Summer, 2023 Events

Old flag on display at the Flag Retirement Ceremony.

NPS

June

Saturday, June 17—12 p.m. Flag Retirement Ceremony In honor of the recent June 14 observance of Flag Day, join members of local Boy Scout troops as they properly and respectfully retire used and unserviceable American flags. Visitors and citizens are encouraged to bring flags they would like to have retired or drop those flags off in our Visitor Center in the days before the ceremony. Free.

 

New citizens taking the oath of citizenship on the grounds in 2022.

NPS

July

Saturday, July 1—7 p.m. The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival Presents “As You Like It” Several of Shakespeare’s plays are found on the shelves of the Memorial Library at James A. Garfield National Historic Site. This evening, enjoy Shakespeare in the great outdoors as the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival presents As You Like It on the expansive lawn behind the Garfield home! The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival is the one of the nation’s largest free outdoor Shakespearean companies! No reservations are required, and the performance is FREE. Feel free to bring lawn chairs and a picnic dinner! No alcoholic beverages permitted. For more information about the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, visit www.cleveshakes.org. Free.

Friday, July 7—10 a.m. Naturalization Ceremony In honor of the recent Fourth of July, visit the site to witness dozens of individuals from nations across the globe take the oath as America’s newest citizens. The Garfield home provides an appropriate and idyllic setting for this uniquely American ceremony. This event planned in partnership with the League of Women Voters, Citizenship & Immigration Services (U.S. Department of Homeland Security), and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. The public is invited to attend this uniquely American event. Free.

Wednesday, July 12—12 p.m. at Mentor Public Library (8215 Mentor Avenue) Leaders & Legacies of the Civil War Era Series: The Battle of Gettysburg (Encore) Join James A. Garfield NHS staff and volunteers at Mentor Public Library on the second Wednesday of each month for a new talk on “Leaders & Legacies of the Civil War Era”! The largest and deadliest battle of the entire Civil War took place in and around a small southcentral Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg from July 1-3, 1863. Learn more about this pivotal battle that many argue is the most consequential battle of the war and inspired President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address a few months later. Program is free of charge; please make a free reservation by calling Mentor Public Library at 440-255-8811. SPEAKER: Todd Arrington, James A. Garfield NHS.

Saturday, July 15—2 p.m.Author Talk and Book Signing: C.W. Goodyear, Author of President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier The first new birth-to-death biography of James A. Garfield in over forty years will be published by Simon & Schuster on July 4, and we’ve got author C.W. Goodyear here to speak and sign books at James A. Garfield NHS! He’ll speak about what sparked his interest in Garfield, what surprised him while researching the book, and more! Program is free of charge; books will be for sale in our bookstore.

Saturday, July 29—7 p.m. The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival Presents “Measure for Measure” Several of Shakespeare’s plays are found on the shelves of the Memorial Library at James A. Garfield National Historic Site. This evening, enjoy Shakespeare in the great outdoors as the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival presents Measure for Measure on the expansive lawn behind the Garfield home! The Cleveland Shakespeare Festival is the one of the nation’s largest free outdoor Shakespearean companies! No reservations are required, and the performance is FREE. Feel free to bring lawn chairs and a picnic dinner! No alcoholic beverages permitted. For more information about the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival, visit www.cleveshakes.org. Free.

Sunday, July 30—2 p.m. Lakeland Community College Civic Band Performance on the Lawn

Join us for our third outdoor concert of the summer when the Lakeland Community College Civic Band performs on the lawn behind President and Mrs. Garfield’s home! Experience live music as it was enjoyed on the Garfield property during the summer of 1880 when Garfield ran his “front porch” presidential campaign from the home. This will be the Lakeland Civic Band’s fifth time performing here at James A. Garfield NHS! Feel free to bring lawn chairs, drinking water, and picnic baskets! (Alcoholic beverages are NOT permitted.) Sponsored by the James A. Garfield Alliance. Free.

 

3 concerts this summer!

NPS

August

Saturday, August 5—2 p.m. Lake Effect Concert Band Performance on the Lawn
Join the Lake Effect Concert Band on the grounds for an hour of music from President Garfield’s era—and a few contemporary tunes for good measure! The band is familiar with many of the marches and patriotic songs of the last 130 years, and you can enjoy them just as the Garfield family might have: gathered under a beautiful canopy of trees. Feel free to bring lawn chairs, drinking water, and picnic baskets! (Alcoholic beverages are NOT permitted.) Sponsored by the James A. Garfield Alliance. Free. Rain date: Saturday, August 12, 2 p.m.

Wednesday, August 9—12 p.m. at Mentor Public Library (8215 Mentor Avenue) Leaders & Legacies of the Civil War Era Series: The National Park Service’s Reconstruction Era National Historical Network Join James A. Garfield NHS staff and volunteers at Mentor Public Library on the second Wednesday of each month for a new talk on “Leaders & Legacies of the Civil War Era”! For decades, historians criticized the National Park Service for having dozens of Civil War parks but no parks dealing with the complicated postwar history of Reconstruction. The National Park Service now has Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in South Carolina but also a larger Reconstruction Era National Historical Network of places with history tied to Reconstruction. Learn more about what the National Park Service is doing to preserve and interpret this difficult but critically important history. Program is free of charge; please make a free reservation by calling Mentor Public Library at 440-255-8811. SPEAKER: Allison Powell, James A. Garfield NHS.

Saturday, August 19—2 p.m. Great Geauga County Fair Band Performance on the Lawn
Join the Great Geauga County Fair Band for the final live outdoor concert of the summer at James A. Garfield NHS! They’ll play an hour of music from President Garfield’s era—and a few contemporary tunes, too! The band plays many of the marches and patriotic songs of the last 130 years, and you can enjoy them just as the Garfield family might have: gathered under a beautiful canopy of trees. Feel free to bring lawn chairs, drinking water, and picnic baskets! (Alcoholic beverages are NOT permitted.) Sponsored by the James A. Garfield Alliance. Free.