For Immediate Release
February 24, 2006
Digital images available
Media Contact:
Melissa Wood (703) 799-5203
mwood@mountvernon.org
MOUNT VERNON, Va. – Mount Vernon hosts its sixth annual U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Ceremony on Monday, May 22. The ceremony begins at 10:00 a.m. with the United States Marine Band performing as the opening of the program. The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association co-host the ceremony as America’s 100 newest citizens from countries all across the world, pre-selected by the USCIS, pledge to “uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.”
Open to the public with general Mount Vernon admission, all visitors are invited to witness these citizens who by choice will take the name “American” in the country Washington envisioned as “an Asylum for the poor and oppressed of all nations and religions” and in front of the home he so dearly loved.
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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, $13.00; senior citizens, $12.00; children age 6-11, when accompanied by an adult, $6.00; and children under age 5, FREE. Admission fees, restaurant and retail proceeds, along with private donations, support the operation and restoration of Mount Vernon.
