Free White House Fall Garden Tours
Plus, Mount Vernon’s slave memorial commemoration and the world premiere of “East Wing Songs II”
The president and first lady will continue the annual tradition of opening the White House gardens and South Grounds to members of the public for Fall Garden Tours. This season’s tour weekend is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, Oct. 14 and Sunday, Oct. 15. In the event that the federal government is shut down on these dates, the Fall Garden Tours will be postponed or canceled.
These tours are free and open to members of the public; however, a timed ticket is required for all attendees, regardless of age. The National Park Service (NPS) will distribute free, timed tickets outside the White House Visitor Center, located at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, each day beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET. Timed tickets will be distributed, one ticket per person, on a first-come, first-served basis. Read more
Oct. 7, 2023
Slave Memorial Commemoration
George Washington’s Mount Vernon joins Black Women United for Action in remembering the enslaved people who lived and worked at Mount Vernon with an onsite program and wreath-laying ceremony at the Slave Memorial. Read more
Oct. 15, 2023
World Premiere of "East Wing Songs II"
The National First Ladies’ Library will host the world premiere of a new set of musical compositions inspired by America’s first ladies on Sunday, Oct. 15, at 2 p.m. with its partners at the Christ Presbyterian Church, 530 Tuscarawas Street in Canton, Ohio. Read more
Oct. 28, 2023
Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon
Tickets are now on sale for the Halloween celebration “Trick-or-Treating at Mount Vernon” with 18th-century entertainment and activities. During this event, children can collect candy, join in a costume parade, meet General Washington, and enjoy musical entertainment. Tickets are limited and can be purchased here.
Nov. 4, 2023
Sisters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush Celebrate New Children’s Book
“Love Comes First,” a new children’s book authored by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush, will be discussed in a special event at the George W. Bush Presidential Center. This event is currently sold out, but those interested can be placed on a waitlist if more tickets are released. Signed books are still available. Read more
Nov. 16, 2023
Historian to Give Talking Tour of the Kennedy Restoration of the White House
Historian James Archer Abbott will present an illustrated discussion of The White House as “reimagined and reinterpretted” for President John F. Kennedy and wife Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy on Nov. 16 at the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence, Missouri. The event is free. Abbott is the lead author of “Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration and Its Legacy.” Read more
Nov. 16, 2023
Virtual Legacy Lecture: Jackie and the Books She Loved, Penning a Picture Book
The National First Ladies Library will feature author Ronni Diamondstein who will read her debut children’s book “Jackie and the Books She Loved”. Diamondstein will discuss how this book came to be and the remarkable literary life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the “First Lady of Literature.” Read more
Nov. 16, 2023
Third Thursdays Night Out with Jackie Kennedy
The National First Ladies Library invites visitors to “Get to Know the Real Jackie O” with this behind-the-scenes private tour led by their curator of the exhibition Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Light appetizers and drinks are included. Read more
Nov. 28, 2023
Virtual Forum: Carl Sferrazza Anthony Discusses New Jackie Kennedy Book
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum welcomes historian and author Carl Sferrazza Anthony to discusses his new book Camera Girl: The Coming of Age of Jackie Bouvier Kennedy, a new biography exploring Mrs. Kennedy’s early adulthood. Eileen McNamara, Pulitzer Prize-winning former Boston Globe columnist and Brandeis professor emerita of the practice of journalism, moderates. Time: 6 to 7:30 pm EST. Register here
Dec. 5, 2023
White House History Live: The Washingtons, the Custises, and the Making of America
Learn more about the history of the nation’s “first family” during a White House Historical Association Facebook and YouTube Live event. The program will trace George Washington’s step grandchildren, the Custises, from childhood celebrities to carriers of the Washington legacy in nineteenth century America. Author Cassandra Good will discuss her book, “First Family,” sharing insights on writing the story of this historic family.
The program is part of the White House Live series and explores the stories that make up the history of the executive mansion and can be live streamed on the White House Historical Association's Facebook and YouTube pages starting at 5:30 pm ET on December 5. Read more
Dec. 6, 2023
Online — Ann Lowe: An American Couturier with a First Ladies' Connection
The National First Ladies Library will feature Elizabeth Way, associate curator of costume at FIT in an online discussion of the Ann Lowe exhibition at the Winterthur Museum. Ann Lowe (c. 1898 - 1981) was a prolific American fashion designer, working from the 1910s in Montgomery, Alabama, through the 1920s in Tampa, Florida, and for four decades in New York City. Lowe spent her career creating custom gowns for elite American women, specializing in intricate, feminine silhouettes and floral embellishments. Her most famous design is Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy's 1953 wedding dress. Read more
On exhibit through April 27, 2024
Beyond Camelot: The Life and Legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Visitors to the National First Ladies Library in Canton, Ohio, can explore a replica of former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s wedding gown designed by Anne Lowe and other never-before-seen artifacts donated by Monte Durham of Say Yes to the Dress Atlanta. The free exhibition runs through April 27, 2024 and is open to the public. Read more
Podcasts
“U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies”
The White House 1600 Sessions features White House Historical Association president and host Stewart McLaurin sitting down with Anita McBride, former chief of staff to First Lady Laura Bush, and current director of American University’s First Ladies Initiative, at the Dolley Madison House in Washington, DC for an insightful interview about her co-authored new book “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies.” The discussion reveals the history of how first ladies have influenced American society, public policy, diplomacy, and life in the White House. View here
What Spooky Novels Did Martha Washington Enjoy Reading?
The latest episode of the podcast and video series Secrets of Washington's Archives digs into Martha Washington's copy of the gothic novel The Children of the Abbey, written by Regina Maria Roche in 1796. Listen here or watch the video
Faith and Freedom
This full-length podcast episode presented by George Washington’s Mount Vernon explores a set of prayer books belonging to Martha Washington and her granddaughters. Listeners can learn from resource specialist Jennifer Seiter what the Washington family heirloom reveals about the sweeping religious changes happening in the United States during the early Republic and George Washington’s own commitment to religious freedom. Listen here
Learn About Jacqueline Kennedy’s Friend and Rose Garden Designer “Bunny” Mellon
The White House Historical Association in its White House 1600 Sessions series features a conversation with Thomas Lloyd, author and member of the Association’s National Council, about his book “Garden Secrets of Bunny Mellon.”
In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the association, travels to the home of Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon, philanthropist, stylemaker and renowned gardener, to meet with Lloyd, Mrs. Mellon’s grandson, to talk about her most famous design— refurbishing the White House Rose Garden. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, a close friend of Mellon, handcrafted a memory book for her, which also is discussed in the podcast. Listen here
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