Archive for the ‘Popular Culture/Media Literacy’ Category

He’s not quite person of the year, but he does get his own TIME special edition. If the longer tomes dedicated to the nation’s first president aren’t on your reading list (think: His Excellency: George Washington, Washington: A Life and Washington: The Indispensable Man, just to name a few of the best), then pick up a copy of this biography-in-miniature, which has been spotted everywhere from Target to grocery store check-out stands.

Historian Joseph Ellis (author of His Excellency) wrote the intro, and Mount Vernon assisted with the edition, though we weren’t contributors. TIME has created special editions about various historic figures throughout the magazine’s history. This one comes just in the nick of, well, time, for Washington’s 280th birthday next month.

A hedgehog cake and sheep marzipan are just a few of the various, sundry and sugary artisanal faux foods Mount Vernon has placed on the Washingtons’ dining table for the dessert course of an imagined holiday meal. The Washington Post Magazine took a fancy to this fanciful spread on its “Closer Look” page, with a photo shoot that appears in this Sunday’s edition. Check out the table here.

Back in 1965, Mount Vernon reached one million visitors in one year for the first time. Since then the majority of years — though by no means all — have welcomed one million guests to the estate. Last year, for example, we had 1,073,796 folks from around the country and world stop by. Turns out 2011 is another one million plus kind of year as we admitted our one millionth visitor today.

Sound like a lot of people? It can be. But if you’re looking to avoid the visiting masses, then now’s the time to head to Mount Vernon — January, followed by December, are the months when we traditionally see the fewest visitors. Just don’t forget your coat!

For the second year in a row Mount Vernon will be the recipient of the White House’s presidentially pardoned turkey. Last year President Barack Obama pardoned Apple who, along with his buddy Cider (the standby “vice presidential” turkey), came to live at Mount Vernon after the ceremony.

After meeting with the president, the pardoned turkey’s day will culminate with a celebration at Mount Vernon, where an 18th-century wagon “motorcade” will bring the bird to Mount Vernon’s main lawn, the bowling green, to the tune of trumpet fanfare. Washington’s farm manager James Anderson will greet the turkey and read George Washington’s Thanksgiving proclamation. The turkey, who is yet to be named, will be on display until January 6 when he will join his standby counterpart and go into retirement at Mount Vernon’s farm facility.

For the official White House announcement read after jump:

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