Frequently Asked Questions | Wolf Trap
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Frequently Asked Questions

Wolf Trap operates 3 venues—the Filene Center, The Barns at Wolf Trap, and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods. All are in close proximity, but each venue has a distinct location, address, parking instructions, and house rules. If you are attending a Wolf Trap performance, please double check your tickets or the individual performance page on wolftrap.org to ensure you arrive at the correct time and location for your show! If you have a question not answered here, please contact Wolf Trap by email at patronservices@wolftrap.org, or by phone at 703.255.1900.


Coming to a Show

By purchasing a ticket to Wolf Trap, you agree to comply with health and safety policies in place at the time of the performance. Please check the policies and guidelines page prior to your performance for the most up-to-date information.
Filene Center: Start time varies for each performance, but Park gates typically open 90 minutes prior to show time (unless otherwise noted on a performance page), at which time all patrons are admitted into the Park and may select a spot on the lawn. Because lawn area seating is ‘first come, first served’ patrons often line up at the gates prior to opening in order to get their preferred spot. Patrons with reserved (in-house) seating can access their assigned seats when the house opens starting 30 minutes before the show.
The Barns at Wolf Trap: The Barns' lobby and bar, which serves artisanal starters, handcrafted flatbreads, desserts, and more, plus a wide variety of beverages, opens 90 minutes prior to show time. The doors to the theater open 30 minutes before the show. View The Barns’ at Wolf Trap menu.
Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods: The general admission theater opens at 10 AM and performances start at 10:30 AM.
Directions to all Wolf Trap venues can be found here. Wolf Trap operates 3 venues within a quarter mile of each other. Be sure to check your performance ticket or wolftrap.org to ensure that you’re traveling to the correct venue. Parking is free for all venues.
Filene Center: Parking is free, but we encourage you to carpool or to take the Wolf Trap Express Shuttle offering roundtrip service from the McLean Metro Station (Silver Line) for summer performances.

Wolf Trap’s Rideshare and Taxi drop-off and pick-up area is located in the pull-off area on the west side of Trap Road, opposite the marquee. For safety reasons, do not attempt to cross Trap Road. Please use the Pedestrian Tunnel to access the Rideshare and Taxi drop-off and pick-up area.
Filene Center: All Wolf Trap performances are rain or shine events and patrons should come prepared for the elements. In the unlikely event that a performance is cancelled due to severe weather, ticket buyers will be notified via email and an alert on wolftrap.org. If in-house seats are available, lawn ticket holders may upgrade to in-house seats, and pay the difference in price. Lawn ticket holders cannot move under cover, unless they have upgraded their tickets at the Box Office. Refunds, exchanges, or rain checks and not given due to inclement weather.
The Barns at Wolf Trap: In the unlikely event that a performance is cancelled, ticket buyers will be notified via email and an alert on the homepage of wolftrap.org.
Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods: Performances may be cancelled due to inclement weather. Decisions regarding a show cancellations are made 60 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the show. Cancellation information will be posted on the wolftrap.org. You may also call the National Park Service at 703.255.1824.
Filene Center: Yes! One of the more unique aspects of Wolf Trap is that we encourage patrons to bring their own food and beverages (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) to enjoy in picnic areas or on the lawn. Patrons may bring water, and beverages in reusable Wolf Trap Cups into the covered seating area. Wolf Trap Cups may brought from home or purchased at the Gift Shop and Concessions. Please see cooler size limits. Kegs are not permitted. A wide variety of meals, snacks, and drinks are also available to purchase at Concessions on the plaza and at Ovations, Wolf Trap’s on-site restaurant.
The Barns at Wolf Trap: A full bar with specialty drinks, artisanal starters, handcrafted flatbreads and panini, desserts, and more opens 90 minutes before each performance. Only drinks are allowed at your seat during the show. Outside food and drinks are not permitted. View menu.
Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods: Patrons are not permitted to eat or drink (with the exception of water) in the theater. Picnic tables are available throughout the meadow to enjoy a picnic before or after the show.
Filene Center: All beverages (except water) must be in a Wolf Trap Cup with a lid. The Filene Center is an outdoor venue enjoyed by thousands of people almost every night during the summer months. Wolf Trap Cups with lids allow patrons to enjoy drinks at their seats while keeping the in-house seating area clean and critter-free.

Filene Center: EVOLV Technology security screenings will be done at all Filene Center entrances prior to scanning your tickets. Patrons are asked to walk through metal detectors. While most containers are scanned during the security screening, there may be circumstances when your containers and/or packages will be inspected. This includes coolers, baskets, tote bags, purses and other containers.

Coolers can be no larger than 18" x 16" x 12" (48 quarts). Coolers with wheels are allowed as long as they do not exceed size limits. Bags, including suitcases, duffel bags, or backpacks, can be no larger than 14"x 13" x 10". A maximum of two items is allowed per person. Blankets, ground cloths, and purses are allowed and do not count toward the two item per person limit.

The Barns at Wolf Trap and Children's Theatre-in-the-Woods: For safety reasons, Wolf Trap reserves the right to inspect bags and other items brought into the theaters.
• Weapons including but not limited to firearms, projectile weapons, ammunition, bladed, edged, or sharp tools or implements, club-like items and striking devices, explosives or combustible chemical compounds and mixtures, and disabling chemicals such as mace or pepper spray
• Wagons and carts (coolers with wheels are allowed as long as they do not exceed 18" x 16" x 12" size limit)
• Candles, bug repellant burning coils, anything that has a fire or flame
• Pets (except service animals)
• Grills
• Beer kegs
• Athletic equipment (e.g., balls and flying discs) and bicycles, scooters, or skates
• Tents or canopies
• Umbrellas over six feet in diameter
• Drones or other flying apparatus
Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the management on site.
All Wolf Trap venues are smoke-free facilities. Smoking, including E-cigarettes, is only permitted outside the venues more than 25 feet from the gates or doors.
With the exception of service dogs assisting patrons with disabilities, pets are not permitted.

