Capital Hilton to Host DC's Sixth Annual Festival of Magic
The Capital Hilton partners with Destination DC to host the sixth annual DC Festival of Magic. Here's what DC residents need to know.
In brief
The Capital Hilton is partnering with Destination DC to host the sixth annual DC Festival of Magic. The event returns to the downtown Washington hotel for another year, continuing a partnership that has brought the festival to the nation's capital for half a decade. Further details on dates, programming, and ticketing had not been publicly released at the time this article was written.
Key Takeaways
The Capital Hilton will host the sixth annual DC Festival of Magic in partnership with Destination DC.
The festival marks six consecutive years of a dedicated magic event in Washington, DC.
Destination DC, the city's official destination marketing organization, is a returning institutional partner.
A Downtown DC Venue with Convention Credentials
The Capital Hilton, located on 16th Street NW just blocks from the White House, has long served as one of Washington's go-to venues for major events, galas, and conventions. Its central location — walkable from the McPherson Square and Farragut North Metro stops — makes it a natural anchor for a festival drawing attendees from across the region.
Destination DC, the nonprofit official destination marketing organization for the District, brings institutional weight to the partnership. According to Destination DC's own mission, the organization works to promote Washington as a premier global destination for tourism, meetings, and events — making a festival partnership like this a direct extension of that mandate.
Why a Magic Festival Fits Washington's Events Calendar
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Washington's cultural calendar is dense with policy forums, state dinners, and museum openings — but the DC Festival of Magic has carved out a distinct niche in the city's entertainment landscape. Reaching its sixth year is a meaningful milestone for any independent cultural event in a city where competition for venue space, sponsorship, and audience attention is fierce.
For context on how DC's broader events and culture scene is evolving, see WDCM's Best of DC guide and our ongoing Culture coverage.
The involvement of Destination DC signals that city stakeholders view the festival as a legitimate draw — the kind of event that fills hotel rooms, animates downtown corridors, and gives visitors a reason to extend their stay beyond the monuments and the Mall.
Why This Matters in Washington
Washington rarely gets credit as a city of spectacle and wonder — that reputation belongs to Vegas or New York. But the DC Festival of Magic, now entering its sixth year at one of the city's most prominent convention hotels, is a quiet argument that the District can sustain a dedicated performing-arts niche event year over year. With Destination DC lending its promotional infrastructure to the effort, the festival has the institutional backing to grow beyond a local curiosity into a regional draw. For a city that measures credibility in tenure and institutional partnerships, six years and a Hilton address is no small thing.
The DC Festival of Magic is an annual magic-themed event held in Washington, DC. According to PR Newswire, it is now in its sixth year and is hosted at the Capital Hilton in partnership with Destination DC.
Where is the DC Festival of Magic held?
The festival is held at the Capital Hilton, located on 16th Street NW in downtown Washington, DC, near the White House and accessible via Metro.
Who is Destination DC?
Destination DC is Washington's official nonprofit destination marketing organization. It promotes the District as a destination for tourism, meetings, and events, and is a named partner in the DC Festival of Magic.
How many years has the DC Festival of Magic been running?
According to PR Newswire, this marks the sixth annual DC Festival of Magic, indicating the event has been running for six consecutive years.
How can I get tickets or more information about the DC Festival of Magic?
For the latest information on tickets, dates, and programming, check the Capital Hilton's official event listings or Destination DC's events calendar at washington.org.
The bottom line: The Capital Hilton and Destination DC are bringing the DC Festival of Magic back to downtown Washington for its sixth year — a milestone that reflects both the event's staying power and the city's appetite for distinctive cultural programming beyond the policy world. Watch for official programming announcements from the Capital Hilton and Destination DC as the event date approaches.
Reporting drawn from: PR Newswire. Washington DC Magazine provides original analysis, DC-specific context, and editorial perspective beyond the source material.This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by WDCM editorial staff. Washington DC Magazine is committed to accuracy, transparency, and editorial integrity. If you believe any information in this article requires correction, please contact editor@washingtondcmagazine.com.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
