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A Gala Evening at Mount Vernon

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The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association and the Life Guard Society thank you for attending our special gala evening at Mount Vernon to benefit the curatorial restoration of the historic kitchen at Mount Vernon.

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George Washington's Mount Vernon

A Note from the Chairman of the Life Guard Society of Historic Mount Vernon

It is my pleasure to invite you to the Life Guard Society’s Fall Gala Dinner at Mount Vernon, an evening that will celebrate food and drink, and raise funds to support a curatorial restoration of the Washingtons’ historic kitchen.

We are thrilled to be joined that evening by Chef Patrick O’Connell, proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington, the only 3-Star Michelin restaurant in the greater Washington DC area. Chef Patrick has taken charge of designing the menu for the evening, which will integrate fruit, vegetables and herbs fresh from the gardens at Mount Vernon. He has a wonderful palette from which to work, including hand-gathered cherries, muscadine grapes, peppers, eggplant, okra, radishes and baby turnips, rosemary, lavender, lemon balm, chives, and mint and more.

I hope you will join us in September for a scrumptious black-tie seated dinner outdoors, and tours of the Mansion and Kitchen. This year, we have extended the evening an extra hour so that after dinner and fireworks, we can meander, mix and mingle over drinks and dessert, seeing old friends, making new ones, and reveling in our good fortune to be part of an intimate crowd enjoying the sheer magic of Mount Vernon after dark, and for such a worthy cause. If you cannot join us, I hope you will consider making a contribution toward the important and meaningful Historic Kitchen at Mount Vernon.

Cricket Bauer
Chairman, the Life Guard Society of Historic Mount Vernon

Patrick O’Connell, Chef and Sole Proprietor, The Inn at Little Washington

Mount Vernon is delighted to partner with Chef Patrick O’Connell to bring his culinary genius once again to George Washington’s home.  It seems like only yesterday that Chef Patrick celebrated the Inn at Little Washington’s 40th Anniversary at Mount Vernon. The event, in June of 2018, was the highlight of the culinary calendar and featured a spectacular menu of foie gras mousse in an eggshell with port gelee, a lobster napoleon with minted pea soup, Poulet a la creme with morels and wild rice, plus carrots and turnips grown at Mount Vernon, all coupled with the breathtaking views from Washington’s Piazza.  Chef Patrick, in addition to being the only Michelin Three-Star Chef in this region, is also an avowed historic preservationist.  He has painstakingly preserved “Little” Washington, Virginia, a town of 135 purportedly to have been surveyed by a young George Washington himself.  In fact, the Carter House on Main Street, part of the Inn’s portfolio of buildings, pays tribute to Mount Vernon, down to the hand-carved scalloped roof shingles installed by the same artisan-craftsman that installs the roofs at Mount Vernon.

"No estate in United America is more pleasantly situated than this." – George Washington

Photos from Past Life Guard Events

A Curatorial Restoration of the Historic Kitchen at Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon had so many visitors that George Washington once compared his home to “a well resorted tavern.” Feeding the Washington family and their guests was a herculean task assigned in 1799 to enslaved cooks Lucy Lee and Nathan. The detached kitchen building served as the hub of their operation. There, the talented cooks transformed food from the estate’s gardens and pastures—as well as imported ingredients from across the world—into elaborate three-course dinners. Enslaved waiters in white-and-red livery suits carried the dishes through the south colonnade into the butler’s pantry and then the dining room, where visitors enjoyed boiled meats, seasonal vegetables, mince pies, and other 18th-century delicacies.

Today, Mount Vernon curatorial staff seeks to transport visitors back to the Washingtons’ day by presenting the kitchen as a bustling hub of activity. This refurnishing project will stock the space with historically-accurate cooking and storage equipment, install engaging scenarios of faux-food and meals at different stages of preparation, and provide additional information on the enslaved laborers who made and served the Washingtons’ meals.

“Food and dining offer singularly colorful windows through which to see into the past”

--- Walter Scheib, White House Executive Chef, 1994-2005

The Bedchamber of Washington, in which he died, with all the furniture, as it was at the time, drawn on the spot by permission of Mrs. John Washington of Mount Vernon

Painted by John Gadsby Chapman, 1835

 

This painting is one of the most significant pieces of evidence in determining the appearance of the Washington bedchamber in the last year of George Washington’s life. Alexandria born artist John Gadsby Chapman visited Mount Vernon and sketched the empty room long after its original contents had been dispersed. He then traveled to each of Martha’s grandchildren’s homes and sketched the objects they owned from the space. Eleanor “Nelly” Parke Custis Lewis, who grew up at Mount Vernon, instructed the artist on the proper placement of each piece. The artist combined his research to create this evocative scene combining careful research and observation.

