FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 28, 2004

MOUNT VERNON, Va. - George Washington’s Mount Vernon celebrates the fall harvest with fun for the entire family during the annual Fall Harvest Family Days, Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24 from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Mount Vernon’s George Washington: Pioneer Farmer site hosts games, wagon rides, storytelling, cooking demonstrations, and 18th-century craft and harvest activities. Fall Harvest Family Days is included in regular admission. This weekend only, George Washington’s Gristmill offers free admission and each child receives a FREE pumpkin (while supplies last, with admission).

Visitors join the Mount Vernon staff in bidding farewell to farming season with a traditional harvest celebration. Children create their own cornhusk dolls, find their way through maze a Straw Bale Maze, and play colonial games including hoops and graces. Children “of all ages” can take a free wagon ride from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., conditions permitting.

Throughout the day, visitors can watch a sheep-to-shawl demonstration, where a sheep will be shorn and the wool used to create a shawl just as it was done in colonial days.

“This event is especially entertaining for children,” said Stephanie Brown, Mount Vernon’s Marketing Director. “They learn about 18th-century activities by playing colonial games, watching candles being made and listening to period music. Families have a wonderful opportunity to interact with our 18th-century characters, and learn a great deal about the operations of a colonial farm, including work and slave life.”

Visitors also enjoy live performances by 18th-century musicians, wheat-treading demonstrations in Washington’s 16-sided barn, and candle making and farrier (blacksmithing) demonstrations. Slave-life interpreter, Larry Earl, offers a spirited and educational program throughout the weekend. Heritage livestock including oxen, mules, sheep, and roosters do their share of the farm work, and costumed field workers demonstrate open-fire cooking. Children are allowed to take part in the cooking by roasting their own apple slices. Visitors may also purchase fresh-baked food from the old-fashioned bake sale.

At George Washington’s Gristmill, visitors see the 18th-century water-powered mill in operation, discover how it works, and learn how this particular mill played an important role in George Washington’s vision for America’s future as “granary to the world.” Costumed millers share stories of the history of the mill and the people who lived and worked there during Washington’s time.

Admission to the Fall Harvest Family Days is included in regular Estate admission. During the Fall Harvest Family Days weekend, families can save $5 with a Family Pass ($27 for 2 adults and 2 children ages 6 – 11).

Events, programs, and activities are subject to change.

Public Information: 703-780-2000; 703-799-8697 (TDD); www.mountvernon.org

George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, open to the public since 1860, communicates the character and leadership of Washington to millions of Americans each year through a variety of interpretive programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation. Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, founded in 1853, making it America’s oldest national preservation organization. Mount Vernon is located at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, just 16 miles from Washington, D.C.

Hours of operation: April-August, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; March, September, October, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; November – February, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular Estate admission rates: adults, $11.00; senior citizens, $10.50; and children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $5. George Washington’s Gristmill admission rates, in addition to Estate admission: $4 for adults and $2 for children (6-11). Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.