January 2026

🎆 NEW YEAR’S DAY EVENTS 

Kick off the year with celebrations that make January 1st feel less like a reset button and more like a festive launch party.

• Ice & Lights: The Winter Village at Cameron Run: Open January 1–2. 4001 Eisenhower Ave., Alexandria Sparkling light displays and ice skating open through early January. Ice skating rink, holiday light walk, hot beverages.
• Bull Run Festival of Lights – Drive-Through Experience: Through January 4. 7700 Bull Run Dr., Centreville. Enjoy one last magical light show before the season ends. Cozy holiday drive with animated displays.
• Meadowlark Winter Walk of Lights: Through January 4. 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Ct., Vienna. Beautiful scenic garden walk illuminated for the holidays.
• New Year’s Day Community 5K: January 1. Reston / Fairfax – location TBA. Family friendly, scenic water route.
• First Day Hikes – Virginia State Parks & NoVA Parks: January 1. Multiple locations across Northern Virginia. A refreshing start to 2026.

 

❄️ POLAR PLUNGES

If your coffee isn’t waking you up, these icy dips will—January’s boldest tradition for thrill-seekers with warm hearts and cold toes.

• Virginia Polar Dip Charity fundraiser: Saturday, January 10 (estimated – final date TBA). Lake Anne Plaza, Reston. A fun and chilly community plunge supporting Camp Sunshine. Music + warm drinks
• Potomac Polar Plunge :  Saturday, January 17. Leesylvania State Park 2001 Daniel K. Ludwig Dr., Woodbridge. Special Olympics Virginia’s signature Northern Virginia plunge. Costumes encouraged, team competitions, hot chocolate tent.

• National Harbor Polar Plunge: January (official date TBA). 145 National Plaza, Oxon Hill, MD. A high-energy waterfront plunge just minutes from NoVA. DJ, vendors.

• Keep Winter Cold Eco-Plunge: January (TBA). Old Town Alexandria Waterfront. An environmentally focused plunge alternative — symbolic dip or wade-in. Family-friendly
• Maryland State Police Polar Bear Plunge: Likely January 24. Sandy Point State Park, 1100 E. College Pkwy., Annapolis, MD. One of the region’s largest plunges with festival-style energy. Live bands, warming stations.

 

🧸 INDOOR ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN

January may be chilly, but these indoor adventures will keep little ones warm, happy, and bouncing off someone else’s walls!

• Jurassic Quest: January 24–26. Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly. Large walk-through dinosaur experience with animatronics, fossil digs, and rides. Source: jurassicquest.com
• Bricks by the Lake: January 25. Reston, VA. LEGO-building event with themed builds and family activities. Source: reston.org
• Hyper Kidz – Ashburn: Open daily. 43670 Greenway Corporate Dr., Ashburn. Massive indoor playground with slides, climbing arenas, and sensory play. Source: hyperkidzplay.com
• Jungle Gym – McLean: Open daily. 7900 Westpark Dr., McLean. Soft-play indoor gym for toddlers and young children. Source: junglegymmclean.com
• Scramble – Alexandria: Open daily. 3210 King St., Alexandria. Montessori-inspired indoor climbing, puzzles, and creative play. Source: goscramble.com
• Fairfax Station Railroad Museum: Weekends. 11200 Fairfax Station Rd., Fairfax Station. Indoor model train displays and railway exhibits for kids. Source: fairfax-station.org
• National Children’s Museum: Open daily. 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. SE / National Harbor access. STEM-based interactive museum with hands-on exhibits and climbing structures. Source: nationalchildrensmuseum.org

 

🎶 CONCERTS & PERFORMING ARTS

When the weather gets dull, Northern Virginia’s stages light up with music, theater, and shows that make winter feel downright magical.

 

• Wolf Trap Winter Chamber Music: January (weekends). 1635 Trap Rd., Vienna. Intimate indoor chamber concerts in a cozy winter setting.
• Capital One Hall – January Performances: Multiple dates in January. 7750 Capital One Tower Rd., Tysons. Touring artists, Broadway-style shows, and orchestral performances.
• The Birchmere Concert Series: Nightly in January. 3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria. Iconic listening room with folk, jazz, rock, and touring acts.
• Reston Community Center – January Arts: Select January dates. 2310 Colts Neck Rd., Reston. Concerts, dance, small-theater shows, and family-friendly performances.
• Hylton Performing Arts Center – Winter Shows: Weekends in January. 10960 George Mason Cir., Manassas. Symphonies, world music, and dance performances.

 

🧘‍♀️ HEALTH & WELLNESS EXPOS

• Northern Virginia Health & Wellness Fair: Tysons Corner – venue TBA. Fitness demos, Health screenings, Wellness vendors.
• Mind-Body Reset Expo – Reston Town Center. Meditation workshops, fitness studio demos, natural wellness products.
• Fairfax Fit Fest: Mid-January 2026 (TBA). Old Town Fairfax. Outdoor + indoor fitness sessions, nutrition speaker, family-friendly.
• New Year Wellness Market: Early January 2026. Clarendon (venue TBA). Yoga classes, clean living vendors, holistic health speakers
• Women’s Winter Wellness Kickoff: January. The Westin Alexandria. Hormone and longevity panels. mini spa sessions, stress-reduction workshops.

 

NoVA Area Winter Festivals:

Bundle up and explore local festivals that turn frosty days into twinkling, toasty, winter-wonderland fun.

• Winter Lantern Festival: January 15. (5–10 PM). Lerner Town Square, Tysons. Walk-through lantern displays with performances and food vendors. Source: dullesmoms.com
• Capital Art & Craft Festival: January 9–11. Dulles Expo Center, Chantilly. Large indoor art and craft show with national exhibitors. Source: capitalartandcraftfestivals.com
• Bull Run Festival of Lights: January 9–11.. Bull Run Regional Park, Centreville. Drive-through winter light display. Source: virginiafairsandfestivals.net
• Winter Lights at Cameron Run – First Weekend: January 3–4. Cameron Run Regional Park, Alexandria. Holiday-to-winter transition with glowing installations and village activities. Source: novaparks.com

 

Good Reads: January New Releases

Start the year curled up with stories so fresh off the press they practically come with their own New Year’s resolutions.

The Storm, by Rachel Hawkins
Mystery / Gothic Thriller
A long-buried murder case resurfaces at a crumbling Gulf Coast inn just as a dangerous hurricane closes in.

Anatomy of an Alibi, by Ashley Elston
Psychological Thriller
Two women swap identities for one night, but when a husband turns up dead, only one has an alibi.

My Husband’s Wife, by Alice Feeney
Psychological Thriller / Mystery
A woman returns home to find a stranger claiming to be her husband’s real wife — and her own identity begins to unravel.

Graceless Heart, by Isabel Ibañez
Historical Fantasy / Romantic Fantasy
A sculptor with forbidden magic is captured by an immortal family in Renaissance-era Florence and drawn into a dangerous web of power.

Vigil, by George Saunders
Literary Fiction
A dying oil executive reflects on the moral weight of the choices that shaped his life.

Darkrooms, by Rebecca Hannigan
Mystery / Thriller
A young Irish police officer reopens her sister’s decades-old disappearance when a childhood friend returns with unsettling new clues.