Meet the Founding Father on Father's Day

For Immediate Release
Digital images available

Media Contact:
Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203
mwood@mountvernon.org

Meet the Founding Father on Father's Day

Mount Vernon, Va – Spend Father’s Day with the Father of Our Country!  “General Washington” greets visitors and poses for photographs from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Father’s Day weekend, June 18 - 19.  Listen to “General Washington” as he discusses his role as husband, stepfather, and Father of Our Country at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m. in the program “Father to the First Family.” With a purchased ticket to Mount Vernon, fathers visiting the estate will receive complimentary admission to George Washington’s Distillery & Gristmill, located three miles from the estate on Route 235 South.   Admission to Mount Vernon is $15 for adults and $7 for children. Admission to George Washington’s Distillery & Gristmill is $4 for adults and $2 children. Children under 5 are admitted free.

At the Distillery demonstrations by costumed distillers take visitors through the historic process of whiskey-making in this reconstructed 18th-century distillery. Visitors see costumed distillers operating copper stills, stirring mash tubs, and managing the boiler as they demonstrate 18th-century distilling.

A 16-foot waterwheel powers the giant gears and millstones of Washington's remarkable Gristmill that includes the only operating Oliver Evans Automated Milling System in America. The Evans system won U.S. Patent No. 3 and helped to make the gristmill at Mount Vernon a commercial success. Demonstrations of the mill are given by millers in early-American attire. Bags of cornmeal are milled on site and available for purchase.  The Distillery and Gristmill are open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily through October 31. Picnic tables are available for families to relax and enjoy the outdoors.

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Events, programs, and activities are subject to change.

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

Since 1860, over 80 million visitors have made George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens the most popular historic home in America.  Through thought-provoking tours, entertaining events, and stimulating educational programs on the Estate and in classrooms across the nation, Mount Vernon strives to preserve George Washington’s place in history as “First in War, First in Peace, and First in the Hearts of His Countrymen.”  Mount Vernon is owned and operated by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, America’s oldest national preservation organization, founded in 1853.  A picturesque drive to the southern end of the scenic George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon is located just 16 miles from the nation’s capital.

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 admission rates: adults, $15.00; senior citizens, $14.00; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $7.00; and children under age 5, FREE.  Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.