Archive for the ‘Video Series’ Category

The hoecake, a cornmeal-based breakfast food that resembles the pancake, was George Washington’s favorite food. He liked his “swimming in butter in honey.” On February 18, Mount Vernon invited four area chefs to a hoecake cook-off in which they put their own spin on this colonial classic. Watch and see which rendition the General preferred.

Every year former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier makes a gingerbread replica of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, but this year he had some special helpers.

The entire fourth grade from nearby Fort Belvoir Elementary School applied STEM disciplines — science, technology, engineering and math — to make some extremely accurate replicas of the estate’s outbuildings.

Chef Mesnier’s Mansion plus the students’ buildings can be seen on display at Mount Vernon’s Reynolds Center throughout the holiday season.

For the second year in a row the turkey pardoned by President Barack Obama (and the spare standby turkey) came to Mount Vernon after its White House pardoning ceremony to live out the rest of his days.

Check out this year’s bird, Liberty, as President Obama excuses him from the dinner table and as he arrives to fanfare at his new home at Mount Vernon. Liberty will be on display through January 6 and then retire to the estate’s behind-the-scenes farm facility where he will join his buddy, Peace, the alternate turkey, who headed to the farm facility today.

In the late 18th century, the architects of the nation’s capital set the boundaries for the new city via a series of stones that were placed around its perimeter. Today 36 of the 40 stones that were set are still in place, most of them surrounded by small fences that were erected by the Daughters of the American Revolution at the turn of the century.

A group of volunteers spearheaded by the American Society of Civil Engineers set out to tidy up some of the stones and their fences. We tagged along.