General Washington

is Coming to Centreville

After a busy year traveling the country for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, General George Washington is making his way home to Mount Vernon. Fortunately for us, his route includes a stop in Centreville.

Be on the lookout for Washington as he roams the festival grounds throughout the day, meeting citizens, inspecting the festivities, and serving as Grand Marshal of the Centreville Day Parade.

This isn’t a history lesson from behind a velvet rope. Walk up and strike up a conversation. Ask him what life was really like during the Revolutionary War, what it took to command the Continental Army, what people ate and wore in the 18th century, or whether all those Founding Fathers actually wore wigs. Ask about Mount Vernon, his fellow revolutionaries, his years in public life, or whatever you’ve always wanted to ask George Washington.

He’ll also be available for photos, videos, autographs, and social media appearances throughout the day. And yes, if you happen to have a dollar bill handy, you can ask George Washington to autograph George Washington.




Meet Brian Hilton

Historian • Educator • First-Person Historical Interpreter


Brian Hilton is a distinguished historian, educator, and one of the nation's premier first-person interpreters of George Washington. He serves as the Official George Washington for the City of Alexandria, Virginia, and the Official George Washington for the National Park Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota, bringing America's founding era vividly to life through authentic, research-based portrayals of the nation's first president.

Hilton's work has earned national recognition. He has been featured by The New York Times, CNN (with Fredricka Whitfield), USA Today, FOX News, Newsmax, NBC News, and Voice of America, where he has shared his expertise on George Washington, the American founding, and historical interpretation.

From 1997 through 2007, Hilton served on the interpretation and research staff at George Washington's Mount Vernon, where he developed an exceptional depth of knowledge regarding Washington's life, leadership, and legacy. In 2018, he returned to Mount Vernon to portray the young George Washington in a three-part interpretive series examining Washington's life following the French and Indian War.

A veteran educator with more than thirty-five years of classroom experience, Hilton taught history at St. John's College High School in Washington, D.C., from 1998 to 2006. He currently teaches history in Henrico County Public Schools near Richmond, Virginia, where he specializes in African American History, Virginia and United States History, and World History.

Throughout his distinguished teaching career, Hilton has received numerous honors for excellence in education, including:

  •  VASSAR Commonwealth of Virginia Teacher of the Year (2004–2005)
  • District of Columbia Daughters of the American Revolution Teacher of the Year (2005–2006)
  • John Marshall Foundation Outstanding Teacher of the Constitution (2008–2009)

Whether appearing at museums, presidential sites, universities, corporations, civic organizations, schools, or national media audiences, Brian Hilton is recognized for combining meticulous scholarship, engaging storytelling, and compelling first-person interpretation to make history meaningful, memorable, and relevant for modern audiences.