The District Time Show Returns
March 7–8, 2026 | The Showroom | Washington, D.C.
The District Time Show returns in March 2026 at The Showroom in Washington, D.C., and if you’ve paid attention in the past, you already know how this usually goes: tickets move quickly — especially VIP tickets — snapped up by returning attendees and by those who watched from the sidelines in 2025 to make sure they wouldn’t miss it again this year.
There is an art to what the founders have built here, one they’ve been refining since the show’s inception in the back of a restaurant in 2016. The original idea of a DC-based microbrand gathering came from Bill McDowell, a local watchmaker, and from the beginning he and Loren have been partners in shaping what the event would become.
A few guiding principles surfaced repeatedly during my conversation with Loren. First, create a show they themselves would want to attend. Second, never chase the goal of becoming the largest watch show in the country. What District Time has become instead is a show that feels considered — one where scale, space, and experience are treated as part of the product, not afterthoughts.
This year, Loren says the show is expecting roughly 1,500–1,800 attendees over two days, visiting around 50 brands. Those numbers are intentional and closely aligned with the show’s philosophy. Vendor demand continues to exceed capacity, and early registration is already tracking toward another sellout.
As part of the team’s habit of attending their own show with a critical eye, District Time is introducing a new policy for the first time this year: no onsite registrations. Once tickets sell out online, they are gone. For anyone planning to attend, that makes early registration a practical necessity rather than a suggestion.
Those are the facts. The more interesting question is why this show works the way it does.
Built With Intent from the Start
Loren
District Time began as a modest experiment. Loren described the earliest version of the show as an attempt to gather a watch community that already existed locally but lacked a physical meeting point.
“At the time, there wasn’t a RedBar chapter here,” he said. “Most of what you saw was happening in Manhattan, and that just wasn’t realistic for a lot of us.”
They rented a small space, invited about ten microbrands, and hoped fifty people might show up. The response exceeded expectations immediately.
“That told us the audience was already here,” Loren said. “It just hadn’t been brought together yet.”
The show grew steadily over the following years, changing venues when necessary and adjusting based on what worked.
Then COVID shut everything down.
When District Time returned the following spring, demand was immediate. “People were done being cooped up,” Loren said. “They wanted to be in the same room again. They wanted to talk.”
That return forced a venue change and clarified what District Time needed to prioritize going forward.
A Space That Solves Problems
The current venue near Franklin Square sits in a business district that largely empties out on weekends. That choice was intentional.
“Our audience isn’t walk-ins,” Loren explained. “People find us online. They plan to come.”
The result is a show that’s easier to navigate. Parking is manageable. The room isn’t packed shoulder-to-shoulder. Conversations don’t feel rushed. Attendees can stand at a table, put a watch on their wrist, and spend time with it.
That physical space plays a larger role than it might appear at first glance.
Why Buying at a Show Still Matters
Marathon Watch Co.
District Time exists in a watch world dominated by online sales and highly produced marketing. Loren doesn’t dismiss that reality, but he’s clear about what in-person events restore.
“The impulse buys I’ve been happiest with are the ones I’ve made at shows,” he said.
Not because they were cheaper, but because they were informed.
“You’ve handled the watch. You’ve worn it. You’ve seen it in real light,” Loren said. “You’re buying it the way we used to buy watches.”
At District Time, some brands sell inventory on-site. Others bring samples only and take orders later. Both approaches work because the value of the show isn’t limited to the transaction itself. It is that dynamic shapes the entire floor. This works in large partly because who you’re talking to matters.
Markwell
One of the defining characteristics of the show is who is standing behind the tables.
“You’re usually talking to the founder, the designer, or someone very close to the brand. That changes the whole interaction.”
Instead of rehearsed pitches, conversations drift into design decisions, manufacturing tradeoffs, and why a particular watch exists at all. Questions are answered by the people who made the choices, not by someone reading from a sales brief.
Because of this, attendees arrive informed and motivated. Vendors feel that immediately. As a result, brands consistently report strong sales during the event and a noticeable lift in the weeks that follow.
This brings us back to the one of the unwritten rules Loren and Bill have followed from the start: keeping the size of the show in check.
Over time, they’ve found that around fifty brands strike the right balance. It gives attendees enough range to explore without feeling rushed, and it gives vendors room to have meaningful conversations rather than competing for attention in an overcrowded room.
TSAO - Baltimore
What You’ll See This Year
District Time’s exhibitor list balances familiar names with genuine discoveries, mixing returning brands with several first-time participants. When I pressed Loren to highlight a few, he laughed. “You’re asking me to tell you which one of my children I like best.”
That said, he did point to MICROMILSPEC as a notable addition for attendees interested in tactical, purpose-built watches, and to Fortis as a long-established brand whose presence has been a long time coming.
One of Loren’s more personal points of interest this year is Awake. “I didn’t really know them until recently,” he admitted. “Once I started looking closely, I realized I needed to see those dials in person.”
That kind of discovery still happens at District — even for the people who run the show.
As District Time has grown, so has the pressure to expand. Loren is aware of it but not especially interested in chasing it. “I don’t want to put on a show I wouldn’t want to attend,” he said.
That doesn’t mean the event stands still. Each year brings small adjustments based on how the show functions.
One example of this, is this year includes a practical change from listening to their prior attendees of a dedicated lounge area for attendees who spend long stretches on the floor.
Changes are made to improve how the show feels, not to inflate its footprint. This is what ultimately brings people back to District Time is the environment.
“You’re in a room full of people who are into the same weird hobby you are,” Loren said. “That reinforces everything else.”
Conversations happen easily. Time slows down just enough to let people handle watches, ask questions, and compare notes with others who care about the same details.
This March, District Time will again host two full days, around 50 exhibiting brands, and well over a thousand attendees who arrive informed and intentional. Last year sold out, and this year is tracking similarly.
To see who is exhibiting and secure your registration:
https://districttime.com/