James A. Garfield Park Throwing a Free Party This Sunday

Park rangers will be throwing a free party from 1 to 4 p.m. this Sunday at  and the entire community is invited.

Guests can enjoy free tours of President James Garfield's Mentor home -- the tour usually costs $5 -- as well as free ice cream from .

Kids can become Junior Rangers by completing certain activities as they tour the park. For example, they can decode a message in Morse code and emulate the reporters who camped out on Garfield's lawn during his presidential campaign by writing a story about the president.

If they do, they'll get their own ranger badge and be sworn in.

For history buffs, the rangers have compiled a slideshow with information that will offer insight into the various members of Garfield's family and the important roles they played in his life and career. These include his mother, Eliza, wife, Lucretia, and their children.

The slideshow will be played continuously in the visitor center's auditorium. It is part of the site's year-long commemoration of the 180th anniversary of James Garfield’s 1831 birth

James A. Garfield National Historic Site has limited space for parking, so people are asked to park at the Mentor Medical Building, 8224 Mentor Avenue, just a few blocks east of the park. A free shuttle will transport guests to and from the park.