Easter Week

Spend your Easter weekend in Washington, DC and enjoy landmark Lincoln celebrations and other special events and happenings. You can also take advantage of great hotel values right here at lincolnindc.com.

Arrive on Saturday, April 11, to take advantage of a special walking tour by celebrated author and historian Anthony Pitch. The fascinating tour travels through downtown DC, tracing the events leading up to Lincoln’s assassination and Booth’s escape.

A highlight of the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration, the National Park Service will recreate the 1939 Marian Anderson Easter Concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter, April 12. A noted opera singer, Anderson was slated to perform at DAR Constitution Hall but her appearance was canceled when organizers learned that she was African-American. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for the concert to take place instead on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Continue the celebration on Easter Monday as you take part in a presidential tradition, the White House Easter Egg Roll. Tickets will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis on Sat., April 11, with a small quantity reserved for distribution on Monday morning.

The following week, you can also join in a special DC holiday celebration, Emancipation Day. Observed on April 16, the holiday commemorates the day in 1862 when Lincoln granted about 3,100 enslaved people living in DC their freedom, nine months before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. The day is marked by a parade, concerts and other special events.

In honor of Emancipation Day, Howard University presents a special symposium, Emancipation and Race in the Age of Lincoln. Held April 16-18, this national conference will explore the domestic and international dimensions of emancipation through panel discussions with noted scholars and evening performances.

For more details, visit our calendar of events.