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èßäAVwill continue all performances, including rental activities and the Center’s free Millennium Stage programming, during a government shutdown. Tickets will remain available for purchase at the Kennedy Center Box Office, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Patrons may also purchase tickets by phone at (202) 467-4600 or (800) 444-1324, and here at Kennedy-Center.org.

Building hours

The building’s hours of operation will be reduced and will open at 5 p.m. before evening performances and at 11:30 a.m. prior to matinees and remain open through the end of performances. The REACH will be open one hour prior to scheduled activities and events.

Outside of these hours, visitors will be permitted to enter the building to access the Box Office, which will be open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. During these non-performance hours, access will be available through the Hall of States entrance and Level A of the parking garage, and two hours of parking will be complimentary with a Box Office purchase. The KC Café, Roof Terrace Restaurant & Bar, and the Gift Shop will be open in advance of all performances. The John F. Kennedy exhibit, Art and Ideals, will be open in accordance with the performance schedule.

èßäAVShuttle Buses from the Metro will continue to operate on regular or holiday schedules.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Lapse Plan

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (the “Kennedy Center” or “Center”) is a trust instrumentality of the United States government, authorized and governed pursuant to 20 U.S.C. 76h et seq. Pursuant to its authorizing legislation, the Kennedy Center serves as both the sole federal memorial to John F. Kennedy within the city of Washington, DC, and the National Center for the Performing Arts (20 U.S.C. 76h(a)(1)). èßäAVis maintained as a free public building and is open 365 days a year from 10 am until 12 am.

The Kennedy Center’s campus, including the REACH, which opened in September of 2019, sits on 17.6 acres of land. Between the original structure and the REACH, the Kennedy Center manages 1.7 million square feet of interior space, including 75,000 square feet of exhibit space. èßäAVmaintains 7,200 fixed seats across six theaters, with an additional three public stages. The Center has one multiuse studio/performance/special event space, at least nine additional spaces that can be used for special events, one lecture hall, two public restaurants, one café, three box offices, two gift shops, and a parking garage with the capacity to park roughly 2,000 vehicles including buses.

èßäAVreceives a federal appropriation for operations and maintenance of the Center’s public spaces, including approximately 60 federal employees who handle contracting, project management, facilities services, security, and maintenance of the physical plant, as well as federally funded contracts for security and housekeeping services and construction and maintenance projects.

The Center is explicitly prohibited from using appropriated funds “for any direct expense incurred in the production of a performing arts attraction, for personnel who are involved in performing arts administration (including any supply or equipment used by the personnel), or for production, staging, public relations, marketing, fundraising, ticket sales, or education” (20 U.S.C. 76r(e)). The Center’s charitable trust uses a combination of earned income, contributions, and grants to perform its performing arts and educational functions.

In the event of a government shutdown, the Kennedy Center will continue its non-appropriated functions and honor all non-appropriated fund contracts, including planned performances, educational activities, public trust functions (such as box office, retail, and parking operations), and employment activities for its public trust employees. This is consistent with the Center’s activities during past government shutdowns, during which the Kennedy Center remained open, and performances were maintained as scheduled.

Brief summary of significant agency activities that will cease during a lapse:

èßäAVshall continue with scheduled performances and events funded with non-appropriated dollars, while utilizing existing balances from multi-year federal appropriations to maintain federal operations at a reduced schedule. èßäAVwill proceed with an orderly shutdown of federally funded activities as described below. Federal operations will be curtailed to the extent possible and non-essential federal personnel will be furloughed. Employees who are not designated as excepted will be given up to four hours to complete an orderly shutdown on their next reporting date and will be released from work until funding is restored and full operations with normal business resumes.

Certain federal employees performing the following activities listed below are necessary to support the otherwise funded activities (i.e. trust-funded performances) and necessary to protect the lives of patrons and the Kennedy Center facilities:

• The Center will utilize the minimum security personnel necessary to protect the building and patrons. Building ingress and egress will be reduced to the extent possible based upon anticipated attendance. The Center’s security contractor will continue at staffing levels commensurate with the needs of performance and event activities.
• The Center will limit essential mechanical, electrical, and plumbing personnel and defer preventative maintenance, but will maintain on-site personnel to the lowest levels possible to protect life and property with on call response from additional appropriated personnel as necessary to resolve emergencies.
• Emergency services for essential systems such as fire alarm, electronic security, elevators, emergency generator, fire pump, and critical central plant systems will be maintained.
• The Center will utilize minimum housekeeping and trash removal to protect people and property, with a focus on patron areas.
• Forward-funded contracts and other contracts funded with no-year or prior years’ money shall continue as scheduled, provided that contractors do not require the presence of a non-excepted appropriated employee. Contracting staff needed to ensure continued progress for ongoing projects will be maintained.

èßäAVis prohibited from accepting voluntary services from federal employees to continue their regular duties and staff who are not excepted will not be permitted to work at the Kennedy Center, from home, or another site and may not access Kennedy Center email.

In the event of a shutdown, notices will be posted on the Kennedy Center’s main website (http://www.kennedy-center.org) and shutdown notices will be posted at public entrances to the Kennedy Center to inform the visiting public of the reduced hours of operation and will be updated accordingly.

Furloughed employees should consult the and monitor local television and radio stations for information about returning to duty.

 

Revised December 2024