A number of museums in Fairfax County are included in a new Virginia tourism campaign to commemorate the country’s 250th anniversary next year.
Launched last week, the Virginia 250 Passport program includes the Fairfax Museum and Visitor Center, George Mason’s Gunston Hall, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the National Museum of the United States Army, and the Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House as part of a “passport” sweepstakes.
There are 70 participating museums and historic sites across Central Virginia, Northern Virginia, the Shenandoah Valley, Southwestern Virginia and Tidewater.
Free 64-page commemorative passports can be picked up at any participating sites, and can be used as travel guides. At the historic sites, tourists can also get stamps to put in their passports, and with those stamps get a 15% admission discount. Once collectors get five stamps, they are eligible for a drawing next month that can win them up to $2,500 in cash and a yearlong membership to museums.
The Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission and the Virginia Tourism Corporation are supporting the project.
“This statewide partnership between some of the finest history institutions in the nation is an example of how, when we work together, we can create engaging, meaningful experiences for our fellow Virginians,” Virginia Tourism Corporation President and CEO Rita McClenny said in a release. “We encourage you to pick up your passport while supplies last and spend a year with us traveling around our great Commonwealth.”
Other participating historic sites in Northern Virginia are below.
- Alexandria Black History Museum
- Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum
- Fauquier History Museum at the Old Town Jail
- Gadsby’s Tavern Museum
- Loudoun Heritage Fam Museum
- Manassas Museum
- National Museum of the Marine Corps
- Spotsylvania County Museum
The passport program was organized by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Colonial Williamsburg, George Washington’s Mount Vernon, the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello.
Virginia has been commemorating the anniversary of the U.S. Revolutionary War for the past year with a variety of themed events, a touring mobile museum and a new exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Army, among other activities.
Festivities are expected to ramp up in the months leading up to the official semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026, with Celebrate Fairfax leading Fairfax County’s own celebrations.
