The marquee for this year's holiday show isn't on Gay Street. The Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community is staging C.S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Rappahannock County High School, 12576 Lee Hwy. Its usual home, the Little Washington Theatre, is under renovation.
The first performance is a Saturday matinee on December 5 and the last is a Sunday matinee on December 13. Christmas in Little Washington and Merry Sperry both fall between them. In 2026, Rappahannock's community holiday season fits into nine days, and the RAAC show opens and closes them.
The Stage Moved Out to Lee Highway
RAAC calls the arrangement "RAAC on Tour." The organization normally performs at the theatre at 291 Gay Street in Washington. While that building is being renovated, the December production goes to the high school campus.
The cast is mostly young. When auditions opened in August, Rappahannock News reported that director Hugh Hill was casting young actors of all ages and only a few adults. RAAC says the auditions drew a record turnout, with some people traveling from beyond its usual area, and that a much larger crew and many family members are working long hours on the show.
The book suits a mixed-age cast. Lewis published it in 1950 and wrote it for his goddaughter. It was the first of the seven Chronicles of Narnia, and RAAC describes it as still the best loved. The story opens with four children sent out of London during the Blitz to an old country house, where they find a door into another world.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for anyone 18 and under, sold online through RAAC's event page.
Three Performances Around Two Community Events
RAAC set the show dates first. Lay them next to the rest of the county's December and they bracket everything else:
- Saturday, December 5, 3 p.m. The opening matinee of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Rappahannock County High School.
- Sunday, December 6. The 21st Christmas in Little Washington. The artisan market runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the parade steps off at 1 p.m.
- Friday, December 11, 7 p.m. The only evening performance.
- Saturday, December 12, from 5 p.m. Merry Sperry and the community tree lighting at the Sperryville Schoolhouse.
- Sunday, December 13, 3 p.m. The closing matinee.
That gives each weekend a fixed shape. The first weekend is a play on Saturday and the parade in Washington on Sunday. The second runs from the Friday evening show to the Sperryville lighting on Saturday night, with the last matinee on Sunday afternoon. A household could see the show and both community events without leaving the county or overlapping anything.
The two weekends also tie together by theme. The day after Narnia opens, the parade in Washington is themed "A Storybook Christmas."
Sunday on Gay Street
Christmas in Little Washington is the larger of the two December events, and this year is its 21st. The Town of Washington describes it as a parade, an artisans' market, and food from local nonprofits and restaurants.
Rappahannock News reported that businesses, families, community groups, schools and nonprofits are signing up to build entries that look straight out of a storybook. Parade co-director Caroline Anstey told the paper what organizers hope to see go down Main Street:
"We love to have all manner of decorated floats, costumed walking groups, horses, dogs, llamas, goats, geese and antique cars."
New this year is a judging category for Most Imaginative Musical entry. Anstey told the paper that organizers especially want music on the floats and in the line of march. Entries compete in four categories:
- Best Interpretation of the Theme, A Storybook Christmas
- Most Imaginative Musical entry
- Most Creative entry
- Cutest entry
Lineup starts at noon, the parade steps off at 1 p.m., and winners are announced at 3 p.m. at Avon Hall. The paper reported that organizers will release more details about the artisans' market and food court as the day gets closer. Last year the festival's general and accessible parking was at Rappahannock County High School, the same campus that hosts RAAC this season. Shuttles ran into town, and the last one left at 4:30 p.m.
The play's Saturday opening is at 3 p.m. at that school. Anyone planning the full first weekend will spend time on the Lee Highway campus both days.
Saturday Night at the Schoolhouse
Merry Sperry is the smaller, later, and more local of the two. It runs on Saturday, December 12, on the grounds of the historic Sperryville Schoolhouse. Festivities start at 5 p.m. and last until the tree is lit on the lawn.
Children decorate the tree. For 2026, kindergarten through third-grade students from Rappahannock Elementary School and Wakefield Country Day School are making ornaments for it, coordinated by Amy Grady and Nikki Brady. The planned program includes music and caroling, farm animals, photos in front of lit-up tractors, and food served by FFA and 4-H youth. Last year that meant hamburgers, hot dogs, hot chocolate and s'mores. Charming Hill Farm brought the animals, and the Grinch made an appearance.
The Sperryville Community Alliance sponsors the evening, and all proceeds go to the local FFA and 4-H programs. Where the Washington parade hands out awards for costumed floats, the Sperryville evening centers on one tree hung with ornaments the kids made. The Friday performance the night before and the Sunday matinee after it let a family fit both events into the same weekend.
What November Settles Before the Nine Days Begin
Several decisions about that December window get made this month, and each has a date attached.
This weekend, November 7 and 8. RAAC's 21st Fall Art Tour runs both days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free. Rappahannock News reported that three new artists are opening their studios this year: weaver Summer Alexander, painter Grazyna Hagen and potter Mary Ann Sevick. They join 27 established studios and seven galleries. The tour is RAAC's other big public weekend. It comes four weeks before the organization's December show at the high school.
Wednesday, November 11. The annual Veterans Day Beer Call for Rappahannock County veterans runs from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Dark Horse Irish Pub in Flint Hill. Rappahannock News reports that all veterans and spouses are welcome and that, as in past years, the first round is on the United States Air Force. The drink doesn't have to be beer.
Sunday, November 15. Parade entries for Christmas in Little Washington close. Applications come from co-directors Caroline Anstey and Chris Doxzen at [email protected]. A float aiming for the new musical category has ten days from publication to get an application in.
Any time before December 5. RAAC sells tickets for all three performances online, at the same price for every show. Picking a performance mostly comes down to which weekend event you want to pair it with: the parade the day after opening, Merry Sperry the night after the Friday show, or the closing matinee the day after Merry Sperry.
From the Fall Art Tour studios to the Avon Hall announcements and the Sperryville Schoolhouse lawn, this season's calendar runs through places we know well. At Allen Real Estate, we're glad to share what we know about Rappahannock with families who already live here and with those thinking about a home near Washington or Sperryville. If you'd like to talk, please Contact Us.
