What's on
There’s something for everyone. From theater and music, to poetry and exhibitions, experience the power of the arts with us.
Folger Frost Fair
Fri, Nov 29, 2024 – Sun, Jan 5, 2025
Celebrate the season with a month-long winter festival at the Folger. Enjoy festive decorations, holiday music, free activities, and more.
Upcoming events
Join us for in-person and virtual events; theater, poetry, music, and more.
Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis
Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis
Explore Esther Inglis's life and work as an early modern influencer and as the first woman in Britain to preface her works with selfies, in this exhibition 400 years after her death.
Through Sun, Jan 19, 2025
DC, I Love You: Community Playwriting Workshops
DC, I Love You: Community Playwriting Workshops
Artists collaborate with participants in developing a site-specific romantic comedy inspired by real stories of romance and the Anacostia community.
Sat, Nov 23 – Sat, Nov 30, 2024
Early Music Seminar: A Mass for Christmas Eve
Early Music Seminar: A Mass for Christmas Eve
Folger Consort Artistic Director Robert Eisenstein leads a lively seminar that offers a sneak peek at the music performed in the Folger Consort’s upcoming Mass for Christmas Eve: Baroque Music for the Season.
Wed, Dec 4, 2024 at 6pm ET
Folger Book Club:
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Folger Book Club: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Set in late 16th-century Spain, our December selection features a high stakes magical contest in a lush early modern setting.
Thu, Dec 5, 2024, 6:30pm
Gallery Talk: A How-To Guide for Exhibit Design of "Little Books, Big Gifts"
Gallery Talk: A How-To Guide for Exhibit Design of "Little Books, Big Gifts"
Join Heather Wolfe, Associate Librarian and Curator of Manuscripts, and Antonio Alcalá, founder of Studio A, to see how Folger's current temporary exhibition, "Little Books, Big Gifts," went from an abstract concept to a physical reality.
Thu, Dec 5, 2024 at 6:30pm
Virtual Folger Salon with Edel Lamb, Dominick Porras, and Susan Valladares
Virtual Folger Salon with Edel Lamb, Dominick Porras, and Susan Valladares
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Fri, Dec 6, 2024 at 4pm ET
A Mass for Christmas Eve
A Mass for Christmas Eve
Composed in 1694, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s "Messe de Minuit pour Noel" is based on captivating, folksong-like noels steeped in the composer’s characteristic balance of irresistible dance rhythms and sophisticated harmonies. The Consort will complement Charpentier’s Mass with haunting English "Balulalows" for voices set amid joyful instrumental concertos by Vivaldi and other Italian baroque masters.
Fri, Dec 6 – Sun, Dec 15, 2024
Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute Reading with Kimiko Hahn
Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute Reading with Kimiko Hahn
The O.B. Hardison Poetry series, in partnership with co-sponsor, The Emily Dickinson Museum, hosts its annual celebration of Emily Dickinson with a reading by the Poetry Foundation’s Ruth Lilly Lifetime Achievement Award winner Kimiko Hahn.
Tue, Dec 10, 2024 at 7:30pm
An Hour O’erflow with Joy: Stories of Students and Teachers
An Hour O’erflow with Joy: Stories of Students and Teachers
In this Folger Education professional development session, teachers come together in community to share stories about their career and students.
Wed, Dec 11, 2024 at 8pm ET
Exhibition halls
Exhibitions
Explore our world-class collection and enjoy interactive experiences created for visitors of all ages and stages.
- Our Shakespeare Exhibition Hall is devoted to the works of William Shakespeare then and there, here and now — including for the first time a display of all 82 copies of the Folger’s First Folios; and
- In our Stuart and Mimi Rose Rare Book and Manuscript Exhibition Hall, you’ll discover exhibits of significant collection items that inspire the Folger’s work, deep dives into our vault, and special exhibitions.
Current exhibitions
Shakespeare Exhibition
Our Shakespeare Exhibition
See the Folger First Folios, learn more about Shakespeare and his plays, and explore the complexities of his cultural legacy.
Ongoing
Imprints in Time
Imprints in Time
This special exhibition at the Folger features rare books from the collection of Stuart and Mimi Rose that present literary, cultural, and historical high points.
Through Sun, Jan 5, 2025
Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis
Little Books, Big Gifts: The Artistry of Esther Inglis
Explore Esther Inglis's life and work as an early modern influencer and as the first woman in Britain to preface her works with selfies, in this exhibition 400 years after her death.
Through Sun, Jan 19, 2025
Out of the Vault: Into the Heart of the Folger
Out of the Vault
Encounter remarkable books and manuscripts that connect with the multifaceted work of the Folger in this ongoing exhibition.
Ongoing
Talks
Gallery Talk: A How-To Guide for Exhibit Design of "Little Books, Big Gifts"
Gallery Talk: A How-To Guide for Exhibit Design of "Little Books, Big Gifts"
Join Heather Wolfe, Associate Librarian and Curator of Manuscripts, and Antonio Alcalá, founder of Studio A, to see how Folger's current temporary exhibition, "Little Books, Big Gifts," went from an abstract concept to a physical reality.
Thu, Dec 5, 2024 at 6:30pm
Virtual Folger Salon with Edel Lamb, Dominick Porras, and Susan Valladares
Virtual Folger Salon with Edel Lamb, Dominick Porras, and Susan Valladares
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Fri, Dec 6, 2024 at 4pm ET
Folger Salon with Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva and Ania Upstill
Folger Salon with Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva and Ania Upstill
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Thu, Dec 12, 2024 at 4:30pm
Folger Salon with Shaul Bassi, Rob Clines, and Sylvia Korman
Folger Salon with Shaul Bassi, Rob Clines, and Sylvia Korman
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Thu, Jan 16, 2025 at 4:30pm
Author Talk and Reading: "The Girls of Godzilla, Illinois" with Jami Nakamura Lin
Author Talk and Reading: "The Girls of Godzilla, Illinois" with Jami Nakamura Lin
How do we live with the things that haunt us? Join us online for a virtual talk with Jami Nakamura Lin and a reading from her current book project, which sets folklore—from both Edo period Japan and early modern Europe—against a suburban Chicago community.
