Last year, Great Falls Studios held its Holiday ArtFest on December 13 and 14, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. It was split between the Great Falls Grange at 9818 Georgetown Pike and Artists on the Green at 776B Walker Road. This year it runs November 21 and 22, at a new location: St. Francis Episcopal Church, 9220 Georgetown Pike.
That moves the event about three weeks earlier on the calendar and out of the village center. ArtFest now lands the weekend before Thanksgiving. L'Auberge Chez François has its own holiday event that Saturday, and the restaurant's Thanksgiving week follows. So the Great Falls holiday season now has two busy stretches: one in late November and one in the first weekend of December. Mid-December is quieter.
Where ArtFest Used to Sit, and Where It Sits Now
For years ArtFest belonged to the village crossroads. A 2018 Connection Newspapers account placed it at the Grange and the Old Schoolhouse, alongside the Village Centre studios. In 2025 the studios' ArtFest page listed two locations. Ten artists were at the Grange, working in photography, watercolor, tempera on ceramic, jewelry, fiber art, pottery and wood carving. Oil painter Layla Gray was at Artists on the Green. Patch's listing for that weekend promised cookies, hot cocoa, games and a raffle for a basket of gifts from the artists.
The 2026 edition is at one venue farther east on Georgetown Pike. As of early November, the Great Falls Studios events page gives the dates and the new address and says only "Details coming soon." This year's hours, artist list and admission terms haven't been posted. Last year's 10-to-5 schedule is a reasonable guess for planning purposes, but it isn't confirmed.
For anyone who buys gifts at ArtFest, the new dates change the timing. Shopping now happens before Thanksgiving, with a full month left before the holidays. Gifts that need shipping or framing have more time.
The Studios Warm Up Two Weeks Earlier
The first sign of the season comes on Friday, November 6, the day after this post publishes. Great Falls Studios holds Art Night Out on the first Friday of every month from April through December, 6 to 8 p.m., at three Village Centre addresses:
- Artists' Atelier and the Arts of Great Falls Gallery, 756 Walker Road
- Artists on the Green, 776B Walker Road
- Broadway Galleries, 1025-J Seneca Road
The studios describe each night as a reception with a fresh show in the Arts of Great Falls Gallery and a look at what's new in the studios. With ArtFest only two weeks later, the November 6 night is an early look at the artists' work before the larger weekend sale. Katie's Coffee House at 760 Walker Road also shows work by Great Falls Studios artists, and it's for sale. The exhibits rotate regularly.
The Wednesday after that, November 11, Celebrate Great Falls holds a free Veterans Day ceremony from 11 a.m. to noon at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial, 9830 Georgetown Pike. It's a short, morning-only event. It's also the last village gathering before the season picks up.
November 21 Is the Busiest Day of the Month
ArtFest's Saturday now falls on the same day as another established Great Falls event. L'Auberge Chez François lists its Thanksgiving Holiday Wine Festival and Luncheon for Saturday, November 21. The Great Falls Community Farmers Market also runs that morning. Its website says it's open year-round, Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at 756 Walker Road. That's the same address as the Artists' Atelier.
Here is how that weekend lines up:
| Date | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21, 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. | Great Falls Community Farmers Market | 756 Walker Road |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | L'Auberge Thanksgiving Holiday Wine Festival and Luncheon | L'Auberge Chez François |
| Sat.–Sun., Nov. 21–22 | Holiday ArtFest, hours to be announced | St. Francis Episcopal Church, 9220 Georgetown Pike |
The wine festival comes at a new point for L'Auberge. FFXnow reported on September 1 that the restaurant is now part of Reston-based Thompson Restaurants, led by Warren Thompson, who had been a regular there for years. Executive Chef Jacques Haeringer stays in his leadership role. According to FFXnow, the restaurant's news release said:
"The goal isn't reinvention, it's preservation. Same Alsatian menu, same charm, same staff, same sense of occasion."
Haeringer's father, François Haeringer, opened the original Chez François in Washington in 1954, and the restaurant moved to Great Falls in 1976, according to the same report. This holiday stretch is its first under the new owners.
Thanksgiving Week Follows Without a Break
ArtFest ends Sunday, November 22, and Thanksgiving is the following Thursday, November 26. L'Auberge's Thanksgiving page lists a seven-course dinner priced at $150 to $162 per person, with a $95 menu for children under 12. There are three seatings: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., 3 to 4:30 p.m., and 6:30 to 8 p.m. Reservations opened October 15, so by early November some seatings may already be full. Jacques' Brasserie, the restaurant's more casual room, is also serving a special Thanksgiving menu. That Sunday, November 29, L'Auberge has a musical brunch at 11 a.m. to close out the weekend.
There's also a newer option this year. FFXnow reported that Great Falls Lodge Bar and Grill planned a soft launch on September 7 at 9835 Georgetown Pike in Great Falls Center. It opened with dinner only, 3 to 10 p.m., with lunch and happy hour to come later. It's the first Virginia location of a concept that started with the Urbana Lodge and Clarks Lodge in Maryland, and the menu includes burgers, flatbreads, baby back ribs, fish and chips and Maryland crab cakes. The Lodge's website now lists daily hours of 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. plus weekend brunch, and a happy hour from 3 to 6:30 p.m. The homepage still mentions a soft-launch menu, so call ahead before planning a group meal around it.
December Still Has a Peak
Moving ArtFest didn't empty December. The first weekend is now the month's busiest. Colvin Run Mill, at 10017 Colvin Run Road, holds Children's Holiday Shopping on December 5 and 6. On Sunday, December 6, Celebrate Great Falls holds its free Celebration of Lights, with a tree lighting, performances by local school groups, a petting zoo, pony rides and Santa arriving by fire truck. Art Night Out returns on Friday, December 4, the year's last first-Friday reception.
The rest of the month is mostly on Colvin Run Mill's calendar:
- Santa at the Mill, December 12 and 13
- Holiday Lantern Tours, December 18 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and December 19 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
- Holiday Greetings, December 19 from 3 to 3:30 p.m.
- Holiday Wrappings and Candy Canes and Cocoa, December 21 from 10 to 11:30 a.m.
Santa at the Mill, on December 12 and 13, falls on nearly the same weekend ArtFest used last year. In 2026 that weekend is for families with young children rather than an art sale. The mill's lantern tours on December 18 and 19 are the last evening events on the calendar.
Taken together, Great Falls has two holiday peaks this year. One is November 21 and 22, with the farmers market, ArtFest and the wine festival. The other is December 5 and 6, with holiday shopping at the mill and the Celebration of Lights. Thanksgiving falls between them. Most of the village's art and dining events now come in November, and December's events are mostly at Colvin Run Mill and the Celebration of Lights.
If the holidays have you thinking about what your home is worth before a spring move, Teresa Burton can give you a clear, unhurried read on your property between ArtFest and the Celebration of Lights. Request a Free Home Valuation, and you'll have the numbers in hand before the new year.
