Get into the holiday spirit through song at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap, the National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna. This hugely popular park and concert venue may be best known for its summer shows, but each winter it also hosts a fun and free community singalong. The event is held rain or shine. This is a free, non-ticketed event and patrons may choose to sit "in-house," in the covered section of the Filene Center. Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts –Filene Center, is located at 1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Va., 22182.
You can kick off your holiday season with family and friends at Wolf Trap’s Annual Holiday Sing-A-Long. This musical celebration hosts a performance by the United States Marine Band and a Sing-A-Long of Christmas carols and Hanukkah songs with a local choir and vocal groups from the metropolitan Washington area.
Wolf Trap participates in Toys for Tots by collecting new, unwrapped toys at the entrance to the Filene Center before the Sing-A-Long. Donations are voluntary and not required. Parking is free but limited.
You can bring a candle and join the tradition of exiting the Filene Center with a candlelight processional during the last verse of “Silent Night.” There is also a ‘Jing-A-Long’ during the singing of Jingle Bells so bring a bell and your holiday cheer.
The Holiday Sing-A-Long has become a mainstay for generations of holiday concertgoers. “It has become a treasured family tradition for so many,” said Captain Ryan J. Nowlin, an assistant director of the Marine Band. “The sing-a-long nature of the event in conjunction with the chorus creates a welcoming and inspiring environment in which to ring in the holiday season.”
Started in 1968, the event originally consisted of local choirs invited to Wolf Trap founder Catherine Filene Shouse’s farmhouse to sing carols and share in holiday cheer. The following year it grew to include “The President’s Own,” which provided a 45-piece brass ensemble to support the choristers.
By 1972, the concert took its current form; an audience gathered under the newly completed canopy of the Filene Center, and the full Marine Band debuted carol arrangements by then chief arranger Tom Knox. Most of the songs from this concert are still used in the current program.
Today, the band continues to provide the music for traditional holiday carols while the audience and a dozen-or-so local school, church, and community choirs fill the air with song.
For a brief moment in time, friends, families, neighbors, and strangers halt their busy lives to join in one voice to sing under one roof. Once the candles are extinguished after a lone oboist plays the final notes of “Silent Night,” a sentiment lingers in the air that everyone is headed home with intentions of peace and goodwill.
Maryam
View posts by MaryamMaryam N. is a Senior Writer at Nesbitt Realty. She is an expert on Fairfax County. Maryam has also worked previously as a geologist. She is a foodie and enjoys cooking and exploring new restaurants.