A Big Hit: Washington, DC Knocks It Out of the Park All Summer Long

(Washington, DC) – In addition to its famous free festivals, monuments and museums, in 2018 the nation’s capital heads into summer with a calendar bursting with firsts including the MLB® All-Star Week; a $300M soccer stadium; Broadway’s “Hamilton,” a new arts and technology event and the nation’s fastest-growing jazz festival. 

Destination DC (DDC), the official destination marketing office for the nation’s capital, is primed to help travelers with vacation itineraries. Call the concierge line (800-635-6338) or mine washington.org for calendars, tips, neighborhood guides and seasonal deals. Watch “The Arts District” videos that map DC neighborhoods through the experiences of five creative Washingtonians. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, DDC shares real time inspiration from visitors and local experts through #MyDCcool.

“We encourage visitors to book our deals, stay longer and explore more of Washington, DC because there’s more to explore,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO of DDC. “DC is embracing both its waterfronts: Paddleboard on the Anacostia River, hop a water taxi to Georgetown for lunch and retail therapy. Catch a baseball game in Capitol Riverfront. Zip to The Wharf for concerts and cocktails around a firepit.”

DDC will run a summertime television commercial produced in-house. The 15- and 30-second spots will air in Philadelphia, New York City, Richmond and Los Angeles. Supporting dynamic digital and traditional print campaigns will run in six city magazines. Interactive rich media ads, bus-wraps and billboards complete the buy.

“Digital advertising connects back to washington.org, where we have a new content personalization strategy. This summer, when someone comes to washington.org from a family-friendly site, the content on the landing page will deliver inspiration for a “best summer ever” family vacation. In the first two months of personalization, we’ve seen a 32% increase in pageviews and more pages per session,” said Robin A. McClain, senior vice president of marketing and communications at DDC.

HOLIDAY WEEKENDS
Memorial Day: DC’s salute to active duty military and veterans includes the Rolling Thunder honor ride (May 25-28), a patriotic concert (May 27) and the nation’s largest Memorial Day parade (May 28).

Independence Day: America’s birthday party has a parade, concert and fireworks on the National Mall.

Labor Day: The final outdoor summer concert by the National Symphony Orchestra on the National Mall (Sept. 2).

FESTIVALS
Capital Pride (June 7-10)
The 43rd LGBTQ festival spreads the rainbow at the Pride parade (June 9) and street festival (June 10).

DC Jazz Festival (June 8-17)
The 14th annual jazz festival draws talent like Leslie Odom, Jr. and supergroup R+R=Now.

AFI Docs (June 13-17)
Non-fiction films bring challenging subjects to big screens as well as conversations with national opinion leaders and filmmakers.

By the People Festival (June 21-24)
Halcyon’s inaugural citywide arts and innovation festival packs performances, panels, art installations and a VR scavenger hunt.

Smithsonian Folklife Festival (June 27-July 1; July 4-8)
Armenia and Catalonia are the focus of this living culture pop-up on the National Mall.

District of Comedy Festival (July 19-21)
Comics Hari Kondabalu, Amanda Seales and Patton Oswalt showcase stand-up, sketch comedy and improv at the Kennedy Center.

National Book Festival (Sept. 1)
The Library of Congress’s written word festival welcomes 100-plus authors to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

PROFESSIONAL SPORTS
Wales vs. South Africa (June 2)
National rugby powerhouses go head-to-head at RFK Stadium.

2018 MLB® All-Star Week (July 13-17)
Major League Baseball celebrates America’s pastime in the nation’s capital for the first time in nearly 50 years featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game™ (July 14); the Gatorade All-Star Workout Day™ and the T-Mobile Home Run Derby® (July 16); the 89th MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard (July 17) at Nationals Park. MLB® All-Star FanFest® (July 13-17) takes over the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.

D.C. United vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (July 14)
An east-meets-west match inaugurates Audi Field, the 20,000-person stadium in Southwest.

50^th Citi Open Tennis Classic (July 28 – Aug. 5)
Top seeded Caroline Wozniacki, Andy Murray, Sloane Stephens and John Isner hit the H.G. Fitzgerald Tennis Center.

Real Madrid vs. Juventus (Aug. 4)
The 12-time European champions take on Turin’s titans in a pre-season match at FedEx Field.

EXHIBITIONS AND PERFORMING ARTS
No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man (thru Jan. 21, 2019)
The first consideration of art from the bohemian meet-up takes over the Renwick Gallery. Find six pieces in the surrounding neighborhood thru Sept. 16.

Hamilton (June 16-Sept. 12)
Broadway hip-hops into the Kennedy Center. Tickets are scarce but there is no shortage of themed exhibits: National Museum of American History, Anderson House, the National Archives, George Washington’s Mount Vernon and the National Postal Museum.

Baseball Americana (opening June 29)
The Library of Congress presents the national pastime in photos, letters, news clips and baseball cards from its humble roots to superstars.

Fun House (July 4-Sept. 4)
The National Building Museum’s interactive installation toasts the irreverent design firm Snarkitecture.

Dave (July 13-Aug. 19)
From the Tony-winning team behind Legally Blonde comes a world-premiere musical to Arena Stage based on another popular film.

About Destination DC: Destination DC, the official destination marketing organization for the nation’s capital, is a private, non-profit membership organization of 1,000 businesses committed to marketing the area as a premier global convention, tourism and special events destination with a special emphasis on the arts, cultural and historic communities. washington.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Danielle Davis, Director of Communications
(202) 789-7046; [email protected]

Kate Gibbs, Senior Manager, Domestic Media Relations
(202) 789-7072; [email protected]

Vanessa Casas, International Media Relations Manager
(202) 789-7053; [email protected]
Rebecca Doser, Media Relations Manager, Trade
(202) 789-7079; [email protected]

Denise Osei, Communications Specialist
202) 789-7097; [email protected]

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