CalendarClasses, Camps & WorkshopsKids and the ParkDanceAbout Glen Echo ParkGLEN ECHO PARK is a magical place situated on the Potomac palisades near Bethesda, Maryland. Originally a Chautauqua retreat, then an amusement park, this National Park is now host to a variety of arts, environmental and history programs.
Take a class in pottery, painting, photography, or glass art. Enjoy a puppet show or theater performance with your family and ride the carousel. Dance in our exquisite ballroom or refine your steps in one of our dance classes. Learn more about the environment while you play, or take a ranger-guided historic tour. For a summary of Yellow Barn upcoming classes click here. It's all here at the Park. We hope to see you soon!
The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture presents its annual Holiday Art Show and Sale. The exhibition, in the Popcorn Gallery, features works by resident artists and will include glass, ceramics, photography, painting, and more. Browse and buy fine artworks for everyone on your holiday shopping list. Saturdays and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and additional hours from December 3 - 23. Check our calendar for a complete list of all gallery hours during the holiday season or call (301) 634-2222 for more information.
Start the Holiday Season at Glen Echo Park’s "Winter’s Eve." Enjoy performances, holiday crafts for kids, and a hot chocolate bar. Browse and buy fine artworks at the Holiday Art Show in the Popcorn Gallery and listen to the wonderful Capital Accord Chorus as they "light up the dark days of winter with song." Many of our resident artists' studios will also have works for sale, including the Art Glass Center, Glassworks, Glen Echo Pottery, and more. From 6 to 9 p.m. Call (301) 634-2222 or visit our calendar.
A special evening benefit performance of the Puppet Co.’s holiday classic, "The Nutcracker." Tchaikovsky's musical adaptation of the E. T. A. Hoffman story is brought to life by the magic of the Puppet Co. The larger-than-life-size costume characters and marionettes delight Clara-Marie, and the audience, on her magical journey through the "Land of the Sugar Plum Fairy." Originally performed live with the Arlington Symphony, The Washington Post praised the production for its "clever costuming and delightful surprises." Performance at 6 p.m. Tickets $25 (children under 2 are free).
Registration for fall and winter classes is ongoing and many classes are still coming up over the next few weeks. We are offering new classes in a variety of arts and media including basketry, book and paper arts, color and creativity for teens and adults, as well as new children's visual arts classes with Creative Thinkers, Young Creative Spirit and the Corcoran. Creative movement classes return with new yoga and adult movement classes and social dance classes in a variety of styles will keep the Spanish Ballroom and Bumper Car Pavilion jumping all season long! In addition many resident programs have expanded their offerings in photography, drawing and painting, kilnformed glass and pottery. To browse and register for classes online click here.
Printed catalogs are available at the Park and at your local library and area art stores. You may also download a PDF version of the catalog by clicking here. We have a terrific line-up of programs for all ages so check out the catalog now. We look forward to seeing you in a class this winter!
To inspire the artist or dancer in your life give the gift of class registration. Gift certificates are available for classes at Glen Echo Park, are valid for one year and are available in any amount. Glen Echo Park Partnership gift certificates may not be used for Adventure Theatre, Discovery Creek or Writer's Center programs - contact these groups directly for their gift certificate details. For more information call 301.634.2226 or visit the Partnership office.
One of the greater Washington area's true treasures, the historic Glen Echo Park Dentzel carousel is now closed for the season. Please join us next spring for the carousel's 89th season! The carousel will reopen on Saturday, May 2, 2009 with our Family Day celebration.
The Café will reopen in March 2009. Please check back for the schedule.
For inclement weather and Park closing information please call 301.320.2330.
The Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, Inc. is funded by an operating grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive, and also by funding from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. All programs are produced in cooperation with the National Park Service and Montgomery County, Maryland.
