In the Gateway Arts District, the Farmers Market's Last Posted Saturday Is the Day the Juried Show Opens
November 12, 2026
November 12, 2026
On Saturday, Nov. 21, two dates on Rhode Island Avenue land on the same day. In the morning, the Gateway Farmers Market sets up at the Bunker Hill Fire Department lot, 3716 Rhode Island Avenue in Mount Rainier. It is the last Saturday on the market's posted 2026 calendar. That afternoon, up the avenue at 3901 Rhode Island Avenue in Brentwood, Brentwood Arts Exchange holds the free opening reception for "Shifting Grounds: 38th Annual Prince George's County Juried Exhibition," from 3 to 5 p.m.
That Saturday marks the district's weekends moving inside. From April through November, the outdoor market sets the Saturday routine in Mount Rainier and Brentwood. After Nov. 21, the galleries and studios take over, and they have lined up three Saturdays in a row of handmade gift sales: Nov. 28, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. If you live near Route 1, your holiday shopping and your gallery visits can happen on the same few blocks.
Before Nov. 21, the market has one more Saturday on its calendar: Nov. 14, from 9 a.m. at the fire department lot. Maryland Market Money lists the Gateway market as a SNAP and FMNP access point, open Saturdays May through November at 3716 Rhode Island Ave. On its events page, Gateway CDC calls the market a place where "neighbors, farmers, makers, bakers, and local vendors" come together, open "rain or shine, through November."
The Sunday after that market, Joe's Movement Emporium at 3309 Bunker Hill Road holds its Family Square Dance, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 15. Becky Hill leads it, with live music from the Hamlin Street String Band. Then on Monday, Nov. 16, Brentwood Arts Exchange opens both of its winter shows to walk-in visitors, five days before the reception. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it is closed Sunday. Weekday evenings until 7 give you a chance to see the shows before the reception crowd.
"Shifting Grounds" is the county's 38th juried annual. The theme is change, gradual or sudden, in a person, a community, the environment or technology. The Prince George's Parks 2026–27 arts season program asks: "Do we adapt or resist?" Local artists answer in a range of media. The show is free, open to all ages and runs through Jan. 9, 2027.
The second show runs on the same dates. "Good Luck with That" is a solo exhibition by Ceej Maples, presented in partnership with Art Enables. The same season program describes work that blends humor and irony with earnest feeling, and says the title piece mixes "earnestness and sarcasm." The Maples reception is not on Nov. 21. It is on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m., with an artist talk on the show's closing day, Jan. 9.
The Front Window Exhibit also turns over on Nov. 16. It is a storefront display at the main gallery entrance where local artisans show and sell their work. The window changes every eight weeks, on the same schedule as the main exhibitions. So the window you pass on the way into "Shifting Grounds" is also part of the gift shop.
Once the market season ends, three gift sales follow, one each Saturday, at two buildings.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday at the Artisan Shop | Brentwood Arts Exchange, 3901 Rhode Island Ave. | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | 15% off all Artisan Shop purchases, artist meet-and-greets, free gift wrapping |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Mount Rainier Holiday Craft Fair, ninth annual | Joe's Movement Emporium, 3309 Bunker Hill Rd. | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Free; the 2025 fair listed 47 vendors |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday Craft Fair | Brentwood Arts Exchange, 3901 Rhode Island Ave. | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | More than a dozen local artisans, live music, drinks from Maryland Meadworks |
The Nov. 28 sale is the year-round shop at a discount. The Artisan Shop carries jewelry, pottery, textiles, fused glass and greeting cards from artisans across the Washington-Baltimore region. Artists receive 75% of their sales, which the county's season program says is well above the industry norm. With 15% off on Small Business Saturday, the price drops while the artist still keeps the larger share.
Joe's calls the Dec. 5 fair the ninth annual Mount Rainier Holiday Craft Fair. Vendor applications have closed, and Joe's says it will announce the lineup later. For a sense of scale, Joe's vendor page for the eighth annual fair on Dec. 6, 2025, listed 47 entries, including the Mount Rainier Elementary PTO. Last year's event listing described the fair as free.
The Dec. 12 fair ends the run back at Brentwood Arts Exchange. It brings in more than a dozen artisans, live music and seasonal drinks from Maryland Meadworks.
Because the Maples reception falls on the same day as the Joe's craft fair, the first weekend of December has the most going on. One way to do it in order:
The Listening Room changed format this season. Brentwood Arts Exchange now runs it as a single monthly showcase with the theme "Sonic Fusion," built around artists who pair traditional music with experimental work. The November show with Zakki Jawad, known as Zedicus, took place on Nov. 6, so Dec. 4 is the next chance to go this year.
The craft fairs sell finished work. Pyramid Atlantic Art Center, at 4318 Gallatin Street on the Hyattsville side of the district, teaches book arts on the same calendar. These are the remaining sessions this season:
A handbound journal from one of these sessions makes a gift you can't find at any of the three fairs.
Joe's also has shorter drop-in options on weeknights. "Dance, Fight, Play," an all-ages introduction to the Afro-Brazilian martial art Capoeira, runs Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Mark Grisar leads guided Tai Chi there every Tuesday at 1 p.m. On Tuesday evenings, the Acoustic Jamming Class teaches folk, bluegrass, blues, old-time and jazz songs and how to play them in a group, with a session on Nov. 17 from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
At The Dapo Group, we keep calendars like this one because the best way to know a place is to know its Saturdays. If you love Mount Rainier and Brentwood and want to talk about your next step here, from a first home to a move-up, book a discovery call with Amanda and A.D. We'll bring the same local detail to your plans.
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