The Kennedy Center is selling ticket packages for as high as $25,000 for up to three dozen guests to watch the Washington, D.C., national fireworks show on July Fourth, according to its website.
The highest-cost ticket package, listed as the “presidential” package, costs $25,000 for up to 36 guests, which includes three reserved tables on the roof terrace, free parking and “climate-controlled indoor lounge access throughout the evening,” according to the Kennedy Center website.
“Join us for Fireworks on the Fourth as we celebrate our nation’s birthday in spectacular fashion, surrounded by family, friends, and the most iconic views in Washington D.C.,” the Kennedy Center website says.
According to the Kennedy Center, nearly $19,000 of the $25,000 package is tax deductible.
The D.C. fireworks show, which is sponsored by the Trump-backed organization Freedom 250, is not slated to begin until at least 10:30 p.m., and Mayor Muriel Bowser said last week it would begin at 11 p.m. Mr. Trump is scheduled to speak before the fireworks.
The Kennedy Center is also offering a vice-presidential package with tickets costing up to $15,000 for up to 24 guests, which includes up to two tables and access to the air-conditioned lounge. Nearly $11,000 of the ticket cost will be tax deductible, the center said. The statesman package costs $7,500 for one table and nearly $5,500 will be tax deductible. Free parking is also included in those two tiers.
All three ticket package tiers include “prominent on-site signage recognition” and a listing as a sponsor on the commemorative Fireworks on the Fourth event map.
A single ticket starts at $425, while children’s tickets cost $125 each. Those tickets are limited to six per customer, and the Kennedy Center says that $250 of that cost will be tax deductible.
It was not immediately clear where the proceeds from ticket sales would go.
The Kennedy Center told CBS News that people will also have the option to watch the fireworks for free on the center’s REACH plaza, where there will also be concessions.
The arts institution faces a potential financial crisis amid a dispute over construction, a lack of planned programming after July 5 and the court-ordered removal of President Trump’s name from the building’s facade. Lawyers for the Trump administration have said donations made while the center included Mr. Trump’s name would have to be returned, which they allege could total “hundreds of millions of dollars.”
Mr. Trump made dramatic changes at the Kennedy Center shortly after returning to office last year, replacing members of the board with allies and top administration officials who then voted to make him chairman. The president and his allies also sought to make changes to the types of performances at the institution.
In December, the board voted to change the name to the Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Mr. Trump’s name was later added to the facade. In May, a U.S. District Court judge ordered the restoration of the original name and the removal of Mr. Trump’s name from the facade, which took place a month later.
The Board of Trustees, which is still filled with Mr. Trump’s allies, voted in June to form an endowment fund in Mr. Trump’s name. In court filings since being forced to restore the original name, the Trump administration claimed it would be forced to refund donations made while the venue was still called the Trump Kennedy Center.
Tarps have remained at the Kennedy Center since Mr. Trump’s name was removed, obstructing the view of former President John F. Kennedy’s name. Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty — the original plaintiff who had sued to restore the name — said in court filings last month that “it appears the tarp will be there for the longer term.”
The performing arts center had been slated to close on July 5 for construction, which has been halted by a federal judge. The Trump administration said in court documents earlier this month that the center “continues to prepare for additional capital repair and construction activities,” and the plaintiff said in court documents earlier this month that the venue will be “effectively closed” since there are no programming plans and many of the staff have been dismissed.
“As things stand now, absent action on Defendants’ part, the Kennedy Center will have no meaningful operations after July 5, 2026,” attorneys for Beatty wrote in the June 19 court filing.
