Updated at 10:46 a.m. on Friday, February 21st
Dear DMV friends,
Welcome to GatherDC’s DMV Purim Guide for 2025 / 5785! With Purim coming up on March 13th and 14th, this guide is here to connect you with meaningful ways to embrace Jewish joy in DC, Maryland, and NoVA — be it Megillah readings, dinners, bake-offs, carnivals, musical shpiels, educational resources, bakeries where you can order hamantaschen, or recipes to help you make hamantaschen (and other Purim treats) at home.
We’ll be updating this guide nearly every day with all the DMV experiences, opportunities to fulfill the Purim mitzvot, menus, readings, and more that we can find…but it is always possible that we will miss something. If you notice this guide is missing any local Purim events that would be a great fit for our community of 20s and 30s, please submit them to our online calendar or email us, and we’ll make sure to share. If you want to stay in-the-loop with breakdowns of the upcoming week for all things Jewish DMV, subscribe to our weekly Wednesday newsletter!
We can’t wait to see you out and about — Happy Purim! Chag Purim Sameach!
The GatherDC Team
Wednesday, February 26th
Sunday, March 2nd
Wednesday, March 5th
Thursday, March 6th
Sunday, March 9th
Monday, March 10th
Tuesday, March 11th
Thursday, March 13th
Friday, March 14th
Sunday, March 16th
Thursday, March 20th
There are four mitzvot (good deeds or commandments of religious duty) commonly associated with Purim, and two of them involve some form of giving: Matanot L’evyonim (gifts given to those in need) and Mishloach Manot (gifts given to friends and community members).
Yad Yehuda of Greater Washington explains Matanot L’evyonim this way: “To fulfill the mitzvah of Matanot L’evyonim on Purim, one must give charity to at least two poor people. This mitzvah can be fulfilled by giving either food or the monetary equivalent of the amount of food that is eaten at a regular meal.”
Below, we have compiled a few local charities and organizations with specific Matanot L’evyonim and Mishloach Manot campaigns or events. If you are interested in other ways to give back in the DMV, you could also check out our guide to Volunteering in the DMV!
How to Make Hamantaschen at Home
Purim Recipes That Aren’t Hamantaschen
The views and opinions expressed by the organizations featured on this guide and on this website are solely those of the original organizations. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the organization GatherDC, the GatherDC staff, the GatherDC board, and/or any/all contributors to this site.
