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Mount Vernon, VA

Local Events

Reenactments, heritage festivals, and living history programs — experience the Revolution where it happened.

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Upcoming This Year

Dec

Festival

Christmas Illuminations at Mount Vernon

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens

A holiday evening event featuring fireworks over the Potomac, appearances by actors portraying George and Martha Washington in period holiday attire, tours of the candlelit mansion decorated for the 18th-century holiday season, and live musical performances. While primarily a seasonal celebration, the event interprets late-18th-century holiday customs at the estate and often references Washington's return to Mount Vernon after the Revolution and the domestic life — including the labor of enslaved household workers such as Hercules — that sustained holiday traditions.

Ticketed event; separate from regular admissionSelect evenings in December; typically two to three weekends before Christmas. Check Mount Vernon's holiday event schedule for exact dates.More info →

Date

TBD

Exhibition

Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington's Mount Vernon (Ongoing Exhibition & Annual Programming)

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate — Greenhouse Slave Quarter & Donald W. Reynolds Museum

Mount Vernon's permanent exhibition and associated annual programming explores the lives of the over 300 enslaved men, women, and children who lived and labored on the estate. Seasonal tours of the Greenhouse Slave Quarter and the House for Families interpret daily life, resistance, and the responses of enslaved people to wartime events such as Lord Dunmore's Proclamation. Special lectures and commemorative events are held around key dates, including the anniversary of Washington's will providing conditional manumission.

Included with regular estate admissionPermanent exhibition with rotating seasonal programming; special events often held in February (Black History Month) and June (Juneteenth). Contact Mount Vernon for specific dates.More info →

Earlier This Year

Feb

22

CeremonyFeatured

George Washington's Birthday Celebration

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens

Mount Vernon's signature annual event honoring George Washington's birthday with a full day of festivities including military reenactments on the bowling green, a wreath-laying ceremony at Washington's tomb, fife and drum performances, historical speeches by a Washington interpreter, and free admission to the estate. The event often features a ceremonial parade and a cutting of a birthday cake.

Free admission on Washington's actual birthday (Feb 22); regular admission on surrounding daysHeld on the federal Presidents' Day holiday weekend, typically the third Monday of February; programming may span the surrounding weekendMore info →

Jul

4

Festival

An American Celebration at Mount Vernon (July 4th)

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens

Mount Vernon's annual Independence Day celebration features daytime fireworks over the Potomac, Revolutionary War military demonstrations and cannon firings on the bowling green, a naturalization ceremony for new American citizens, performances by fife and drum corps, and appearances by historical interpreters portraying George and Martha Washington. The event connects Washington's role in winning independence to the lives of everyone at the estate, including the enslaved community.

Regular admission; some activities includedJuly 4 each year; special extended hours and programmingMore info →

Sep

Reenactment

Revolutionary War Weekend at Mount Vernon

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens

A living history weekend featuring large-scale Continental Army encampments, tactical military demonstrations, artillery drills, and skirmish reenactments on the estate grounds. Costumed interpreters portray soldiers and officers of the Continental Army, and programming often includes discussions of Washington's departure from Mount Vernon to take command of the army in 1775 and the experiences of enslaved workers on the wartime plantation.

Regular admissionTypically held on a weekend in late September or early October; check Mount Vernon's calendar for exact dates each yearMore info →