Thu, Jan 16, 2025 at 6:30pm ET
Edmond Dédé and Morgiane
Edmond Dédé and Morgiane
Join us for a free talk exploring the music of Edmond Dédé (1827—1903), accompanied by selections from his opera Morgiane. The manuscript of Morgiane, the first known opera by a Black composer, is on display Jan 13 - Feb 28.
Thu, Jan 16, 2025, 6:30pm
Workshop and Community Read: "Sweet Blood" with Camille Simone Thomas
Workshop and Community Read: "Sweet Blood" with Camille Simone Thomas
Join Whose Democracy? Artist Fellow Camille Simone Thomas for a workshop and community read of her speculative historical fiction play "Sweet Blood," set in 1727 Jamaica.
Sat, Feb 8, 2025 at 3:30pm
Folger Salon with Alex Baines and Anandi Rao
Folger Salon with Alex Baines and Anandi Rao
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Thu, Feb 20, 2025 at 4:30pm
Cocktails and Conversation with Luis Carazo
Cocktails and Conversation with Luis Carazo
Engage your imagination and take a walk along the hero’s path with Luis Carazo! Learn about the world of role-playing games, its place within the broader spectrum of storytelling, and its impact as a community and empathy building tool.
Thu, Feb 27, 2025 at 7pm
Folger Theatre 2024-2025 Season
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
In a violent world, two young people from warring families fall in love. How can they safeguard their future when the systems meant to protect them fail?
Tue, Oct 1 – Sun, Nov 10, 2024
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night
A playful interpretation of a beloved Shakespeare comedy that brings gender fluidity, mistaken identities, and what it means to move between worlds into a joyful discovery of love.
Tue, May 13 – Sun, Jun 22, 2025
A Room in the Castle
A Room in the Castle
This retelling of Hamlet from the perspective of the women of the story offers up what it’s like to be on the other end of a wild prince’s antics while delivering a message of defiant hope.
Tue, Mar 4 – Sun, Apr 6, 2025
For Families
Family Workshop: To Be a Shakespearean Actor
Family Workshop: To Be a Shakespearean Actor
Join the Folger team as we dive into and try out Elizabethan acting styles. Then, learn about the power of Shakespeare’s words to inspire actors, trends, and riots!
Sat, Dec 14, 2024 at 11:30am & 1pm
Folger Consort 2024-2025 Season
A Mass for Christmas Eve
A Mass for Christmas Eve
Composed in 1694, Marc-Antoine Charpentier’s "Messe de Minuit pour Noel" is based on captivating, folksong-like noels steeped in the composer’s characteristic balance of irresistible dance rhythms and sophisticated harmonies. The Consort will complement Charpentier’s Mass with haunting English "Balulalows" for voices set amid joyful instrumental concertos by Vivaldi and other Italian baroque masters.
Fri, Dec 6 – Sun, Dec 15, 2024
The Love Birds
The Love Birds
Geoffrey Chaucer’s charming and trenchant A Parlement of Foules contains the first reference to St. Valentine as patron saint of lovers. The 14th-century poet's vision of avian politics will be interspersed with bracing and intricate music of his times from England and France, perfectly mirrored by the newly-composed music of composer Juri Seo.
Fri, Feb 14 – Sun, Feb 16, 2025
Kings and Commonwealth
Kings and Commonwealth
The music from the court of King James I reflects the political and religious upheavals in early seventeenth century England. The Folger Consort will perform political ballads of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot, along with instrumental music from both James’ and Charles I’s courts and swaggering and silly political songs from Thomas D’Urfey’s Pills to Purge Melancholy.
Fri, May 2 – Sun, May 4, 2025
Folger Book Club
Folger Book Club:
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Folger Book Club: The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
Set in late 16th-century Spain, our December selection features a high stakes magical contest in a lush early modern setting.
Thu, Dec 5, 2024, 6:30pm
O.B. Hardison Poetry 2024-2025 Season
Disability Poetics with Camisha Jones and torrin a. greathouse
Disability Poetics with Camisha Jones and torrin a. greathouse
Folger Poetry continues its exploration of 'Whose Democracy?' with readings by poets torrin a. greathouse and Camisha L. Jones whose present works probe the erasure of disabled voices.
Tue, Feb 25, 2025 at 7:30pm
2025 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize with Paul Muldoon and Julia Thacker
2025 Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize with Paul Muldoon and Julia Thacker
The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series and co-sponsor The Waywiser Press celebrate the 19th winner of the Anthony Hecht Poetry Prize with this year’s prize judge, acclaimed Irish poet, critic, playwright, and translator Paul Muldoon, who will read with the winning poet.
Tue, Mar 11, 2025 at 7:30pm
The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series Finale Reading Ellen Bass
The O.B. Hardison Poetry Series Finale Reading Ellen Bass
Ellen Bass, chosen by a group of Folger Poetry supporters, will read from the work of other poets cited as a literary influence, as well as from her own work. A moderated conversation will follow the reading, with a bookselling and signing at the post-reading reception.
Tue, Apr 8, 2025 at 7:30pm
Subscribe to the 2024-2025 season
Subscriptions are now on sale for the 2024-2025 season, “Whose Democracy?” Explore our subscription packages for Folger Theatre, Folger Consort, and the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series.
Ticket information
Contact the Folger Box Office at (202) 544-7077 or folgerboxoffice@folger.edu.
