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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.

Free activities

Folger History Pop-Ups

Listen to free pop-up talks about the Folger’s history and architecture in each exhibition gallery, the Theatre, and the Reading Room. Noon to 5pm on Nov 29–Dec 1, Dec 26–29, and Dec 31. (Note: Pop-ups will not take place in the Reading Room on Nov 29 and Dec 31.)

Photo Station

Make some holiday memories at a festive winter photo station in the Folger’s East Lobby. Begins Dec 6.

Book Nook

Read books or play games provided in the nook, situated in the Great Hall near the Quill & Crumb seating area. Begins Dec 6.

Photo by Peggy Ryan

Holiday Seek-and-Find

Kids, take the lead through the galleries and historic spaces at the Folger to seek out characters pictured in the guide. Begins Dec 10.

Printing Press Demonstrations

Visit the Shakespeare Exhibition Hall to see the printing press in action. You might even get to take printed souvenirs home with you! Dates and times TBA.

What is a frost fair?

The idea for the Folger Frost Fair was inspired by the frost fairs held in London when the River Thames completely froze in winters between the 1600s and 1800s. Londoners used the frozen river as an opportunity to take daily life to the ice—setting up stalls and booths selling food and drink and conducting commerce. People played games and held contests, and there were even printing presses on the ice from which souvenir postcards and prints were sold.

The carnival-like atmosphere on the ice in the 17th century drew people out in spite of the cold. We want to welcome people with the same cheerful bustle of activity, along with the warmth and light of the holiday season.

Folger Director Farah Karim-Cooper

Two women looking at items for sale in the Folger Shop
Photo by Erika Nizborski

Shopping for holiday gifts

Nov 29 – Dec 1

  • 10% off all purchases made in the Folger Shop

Dec 20–22

  • 10% off all purchases made in the Folger Shop
  • Complimentary gift-wrapping

Members receive an extra 10% discount on all purchases.

Events

Folger Friday Holiday Singalong

Folger Friday Holiday Singalong

Join us for a community holiday singalong. Warm drinks and select holiday crafting activities will be available at this free event.
Fri, Dec 13, 2024, 5:30pm
Register
Great Hall
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
Dates & Tickets
Folger Theatre
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
Book Now
Folger Theatre
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
Register now
Folger Library