New Hayrides, Lafayette Re-Enactment, Harvest Festival, Trick-or-Treating, Archaeology Days, Veteran’s Salute, Book Events, and More. All Students Receive 30% Admission Discount With Code Through 2024.
Mount Vernon, VA, October 16, 2024 – The cooler days in October and November are the perfect time to take in the beauty, history, and events at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. New this year are Mount Vernon Tractor Rides from November 1-5. Additional “can’t miss” events include a Marquis de Lafayette Historic Visit to Mount Vernon Reenactment, Fall Harvest Festival, Trick-or-Treating, Archaeology Family Days, Salute to Veterans, and Winter Glow.
To promote civics education, Mount Vernon will offer a 30% student discount for one-day general admission to the estate with the code STUDENT. Families can purchase up to six tickets per order.
Below is a full listing of the many activities at the expansive Mount Vernon estate in October and November. Related photos are available here and should be credited to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association.
- Marquis de Lafayette Returns to Mount Vernon Reenactment on October 17 at 10:15 a.m. and 1:45 p.m. To mark the 200th anniversary of Lafayette's historic visit to Mount Vernon, experience a reenactment at the Old Tomb and a wreath-laying ceremony at the New Tomb. Learn more.
- Lunch at the Library: Marquis de Lafayette Returns and Launch of French Digitization project on October 17. Join a lunch discussion with historian Elizabeth Reese on her new book, Marquis de Lafayette Returns: A Tour of America's National Capital Region. This event also launches the French Digitization effort, digitizing the papers of François-Jean de Beauvoir, Marquis de Chastellux and Antoine-Charles du Houx, Baron de Vioménil, French Major Generals of General Rochambeau's staff, who fought alongside American forces during the Revolutionary War. The Vioménil Papers will be available as a website featuring transcriptions and translations of key documents and interpretive essays contributed by Dr. Iris de Rode. The Chastellux materials will be available on-site for interested researchers. Learn more.
- Fall Harvest Festival on October 19 and 20. Visitors will be immersed in 18th-century life as they explore the expansive farm, watch wheat treading demonstrations, observe 18th-century cooking, candle-making, spinning, textiles, horseshoeing, navigate the straw bale maze, and shop for farm-fresh products. Learn more.
- 2024 USC Sol Price Leadership Lecture on October 24. Join New York Times correspondent David Sanger and historian Tyson Reeder in a conversation moderated by Library Director Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky on foreign interference in U.S. elections from the 18th century to the present. A complimentary reception will follow the lecture. Learn more.
- Trick-or-Treating on October 26. At Mount Vernon, trick-or-treaters can do so much more than collect candy on Halloween. There’s a costume parade, magic and puppet performances, attendance by Lady Washington, and an opportunity to explore the expansive historic areas and farms of George Washington. Learn more.
- 18th-Century Trades: Health and Healthcare in the 18th Century on October 26 and 27. Meet with an apothecary to learn how ailments were eased in the 18th century and hear from Dr. James Craik on tools used by 18th-century doctors. Learn more.
- The 2024 George Washington Symposium on November 1-2. To celebrate the Library’s ten-year anniversary, the 2024 George Washington Symposium will showcase the ongoing work of its talented research fellows. Learn more.
- Mount Vernon Tractor Rides November 1-5. Join Mount Vernon’s legendary Director of Horticulture and Livestock, Dean Norton, as he explores areas of the estate off public view, including the west gate. See where 18th-century roads once wove through the forest, learn about tree regeneration, and view where the animals live in their livestock facility away from the public eye. Learn more.
- Archeology Family Day on November 2-3. A unique opportunity for adults and children to learn about the archaeological process with a hands-on miniature dig, making clay replicas. Attendees also will receive a take-home craft kit and broken plate puzzle while supplies last. Learn more.
- Lunch at the Library: America's Revolutionary War in the South on November 6. Join a lunch and discussion with historian Alan Pell Crawford on his new book, This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South. Learn more.
- Sensory-Friendly Family Morning on November 9. Neurodivergent individuals and families can enjoy a sensory-friendly visit with a sensory bag (while supplies last), exploration of the historic area via a special self-guided tour and the Discovery Cart for a hands-on lesson about the production of textiles.
- Mount Vernon Salutes Veterans on November 11. In honor of America’s veterans, all active duty, former, and retired military personnel are offered free admission on Veterans Day. Veterans are invited to place a floral tribute at the Tomb, provided by the Daughters of the American Revolution. Visitors can enjoy a special patriotic music program, a history of Veterans Day, and a Q&A with Mount Vernon's Resident Fifer. Learn more.
- Ford Evening Book Talk: A Republic of Scoundrels on November 13. Hear from historians David Head and Timothy C. Hemmis, editors of A Republic of Scoundrels: The Schemers, Intriguers, and Adventurers Who Created a New American Nation. Learn more.
- Winter Glow on select dates in November and December. Kick off the holiday season for enchanted evenings of festive lights and an 18th-century holiday experience at Mount Vernon. Experience the historic estate illuminated with brilliant lights and patterns set to holiday music, visit an 18th-century winter encampment, and meet the special holiday guest, Aladdin the Camel. Learn more.
Read the complete listing of upcoming Mount Vernon events here. Most Mount Vernon events are free or discounted for members. Information about Mount Vernon membership is available here.
Please note that Mount Vernon has embarked upon a landmark Mansion Revitalization project. During visits, preservation teams are restoring the framing, masonry, drainage, and environmental controls of the Mansion, ensuring America’s first president’s home will be ready to receive millions of guests for generations to come. Individual rooms will be taken off display as work progresses through the structure. The Education Center exhibit on George Washington’s life will be off display for an extensive rebuild from July 2024 to Spring 2026. However, the expansive estate remains open to visitors, including the museum, more than a dozen historic buildings, the gardens and farm, and the Tomb.
Mount Vernon, the home of George Washington, is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the oldest national historic preservation organization in the United States. The estate is open to visitors and includes the Mansion, a museum and education center, gardens, tombs, a working farm, a functioning distillery, and a gristmill. It also includes the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon.
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