Skip to main content

Alexandria festival offers family-friendly New Year’s Eve, fireworks

WASHINGTON — Packed bars and fancy restaurants aren’t the only places to ring in the New Year. For those looking to celebrate with the whole family, and also enjoy a fireworks show, the annual New Year’s Eve festival in Alexandria, Virginia could do the trick.

First Night Alexandria, held on Monday, Dec. 31, is the largest family-friendly and alcohol-free New Year’s Eve party in the region.

It also boasts the only fireworks display in the D.C. area, which will light up the sky over the Potomac River at midnight.

This year’s bash — presented by the City of Alexandria, Dominion Energy, MGM National Harbor and Virginia Paving Co. — will include more than 100 performances at 25 warm, indoor venues.

Related Stories

The event will begin at 2 p.m., with entertainment kicking off at 7 p.m.. The fireworks show will close out the night.

New this year is the Kids Karnival, which has three kids’ countdown locations throughout Alexandria: the Charles Houston Recreation Center in Old Town, the Mount Vernon Recreation Center in Del Ray and the William Ramsay Recreation Center in the West End.

Families with children 12 and younger can enjoy face painting, carnival-style games, dancing, as well as an earlier-than-normal countdown to the new year.

Family-friendly celebrations

First Night Alexandria events.
New Year’s Annappolis.
Falls Church Watch Night.
First Night Winchester.
Fredericksburg Downtown 31 family fun night.
Events across Maryland

School bus emergency? Fairfax County students have a plan to handle it

This story is part of WTOP’s 2026 Back to School coverage. The wheels on the bus will soon be going round and round again in Fairfax County, Virginia, and some of its young riders are learning what to do if there’s an emergency on the way to school. The annual Safety Patrol Training Camp, hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools' Office of Transportation Services, combined hands-on exercises with classroom lessons to teach students how to keep calm during emergencies on buses. The training can feel remarkably realistic, with overturned school buses on their side or completely upside down in the middle of the county bus depot. Other buses, right side up, fill with smoke that is water-based but mimics the intensity of a bus overheating.
Read Next Story