Events on New Year's Day

Across genres and across America, you'll find fascinating events, cultural experiences, world-class performances, and one-of-a-kind activities to ring in the New Year like never before – all of which are absolutely free! See what BellFest has in store for you.

New Year's Eve Quarter Peal Attempt
Location: Washington National Cathedral
Time: 10:00-11:00pm (Eastern)

COVID-19 Update

In response to the emerging Omicron variant of COVID-19 and in consultation with our partners at Washington National Cathedral, Washington Ringing Society, and the Old Post Office Tower, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all change ringing events at the 2022 National Bell Festival.
Ring around the World
Location: Multiple Locations
Time: Midnight on New Year's Eve (Local)

This New Year’s Eve, the first-ever Ring around the World will invite bells to resound in an international moment of unity and celebration. At midnight local time on 31 Dec. 2021, bells are set to toll the hour in Bathurst, Australia, before Carillonneur Denise Garland plays a stirring arrangement of “Auld Lang Syne” from the 47-bell Bathurst War Memorial Carillon.
Opening Ceremony
Location: Georgetown Lutheran Church
Time: 11:00-11:50am (Eastern)

COVID-19 Update

The 2022 Opening Ceremony of the National Bell Festival has been canceled. As city health officials and our partners at Georgetown Lutheran Church agree, it is becoming less and less prudent to gather together indoors amid the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID-19. The safety of festivalgoers and bell ringers is always our first priority.
Tribute: 200 Years of Harriet Tubman
Location: Military Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
Time: 12:00-12:25pm (Eastern)

Live Streaming Information

Attend this event from anywhere! This ringing tribute will be live-streamed at: Facebook.com/BellFestival
Video: Meet the Carillon
Location: Streaming Online
Time: 1:30-1:50pm (Eastern)

What is a carillon? Tune in on New Year’s Day for a look into the history and art of the world’s largest instrument.
In Concert: Dr. Grogan at the Basilica
Location: Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Time: 2:00-2:20pm (Eastern)

Celebrate the repertoire of music on bells as Robert Grogan, carillonneur, performs a community recital from the soaring Knights' Tower at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. From high above the tranquil gardens and Byzantine Revival architecture (329 ft. at the tower's pinnacle), Dr.
Full Peal Attempt at the Old Post Office Tower
Location: Old Post Office and Clock Tower
Time: 2:00-5:00pm (Eastern)

COVID-19 Update

In response to the emerging Omicron variant of COVID-19 and in consultation with our partners at Washington National Cathedral, Washington Ringing Society, and the Old Post Office Tower, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all change ringing events at the 2022 National Bell Festival.
In Concert: Dr. Semowich at Riverside Church
Location: Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon
Time: 2:00-2:40pm (Eastern)

Experience the thundering delight of the largest carillon in the world ringing in the New Year from the tallest steeple in North America. On New Year’s Day, the bells of the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Carillon (named in honor of John D. Rockefeller’s mother) will erupt into sound as Dr. Charles Semowich performs a concert themed to healing, hope, peace, and new beginnings.
Nationwide Bell Ringing
Location: Multiple Locations
Time: 2:00-2:20pm (Eastern)

The National Bell Festival invites bells and bell towers across America to ring out together on New Year’s Day, creating a canopy of sound over our nation. Cathedrals and churches, community organizations and historical structures, national parks and memorials, and people from coast to coast are encouraged to gather and contribute to the sound.
 
In Concert: Charlie St. Cyr-Paul of ‘Cast in Bronze’
Location: Streaming Online
Time: 3:30-4:00pm (Eastern)
Full Peal Attempt at Washington National Cathedral
Location: Washington National Cathedral
Time: Sunday at 12:30-3:30pm (Eastern)

COVID-19 Update

In response to the emerging Omicron variant of COVID-19 and in consultation with our partners at Washington National Cathedral, Washington Ringing Society, and the Old Post Office Tower, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all change ringing events at the 2022 National Bell Festival.