Oyster Shucking Competition will be held the morning of October 11th

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Things are getting spooky with our favorite queens. CAKE POP is back again as host with special performances by Druex Sidor and Daya B. Tease!

🧛 Dress Code: Come dressed in your Halloween best! Unleash your inner monster, diva, or mythical creature. We’re rolling out the red carpet for our costume contest, where creativity reigns supreme. Whether you’re a classic ghoul, a pop culture icon, or something entirely out-of-this-world, we want to see your best Halloween looks! Gift card prizes will be awarded to the top two costumes!

Tickets are $30.00 with a $25 food & beverage minimum at King & Rye.

We recommend buying your groups tickets together to ensure your party will be sat together. Note, smaller parties may be seated with other small parties.

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• Collect candy in your special Mount Vernon treat bag around the historic grounds. This bag is required to collect candy.
• Snap a selfie at our straw bale selfie station in front of the Mansion on the bowling green. Share your snapshot with us on social media using #MVHalloween.
• Watch your children in a Costume Parade on the historic grounds at 4 p.m.
• Stop by the Discovery Cart on the north lane.
• Greet Lady Washington in the upper garden.

Celebrate Halloween with 18th-Century Entertainment

• Watch a Punch & Judy puppet show, one of Washington’s favorites, on the bowling green.
• Watch 18th-century conjuror Mr. Peter Gardiner present his magic show.
• Hear Music of the Revolution, featuring the fife and drums, at 2:30 p.m. on the bowling green.

Participate in Activities on the 12-Acre Field

• Help with soap-making using 18th-century techniques.
• Watch sparks fly in demonstrations at the blacksmith shop in the historic area.
• Learn about Mount Vernon’s horses and how we care for them.
• See an 18th-century bake oven demonstration with Justin Cherry from Half Crown Bakehouse.

Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon takes place rain or shine. 

Please note that candy may contain peanuts or tree nuts. Supplies are subject to change. While supplies last.

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Sip on themed cocktails and mocktails inspired by the book of the month, pair them with small plates from The Study’s bar menu, or linger after the discussion to indulge in a seasonal tasting menu.

Literary Libations isn’t a formal, structured discussion—it’s a cozy salon for mingling, exchanging ideas, and diving into new worlds together. Conversation starters and thoughtful prompts will be scattered around the room, but the conversation is all yours to shape.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great antiwar books. Centering on the infamous World War II firebombing of Dresden, the novel is the result of what Kurt Vonnegut described as a twenty-three-year struggle to write a book about what he had witnessed as an American prisoner of war. It combines historical fiction, science fiction, autobiography, and satire in an account of the life of Billy Pilgrim, a barber’s son turned draftee turned optometrist turned alien abductee. As Vonnegut had, Billy experiences the destruction of Dresden as a POW. Unlike Vonnegut, he experiences time travel, or coming “unstuck in time.”

An instant bestseller, Slaughterhouse-Five made Kurt Vonnegut a cult hero in American literature, a reputation that only strengthened over time, despite his being banned and censored by some libraries and schools for content and language. But it was precisely those elements of Vonnegut’s writing—the political edginess, the genre-bending inventiveness, the frank violence, the transgressive wit—that have inspired generations of readers not just to look differently at the world around them but to find the confidence to say something about it.

Fifty years after its initial publication at the height of the Vietnam War, Vonnegut’s portrayal of political disillusionment, PTSD, and postwar anxiety feels as relevant, darkly humorous, and profoundly affecting as ever, an enduring beacon through our own era’s uncertainties.

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Come dressed in your Shiz best or maybe something more suited for the Ozdust Ballroom! Either way, we hope to hear your best “Ahhhh- Ahhh- Ah-Ahhhhh!” because at this event, you are that girl!

We expect tickets to be Popular so don’t wait to buy! Tickets are $30.00 with a $25 food & beverage minimum at King & Rye.

We recommend buying your groups tickets together to ensure your party will be sat together. Note, smaller parties may be seated with other small parties.

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Sip on themed cocktails and mocktails inspired by the book of the month, pair them with small plates from The Study’s bar menu, or linger after the discussion to indulge in a seasonal tasting menu.

Literary Libations isn’t a formal, structured discussion—it’s a cozy salon for mingling, exchanging ideas, and diving into new worlds together. Conversation starters and thoughtful prompts will be scattered around the room, but the conversation is all yours to shape.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery which forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.

An international bestseller, Small Things Like These is a deeply affecting story of hope, quiet heroism, and empathy from one of our most critically lauded and iconic writers.

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Experience an Evening of Illuminations & Fireworks

Join Mount Vernon for a family-friendly celebration of the holiday season with an enchanted evening of Christmas Illuminations. 

Historic spaces throughout the estate will be aglow and illuminated, creating a festive atmosphere that will delight guests of all ages!

Watch a Nighttime Fireworks Show

Enjoy spectacular holiday fireworks, choreographed to music, over the Potomac River. The fireworks program begins at approximately 8 p.m. 

Meet George Washington

Enjoy a special holiday greeting from General Washington on the east lawn.

Savor the Season with S’mores & Treats

Warm up with food, including s’mores kits and holiday drinks from the Mount Vernon Inn Food Truck.

Shop an Artisan Winter Market

Visit with artisan sutlers who produce hand-crafted 18th-century wares, available for purchase at the Winter Market.

Discover 18th-Century Holiday Traditions

• Learn about past holiday traditions in the Ford Orientation Center as you prepare to enter Washington’s world.
• Listen to people from Washington’s world and speak about what preparing for twelfth night was like in the Interpretative Center.
• Play games in a tavern-style tent on the west end of the bowling green. Dance to colonial music in the greenhouse (last dance called at 7:45 p.m.).

Meet Aladdin the Camel

Meet our holiday guest, Aladdin the Camel, continuing the tradition of George Washington bringing a camel to Mount Vernon in 1787.

Chat with Revolutionary War Soldiers

View an 18th-century winter encampment and learn about the life of Revolutionary soldiers.

Explore a Straw Bale Maze

Wind through a straw bale kids’ maze filled with Christmas lights.

Play “I Spy” & Look for General Washington

Search for General Washington, hidden among the lights and enchanted spaces of the estate, and see how many you can find!

Join Us for Children’s Storytime

Visit the Interpretive Center for story time.

Visit the Museum

Discover the history of Mount Vernon and its landscape with our exhibit, Mount Vernon: The Story of an American Icon.

Seating & Safety Information

Lawn Seating

Guests are welcome to bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on the east lawn, but please be courteous to those around you. Oversize chairs, large strollers, stroller wagons, tables, tents, carts, and coolers are not permitted. Seating is not provided.

Please note that all guests must go through Bag Inspections upon entrance. 

Bag Inspections

Please be aware of the potential long line for entry at the beginning of the event, and help the line move faster by packing lightly.

Accessibility

Christmas Illuminations is an outdoor experience at night. Be prepared for low temperatures, varying light levels, and uneven walkways.

The event also includes moving lights, amplified music, and musket-firing demonstrations, which can be heard throughout the evening in the historic area.

Please contact events@mountvernon.org for more information.

The interior of the Mansion is closed during Christmas Illuminations for preservation work.

Pet Policy

Please note, while we enjoy our four-legged friends during the daytime, pets are not allowed on the grounds for evening events.

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