The Life Guard Society

The Life Guard Society of Historic Mount Vernon draws its inspiration from an elite group of 150 officers responsible for ensuring the safety of George Washington during the Revolutionary War. 

Today, the group is dedicated to generously supporting the mission of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. Membership in the Life Guard Society is not considered an honorary role, but rather a call to action - members give generously of time, talent, and resources to help with a wide variety of signature projects focused on Mount Vernon's mission for preservation and education.

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Mount Vernon Thanks Our Event Sponsors

Benefactor

Cricket Bauer and Tim Messman
Pierre and Martina Hayward

Leader

Scott and Kimberly David
Mrs. Holliday L. Hurd and Mr. Gus Polichron
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel McGinn
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne C. Rickert
Kate Shuster
Jeffrey and Barbara Steele

Patron

John and Stavroula Alachnowicz
Ms. Joan Lindsey and Mr. James Lindsey
James D. and Pamela J. Penny
The Honorable and Mrs. Lee L. Verstandig
Anonymous 

Champion

Daniel K. Chandler and Neysa M. Slater-Chandler
Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Crosby
Sean Connaughton
Ms. Christie Garton and Dr. Matthew Thompson
Mary and David Giachetti
Mr. Newell Grant
Robert and Mimie Helm
Frank F. Islam and Debbie Driesman
John H. Kerby and Theresa Thompson
Alice and Harry Legum
Marlene Malek
Jim and Jo Carol Porter
The Honorable Trevor A. Potter and Mr. Dana Westring
Steven W. Spandle and Kev Massoyan
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Schott Stevens
Richard J.J. and Gail F. Sullivan
Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Tritt
Anonymous

Mount Vernon Ladies' Association

The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has owned and maintained George Washington’s Mount Vernon for more than 160 years.

Regent

Margaret Hartman Nichols
Regent
Maine

Vice Regents

Cameron Kock Mayer
Vice Regent for Louisiana

Maribeth Armstrong Borthwick
Vice Regent for California

Ann Haunschild Bookout
Vice Regent for Texas

 

Virginia Dawson Lane
Vice Regent for South Carolina

Laura Peebles Rutherford
Vice Regent for Alabama

Susan Marshall Townsend
Vice Regent for Delaware

Anne Neal Petri
Vice Regent for Wisconsin

Liz Rollins Mauran
Vice Regent for Rhode Island

Ann Cady Scott
Vice Regent for Missouri

Sarah Miller Coulson
Vice Regent for Pennsylvania

Andrea Notman Sahin
Vice Regent for Massachusetts

Catherine Hamilton Mayton
Vice Regent for Arkansas

Helen Herboth Laughery
Vice Regent for Wyoming

Catherine Marlette Waddell
Vice Regent for Illinois

Lucia Bosqui Henderson
Vice Regent for Virginia

Mary Lang Bishop
Vice Regent for Oregon

Elizabeth Medlin Hale
Vice Regent for Georgia

Ann Sherrill Pyne
Vice Regent for New York

Karen McCabe Kirby
Vice Regent for New Jersey

Hilary Carter West
Vice Regent for the District of Columbia

Adrian MacLean Jay
Vice Regent for Tennessee

Susan Brewster McCarthy
Vice Regent for Minnesota

Sarah Seaman Alijani
Vice Regent for Colorado

Carolyn Sherrill Fuller
Vice Regent for North Carolina

George Washington's Mount Vernon

George Washington’s skill as a general helped secure our independence. His leadership as our first president shaped this new nation. His enduring legacy continues to inspire us.

After falling into disrepair following his death in 1799, this historic property was rescued by the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. They opened it to the public in 1860. It is now the most visited historic home in America.

As a private non-profit organization, Mount Vernon does not accept government funds. On-site sales and donations allow us to pursue our mission to teach the world about George Washington and preserve his beloved home for future generations.

Safety

Those who are not vaccinated are required to wear face coverings indoors and, when social distancing is not possible, outdoors as well.

When touring the Mansion or in crowded outdoor settings, masks are strongly recommended for vaccinated people.

These policies are subject to change per state and local government guidelines.

Life Guard Fall Event

Unable to attend? Please consider making a donation that helps preserve George Washington's home and legacy.

Sponsor | Tickets | Donate

Questions?

Please contact Kenneth Hill at khill@mountvernon.org or 703-799-8666. 

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