Ticketing and Seating

Tickets for all Wolf Trap venues may be purchased online, in person at the Box Office, or by phone at 703.255.1868. To purchase accessible seating, please call 703.255.1868.

All persons, regardless of age, must have a ticket for ticketed performances at the Filene Center and The Barns at Wolf Trap. Children under 2 years of age are admitted free to Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods but still require a ticket.

Wolf Trap can only guarantee tickets purchased through Wolf Trap’s Box Office and through Wolf Trap’s sole authorized ticket online provider, Tickets.com. Patrons purchasing tickets through third-party ticket brokers, such as StubHub or individuals reselling their tickets, assume full risk for potentially fraudulent tickets purchased or obtained through unauthorized vendors.

Schedule, program, artists and price are subject to change. See Wolf Trap’s ticket policies.
Wolf Trap has 2 Box Office locations, which are open at different times throughout the year.

Filene Center, 1551 Trap Road: Patrons may pick up already-purchased tickets at Will Call during Box Office hours. During daytime hours, short-term parking is available by the Filene Center Box Office. On performance nights, patrons may park as directed by a Ranger. A photo ID and confirmation number are needed to claim tickets.
The Barns at Wolf Trap, 1635 Trap Road: Patrons may pick up already-purchased tickets at Will Call located at Wolf Trap’s Box Office during Box Office hours. Ample parking is available at The Barns at Wolf Trap. A photo ID and confirmation number are needed to claim tickets.
Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods: Pre-purchased tickets left at Will Call may be picked up the morning of the performance at the kiosk in the meadow before the footbridge. Day of show tickets, if available, may be purchased at the kiosk with cash or credit card.
All sales are final. No refunds will be given unless a performance is cancelled in its entirety, and a replacement performance is not scheduled. Patrons may upgrade their lawn seats for in-house seats and pay the difference in price. If a show is sold out in-house, patrons should come prepared for the elements. There are no refunds, exchanges, or rain checks given to ticket holders due to inclement weather.
Wolf Trap Foundation members are invited to purchase performance tickets in advance of the general public. In some instances, individual artists may also offer fan presales; please check artists’ websites for information about fan presales.
The quickest and most accurate way to check ticket availability is online at wolftrap.org. Click the Get Tickets button on an individual performance page and select View Seat Map to check availability. Ticket availability is dynamic, as blocks of tickets are released and as members exchange and patrons upgrade their tickets.

Limited Availability: Very few tickets remain, and tickets may or may not be available for sale. Additional tickets may be released for sale at any time, including on the day of the performance.

Sold Out: No additional tickets will become available.
Filene Center and The Barns at Wolf Trap: Yes. Everyone, including children of all ages, needs a ticket.
Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods ONLY: Yes. Children under 2 are admitted free with an adult but still require a ticket.
Yes, the Filene Center, The Barns at Wolf Trap, and Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods are accessible to patrons with disabilities. Learn more.
Many Wolf Trap performances have assigned seats, but in some instances, venue tickets are sold as “general admission.” A general admission ticket gains admittance to a performance with no designated, or reserved, seating.

Filene Center: Seating on the lawn is always General Admission, and on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Each season, one or two shows may be fully “General Admission,” which means patrons may sit wherever they wish, in-house or on the lawn, on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
The Barns at Wolf Trap: For General Admission shows at The Barns, the chairs are cleared from the main floor to allow room for dancing. Seating remains in the upper balcony, and is available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.
Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods: All performances are general admission, with seating on a ‘first come, first served’ basis.

On the Lawn

Yes, but lawn seating is ‘first come, first served,’ so the earlier you arrive, the better your choice of views. The lawn has its own sound system so sound quality is not diminished.

Yes, there is a section in the back of the lawn designated for patrons using lawn chairs. This includes legless beach chairs. Lawn chairs with small attached canopies are allowed. Seat cushions with back support may be used anywhere on the lawn, and are available for rent at the Wolf Trap Gift Shop on the plaza.

During and After the Show

Unfortunately, Wolf Trap is not able to help audience members meet performers. Artist meet-and-greets are organized at the discretion of the artist and the artist’s management. Wolf Trap does not represent the performers on stages and is unable to grant backstage access or otherwise facilitate patron access to artists or their management.
To guarantee that you see the act you’re most looking forward to, we strongly recommend arriving by the performance time listed on your tickets. Because so much goes on behind-the-scenes in the immediate lead-up to a performance, it’s not possible to share precise times when an act will go on stage.
Patrons are welcome to bring a personal camera to take pictures pre-performance, but will likely need to store it during the performance. Personal photography (cell phone or point-and-shoot cameras) during the show is at the discretion of the artist. Most artists do not permit patrons to take photos during their shows. Please check with ushers to confirm the photo policy for a specific performance.

Professional cameras, audio and video recording are never permitted unless previously authorized by both Wolf Trap and artists’ personnel.
We want everyone to have a great time when they come to Wolf Trap! We understand that sometimes things happen that disrupt your concert experience. Wolf Trap’s ushers are trained to handle patron challenges, and are eager to help you have a great time. If you encounter any problem—with sound levels, other patrons’ behavior, seating issues, etc.—please notify the nearest usher. They will do all they can to help.
If you have additional questions, please contact Wolf Trap by email at patronservices@wolftrap.org, or by phone at 703.255.1900. Your question will be answered as quickly as possible.
© Wolf Trap Foundation - A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization. All Rights Reserved.