As we move into the final few months of 2026, Lee-Fendall is closing out the year with a festively-filled calendar. While we do have two exciting historical lectures coming up, many of our other programs are directly related to the upcoming holidays. This month’s blog post is all about highlighting these new & exciting programs.
Spooky Season
For Halloween, we have both family-fun & spooky season activities on the property all weekend long. Starting on the evening of the 30th, we have Haunted Lantern Tours at 6, 7, & 8pm. Each hour, up to 13 participants will be led through Lee-Fendall by lantern light. As the tour moves around the house, visitors will learn about Lee-Fendall’s history alongside some of the most haunting paranormal experiences on the property. The tour will not be alone, however, as ghouls and ghosts will be hidden among the shadows. This is not your standard house tour, this is a haunted house tour!
On Halloween itself, we will be welcoming visitors of all ages to our Pumpkin Palooza event! For two hours, families will have the opportunity to don their costumes early while they decorate pumpkins, get their face painted, & partake in some seriously spooky crafts. In the evening, we will do three lantern tours all over again! Pumpkin Palooza is a tradition here at Lee-Fendall, but this is our first time hosting haunted lantern tours. Due to popular demand we added an additional tour to each evening & still sold out!
Home for the Holidays
The holiday season will be a month long celebration here at Lee-Fendall, beginning with our first ever Holiday Trivia! On Friday the 4th, participants will gather beneath our Victorian-era holiday decor for some drinks, trivia, & good company. Topics will range from popular movies & songs, traditions, and a little bit of holiday history. Be sure to snag your tickets early, as capacity is limited!
Explore holiday history like never before on our new Home for the Holidays Lantern Tour. With tours at both 6 & 7pm on Friday, December 18th, participants will move throughout our period rooms by lantern light as they learn about holidays in the United States throughout these eras. Beginning with colonial history & taking us to the present day, the tour will highlight the way holiday decor, food, traditions, and culture would have changed throughout American history.
Last Lectures of 2026
In both November & December, we have two wonderful lecturers joining us to close out our 2026 speaker series. The first is Codie Eash, joining us from the Seminary Ridge Museum & Education Center in Gettysburg to share his presentation The Lutheran Seminary in the Battle of Gettysburg. At the doorstep of the nation’s bloodiest battle, Codie will be highlighting the social, military, and medical impacts through stories of the very people who shaped the site. Codie’s lecture is a rare Sunday presentation here at Lee-Fendall, so be sure to join us at 2pm on November 22nd!
To round off our speaker series, local historian Tim Rose (above) will be presenting a book talk on his most recent publication, George Washington and Alexandria: A Founding Friendship. Through a focus on George Washington, his military career, and the people & places of Alexandria, Tim shaped a uniquely local exploration into a national figure. You can find copies of Tim’s book right here in the Lee-Fendall gift shop, and be sure to snag tickets for Tim’s book talk on Sunday, December 20th at 2pm!