Mount Vernon — a historical oasis minutes away

George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate and gardens is a great asset to the Alexandria community. “George Washington is a hometown hero for the Alexandria area and has a real connection to the city of Alexandria and Mount Vernon,” said Emily Coleman Dibella, director of public affairs for Mount Vernon.

Mount Vernon has been in the D.C. area for hundreds of years. George Washington inherited the estate from his older half-brother who then inherited it from his father. It began as a modest farmhouse, but upon meeting and marrying Martha, one of the wealthiest widows in Virginia, Washington used her influence to expand it, Dibella said.

{mosads}Dibella said that when visiting the Old Town and Alexandria area, it is important to make a stop at Mount Vernon. “First of all, it’s an easy trip from Alexandria, and a beautiful trip at that,” she said. “Also, Mount Vernon is the most popular historic home in America, so many visitors come and say they wish they’d known to spend the whole day here.”

Each year, Mount Vernon gets over a million visitors, and 2008 was its best year since the 1976 bicentennial, with a little over 1.15 million visitors. “This was when the economy was already seeing signs of slowing,” Dibella said. “What’s great is that Mount Vernon is still so relevant.”

Mount Vernon is iconic in the D.C. area and all over the world. “D.C. is this cosmopolitan area that represents all that’s great about this country including democracy and freedom,” Dibella said. “We wouldn’t exist as a country without George.”

Events that Mount Vernon is planning this spring include a garden party, a historic chocolate-making program where Martha Washington appears and interacts with visitors, and a wine festival with sunset tours during the weekend of May 15-17 (get your tickets fast, as Saturday is already sold out).

Perhaps what Mount Vernon’s staff is most excited about is the upcoming “Night at the Museum” event. The movie sequel, “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” will be released this month. On May 22, Mount Vernon will host an event where characters and exhibits come to life.

“It will very much emulate the movie,” Dibella said. “It should be a wonderful evening event [with] costumed actors giving you a sort of live educational tour.”

For the same price as daytime admission, from 6 to 9 that evening the mansion will be lit by candlelight for visitors to enjoy their “Night at the Museum”-inspired event. “It’s different, unprecedented, and we are eager to be a part of such an event,” Dibella said.

Dibella, who is originally from the Old Town area, considers it her backyard. With so many places to eat and things to see, she said that she and her husband could really never go anywhere else. “I really like going down to the water, and there’s Georgetown so close by and the National Harbor and Torpedo Factory, it’s a really vibrant great atmosphere,” she said.

For more information on Mount Vernon, visit www.mountvernon.org.