Union Market's Holiday Weekend Is November 20. The Walk-In Way Through It Starts in 20002.

The ROW opened a week ago at 1348 4th Street NE. It's a seasonal village of small shops, open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until December 23. For now it's the only holiday fixture running in the Union Market District. That changes eight days from now. On Friday, November 20, Union Market lights its tree and Hi-Lawn opens Snowglow at the Dome. On Saturday, the LEDC Holiday Market sets up at La Cosecha. On Sunday, the FRESHFARM market holds one of its last listed dates of the season.

Most of the season lands on those three days. The parts of that weekend that need no ticket, no reservation and no drive are free or walk-in, and they sit a short walk from home for anyone in the 20001 and 20002 ZIP codes. Those two ZIP codes also qualify for a neighborhood discount card that more than 3,000 people have signed up for. Businesses told a reporter that few people actually use it.

Three days hold most of the season

Here is how the weekend lines up, using the 2026 listings:

Union Market's tree lighting listing calls the event free and runs it from 6 to 8 p.m. at the market building. The ROW stays open until 7 that evening, so the shops and the lighting overlap for one hour. The LEDC Holiday Market the next morning brings together 12 local businesses at La Cosecha. It's a short window, one day from 10 to 5.

Only one item in that grid is ticketed, and even that one has a walk-in entrance.

The Dome is ticketed. The lounge in front of it is first-come, first-served.

This year Snowglow is themed as the Alpine Hotel, a made-up 1970s European mountain resort. Its fictional founding date is 1931, a nod to the year Union Market was established. Artist Dario Spinelli made the 360-degree projections, and the Dome seats 72 guests. It runs from November 20 through January 3.

According to Hi-Lawn's Snowglow page, Dome tickets cost $29 to $36 plus tax. A ticket covers entry, a welcome drink, reserved seating and the visual show, and each reservation lasts 90 minutes. On opening night, 72 seats in 90-minute blocks don't go far.

Guests pass through the Summit Lounge on the way into the Dome, and the lounge runs on different rules. Hi-Lawn's FAQ puts it this way:

"If you can't secure tickets to the Dome, or just want to have some holiday drinks in a festive bar, join us in our open-to-the-public Summit Lounge, where reservations are not required, and entry is first-come first-served!"

The same FAQ says there's no food or beverage minimum. You can come for a full meal or just a late-night cocktail. So on November 20 you can go from the free tree lighting to the lounge without a ticket. The only thing that decides when you get there is how far away you start.

The ROW is the weekday-friendly part of the season

The tree lighting and the LEDC market each happen once. The ROW runs for seven weeks, and its Thursday hours make it the easiest part of the season to fit into a regular week. Union Market lists its shops as CLÀT Jewelry, Nest Proper, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, Saturdays Football, Tiny Basket by Cookbook Courtyard and Vintage Views Bar. The ROW opened with a party on November 5, with live music and food and drink pop-ups. The last day is December 23.

Plenty of things open and close at Union Market in a season. The ROW stands out because its hours, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. four days a week, cover a lot more of the calendar than the one-day events around it. If you want to shop for gifts without the November 20 crowd, any Thursday afternoon before then works.

The discount most people in 20002 haven't used

In June, the NoMa Business Improvement District launched the NoMa Neighbors Card. It's a free digital card for people who live or work in the 20001 and 20002 ZIP codes. The Wash reported in October that 26 businesses take part, and most offer 10% off. BID President and CEO Maura Brophy told The Wash that more than 3,000 people had signed up since launch.

The Wash also found that businesses weren't seeing many people use it. A cashier at Uncle Chip's Cookies told the outlet, "We have only had one person use it." The owner of the Saladworks location said he had seen only a handful of customers redeem the discount. That's thousands of sign-ups against a handful of redemptions at the counter.

Several participating businesses sit right on the holiday weekend route. The Wash's list includes:

• Food: Alero Union Market, King Street Oyster Bar, Little Miner Taco, Slice & Pie, Saladworks, Bub and Pop's, Chop Shop, Carving Room NoMa, Metro Spice
• Coffee and pastry: ROUND Cafe, Truss Coffee, Simona Cafe, Uncle Chip's Cookies
• Drinks: Wunder Garten, Lost Generation Brewing Company, Red Bear Brewing Co, Nice & Easy, Uncorked Wine & Spirits
• Everything else: Colby's Dogcare and Spa, Livewell Animal Hospital of NoMa, Playful Pack, Back To Life Physical Therapy, Bouldering Project in Eckington, Blue Zen Nails Spa & Lash, and two hotels near the Capitol

Not every offer is a flat 10%. Bouldering Project gives 20% off a first month, and Livewell Animal Hospital limits its 10% to wellness visits. Redeeming it takes a few steps, as The Wash described:

1. Sign up through the NoMa BID's Neighbors Card page with your name, address and contact information.
2. Save the program to your phone's home screen. There's no standalone app and no wallet pass yet.
3. At the business, choose the location and the offer, then add the discount.
4. Use it at checkout within 10 minutes. You have to be on site.

That 10-minute window is why you should sign up before November 20. On a weekend when the line at Alero or Wunder Garten is moving fast, you don't want to be filling out an enrollment form at the register.

What moved inside and around the market this fall

The neighborhood around the holiday weekend looks a little different than it did over the summer. On September 15, Mondepice turned its seasonal presence into a permanent tea-and-spice shop at Booth 20 inside Union Market, PoPville reported. It's now a year-round stop in the same building as the tree lighting.

Two weeks later, on September 30, Neopol Smokery announced it was closing after 14 years at Union Market, according to Eater DC's September closings roundup. This is the first holiday season in more than a decade without it in the hall.

To the west, in Alethia Tanner Park, Tommy's Tacos opened in September at 227 Harry Thomas Way NE, as Washingtonian reported. That puts a new food stop in NoMa's main park, on the walk between the NoMa side of the neighborhood and the market blocks.

Change is also coming to the former Motel 6 site at Union Market. Axios reported in October that the site is planned for Late Checkout, a 30-room boutique hotel, and No. 31, a cocktail bar and lounge. Both are expected "next spring." They won't be part of this holiday season, but they'll add evening options next year.

The rest of the season, by date

The weekend is the busiest stretch, but the dates on either side still matter:

• Sunday, November 15: FRESHFARM at Union Market. Its listing says the market runs Sundays through November.
• Thursdays through Sundays to December 23: The ROW, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Friday, November 20: Tree lighting from 6 to 8 p.m. and Snowglow's opening night
• Saturday, November 21: LEDC Holiday Market at La Cosecha, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Sunday, November 22: FRESHFARM, the last individually listed date of the season
• Through January 3: Snowglow at the Dome. The Summit Lounge is first-come, first-served, with no minimum.

After Snowglow closes on January 3, the district's winter calendar goes quiet until the spring openings on the old Motel 6 site.

Our team at T&G Real Estate Advisors keeps track of how blocks like 4th and 5th Street NE change from one season to the next, including new shops, closings and planned openings. If you own in NoMa or near Union Market and want to know what those changes mean for your home's value, request a home valuation and we'll walk you through it.