Wassail!

Dumbarton House's Wassail Holiday Party was a huge success!  Over 100 people spent the evening with us, enjoying the sights and sounds of a festive home.  Federal period holiday decorations graced the museum and live classical wafted through the museum rooms while the sweet, spiced taste of Wassail and the musical harmonies of Georgetown's Superfood assailed the senses in the Bellevue room.  With candles on every table and laughter in every corner, the ambiance was set for a lovely night.

Thanks to all of you who came out- we hope you had as good a time as we did. See you all next year!

Oh, and don't forget our craft boutique on wednesday- a great place to get original gifts straight from the artist this holiday!

Today in Georgetown

Just another beautiful day in the neighbourhood!

Yesterday at Dumbarton House

The Dumbarton House gardens are enjoying the last few days of Fall and we think it suits the house very well!

Don't forget to stop by on a sunny day to enjoy a break from the indoors while you still can!

Holiday Entertainment!

This is just a little tidbit to let you know that Dumbarton House's holiday party on Friday December 4th (from 7-9pm, mark your calendars!) will be featuring the fun SUPERFOOD co-ed acapella group from Georgetown University. We're really excited to hear their blend of traditional and modern holiday songs in the comfort of our very own lovely Bellevue room.  Join us for the show!

New Interns!

Dumbarton House is in high demand, and as such interns are always rolling in- here are some remarks from one of the new interns, and more to come!  

Hi all, I'm Serena, the latest George Washington University grad student to join the DH intern ranks!  

As the official (but not sole) Blog, Twitter and Facebook updater, I am excited to do my best as the brand spanking new marketing intern working with Missy to propound Dumbarton House's lovely image to the public eye.  I am also lucky enough to be working on a fresh new project- the greening of Dumbarton House!   An avid environmentalist I will be proposing some simple but effective changes to make around our historic building and offices to reduce costs and help save the environment! 

 Follow my progress on Twitter and our blog! Also, I would love to hear any and all suggestions so feel absolutely free to email me!  Researcher@dumbartonhouse.org

Summer History Weeks

Dumbarton's History Detectives exploring Dumbarton House gardens.

Dumbarton Detectives making vests.


Learning about where plants come from before planting their own garden!

Game time.

Detectives ready for the next history adventure!

This summer, Dumbarton House welcomed many time travelers to learn first hand how fun history can be! Dumbarton Darlings during the Federal Food, Fashion, and Fun summer camp, from June 22-26, created their own historic personalities while the Dumbarton Detectives summer camp, from August 3-7, used a time machine to explore the history of Dumbarton House . The time travelers played many different historic games, created beautiful crafts, dressed in period clothing, as well as made their own food for snacks. If you want to know how to make your own butter or ice cream, they are now experts! The ice cream in a bag recipe is below to try on your own. On the last day of both camps, the campers hosted a tea party for their families and friends and everyone had a great time!

Enjoying "high tea."

Reflections in the garden at Tudor Place.

What was it like living at Dumbarton House?

Dumbarton Darlings dancing in the Lower Passage.

Dumbarton Darlings.

Ice Cream in a Bag

1 tablespoon Sugar
1/2 cup Milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
6 tablespoons Rock salt
1 pint-size Ziploc plastic bag
1 gallon-size Ziploc plastic bag
Ice cubes
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one and seal again carefully.
Shake until mixture is ice cream, about 5 minutes.
Wipe off top of small bag, then open carefully and enjoy!

Summer Interns

Even with an amazingly devoted staff, sometimes it's nice to get help from student interns. This summer, Dumbarton House is lucky enough to have three lovely young women contributing their time and know-how to the museum. Each intern has included a little biographical information below, along with her goals for the next two months:

Alessandra, Education Intern

"I am a senior at University of Mary Washington studying Historic Preservation and Museum Studies. I have tons of fun running summer camps as a Museum Teacher as we travel back in time together, back to 1809! In addition I help give tours and am working with the staff to create new public programming for next spring. It's all very exciting and will prepare me as I go out doing the museum thing in the real world! Woo-hoo!!!"

Kelley, Curatorial Intern

"I moved to the Washington, DC area from Missoula, Montana in 2006 to pursue a Master's Degree in the History of Decorative Arts through the Corcoran College of Art + Design and The Smithsonian Associates. This summer I am excited to be interning with Dumbarton House Curator Scott Scholz, helping to organize a September 2009 exhibition focusing on the customs, etiquette, and objects used for eating and drinking in America c.1790 - 1820."

Meghan, Marketing Intern

"Unfortunately, I'll soon be a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, though I want to stay forever. I moved to Georgetown for the summer for a taste of big city life and an internship with practical experience. So far, mission accomplished! Here at Dumbarton House, I'm responsible for assisting with all of our social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, this blog), writing press releases and finding new, innovative ways to attract people to the museum."

Alice Who?

Alice, our resident feline friend and protector of historic artifacts, has proven her worth time and time again with her affectionate personality and unofficial mascot status.

She also saved Dumbarton House from a potential theft.

About 10:30 p.m. on May 8th, our caretaker Kevin became concerned when he noticed Alice acting agitated. Listening further, Kevin heard unusual noises at the front door and, upon further investigation, found an unknown man attempting to gain entry at the doors and windows!

Kevin called 911 immediately, but the fellow was not caught. We want to assure our friends that this is an unusually rare occurrence on DH grounds late at night or at any other time of day, and that updated site security measures are now in place to prevent all after-hours walk-ups.

Thanks to our heroes, Kevin and "watch cat" Alice, for continuing to keep Dumbarton House safe. Above, Alice, certainly worthy of the moniker, "a Grand Dame!," watches over the Dumbarton House grounds from an east wing windowsill.

Costume Family Days

There's no better way to kick off the inception of our blog than to feature pictures from last weekend's Costume Family Days, which was part of the Dupont-Kalorama Museum Walk. The weather could not have been better for our first time participating in the walk. We had over 1000 visitors!

Those who came through our doors enjoyed a self-guided museum tour of our current exhibition, "Preparing for the Ball: Costume of the Early Nation" (through July 4th), featuring clothing and accessories from 1775-1825.

Costume-themed activities such as block printing and turban-making, as well as picnicking in the garden, made for quite a lively atmosphere. We even had local musicians playing period music: Tasker's Chance on Saturday and The Martin Family on Sunday.

Saturday featured a master Fiber Artist in weaving action, while Sunday brought Dolley Madison - the fashion icon of her day - to our house.

One of our smaller visitors examines the loom.

A couple picnics while listening to the music of The Martin Family.

Two of our volunteers play a traditional 19th-century dice game.

Dolley Madison taught many of the girls how to make turbans.