The Dupont Circle BID will once again host its biggest live music event of the year – the Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree. The event will be held on Saturday, October 25th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in Dupont Circle park. The Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree will feature live bluegrass by Shannon Leigh & the Good Bygones, a pumpkin patch where participants can decorate pumpkins, games such as cornhole in the grassy areas of the Circle, and a costume contest for kids, pets, and adults complete with prizes.
“We are excited to bring the Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree back again for another year to Dupont Circle,” says Bill McLeod, Executive Director for the Dupont Circle BID. “The Fall Festival has been a great celebration of the season in previous years, and we loved the turnout last year.”
The Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree features multiple attractions. Bluegrass music by Shannon Leigh & the Good Bygones will be filling the Circle from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Shannon Leigh Reynolds fronts the band with powerful lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Her debut album, Triple Shot, won a 2024 Wammie for Best Folk/Bluegrass Album. With influences ranging across many genres, the band plays everything from hard-driving traditional bluegrass and Americana favorites to classic country bar tunes.
During each intermission, there will be a costume contest. During the band’s first intermission at 1:45 p.m. we will lead with a contest for kids! All are welcome to put on their best costume. Following this, during the band’s second intermission at 2:45 p.m., all furry friends in costume will come up to the stage for the pets’ costume contest! Finally, when the band concludes at 3:45 p.m., all adults will compete in the last costume contest of the day. Participation in the costume contests is encouraged, and winners in each category will be decided by the crowd.
Each of the three contests will offer prizes to first, second, and third placed participants. First place winners in each category will each receive a $100 gift card to new Dupont restaurant Daily Provisions! Second place participants will each win a $50 gift card to Dupont’s amazing Thai restaurant, Thai Chef. Finally, third place contestants will win a $25 gift card to Dupont Circle’s popular bookstore-restaurant combo, Kramer Books & Afterwards. Show up with your own, your child’s, or your pet’s best costume for a chance of getting a delicious lunch or dinner in the neighborhood, on us!
Alongside this, The Fall Festival and Bluegrass Jamboree will offer at least 200 pumpkins ripe for picking and decorating. Crafts for decorating the pumpkins will be available along with volunteers to help the decorators!
“We are looking forward to seeing how people and their pets express themselves creatively during this event,” said Jason Goldman, Marketing and Events Manager for the Dupont Circle BID. “Between decorating your own pumpkin and competing in our costume contest, the Fall Festival allows for more guest participation than ever before.”
Dupont Circle is DC’s international heart with 40 shops, 110 restaurants, and 140 services. The destination neighborhood is renowned as the city’s welcoming gathering place. The Dupont Circle Business Improvement District was formed in 2018 to elevate this iconic neighborhood through public space management, placemaking, and economic development initiatives. To learn more about the BID’s mission and work, visit www.dupontcirclebid.org.
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