National Gallery Nights, one of D.C.’s most popular after-hours museum programs, is back this fall with new themes and outdoor activities. The National Gallery of Art’s free party series returns to the museum’s East Building this September.

On the second Thursday of each month this fall, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., the National Gallery will open its East Building for a night of music, dancing, and art. The museum is trying something new by opening the 4th Street Plaza directly outside the east wing for themed activities during the September and October events. The gallery will offer a menu of light fare, gelato, beer, wine, and specialty cocktails throughout the building and outside on the plaza.

Programming on the plaza will be open to the public, though advanced registration is required for admission to the events inside the East Building.

Guests tend to arrive at National Gallery Nights by the thousands, with lines snaking around the museum before the doors open. So, as with many crowd-pleasing D.C. events these days, a lottery is involved.

The public can enter the free lottery the week before each event from Monday until noon on Thursday (so, from Sept. 4 through Sept. 7 for the first event). Selected guests will receive a notification that they can register for passes on Friday, the week before each program. A limited number of passes will be offered at the door at 5:30 p.m. Interested guests can sign up for email reminders about the lottery on the museum’s website.

The museum has curated each event based on a specific theme, inviting special guests to perform and engage with the crowds:

Block Party, Sept. 14

The National Gallery will celebrate 50 years of hip-hop with a night of street art and dancing, perhaps taking a page out of the Smithsonian’s book (the National Museum of African American History and Culture just held its second annual hip-hop block party). Dance crew The Missing Element will beatbox and breakdance outside on the 4th Street Plaza. DJs Bizzy and Little Bacon Bear will play sets throughout the evening, and D.C.-based artists like Chalk R!ot will create murals inside and outside the building. Inside, guests can enjoy pop-up talks by hip-hop luminaries and performances from the Ladies of Hip-Hop Dance Collective.

Nightmare at the Museum, Oct. 12

The gallery will welcome the Halloween spirit (or spirits?) with a screening of the 1984 Ghostbusters out on the plaza, featuring a remixed live score by DJ 2-Tone, part of Shaolin Jazz’s “Can I Kick It?” series. Museum staff will tell spooky stories related to the museum’s exhibits, while guests can get their faces painted, craft scary masks, and do the “Monster Mash” on the dance floor. Costumes are encouraged.

Indigenous Futures, Nov. 9

This event coincides with the gallery’s new exhibit, “The Land Carries Our Ancestors: Contemporary Art by Native Americans” (Sept. 22, 2023 – Jan. 15, 2024), with a program curated by Elizabeth Rule, author of Indigenous DC. The exhibit — as well as the event — acknowledges that Native peoples have always been on this land and asks the question, “How are they influencing the world today and shaping our future?” according to a press release. Programming will include pop-up talks from curators and performances from Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit, Unangax̂), an activist, musician, and visual artist who performs electro-soul as Ya Tseen.