 PM.

Si tiene alguna pregunta adicional, envíe un correo electrónico a: wdcvisitorscenter@gmail.com. Le responderemos lo antes posible. También puede llamar al Centro de Visitantes al +1 (301) 587-0144.

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