General Info

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, located on the banks of the Potomac River near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., hosts various theatrical and artistic endeavors, such as theater, ballet, dance, National Symphony Orchestra, chamber music, jazz, youth and family programming, special events and festivals and artistic constituents. The Kennedy Center arts facility, presents more than 3,000 performances each year for audiences approaching 2 million. As part of the Kennedy Center's Performing Arts for Everyone outreach program, hundreds of free performances are offered each year, featuring national and local artists; they include early-evening concerts on the Millennium Stage, dozens of performances during the annual Open House Arts Festival and daily concerts of seasonal music in December as part of Holidays at the Kennedy Center. The Kennedy Center opened to the public in September 1971. Its roots date back to 1958, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed bipartisan legislation creating a National Cultural Center.