Snowy Softball, Arena Anniversaries & Mother Goose On The Loose: A Weekend Planner

1. CELEBRATE MENTOR CIVIC ICE ARENA'S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

Where/When: Mentor Civic Ice Arena, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday

Why Go: The Ice Arena will celebrate its 30th anniversary this Saturday with games, prizes and demonstrations from local youth hockey teams and figure skaters.

The schedule for the day is:

From 9 to 11 a.m., there will be a pancake breakfast. The donations from the breakfast go to the Special Skaters program, which teaches skating in a fun way to youths and adults with disabilities.

Next, professional coaches will be offering free lessons from 11:30 a.m. to noon.

Then, the west rink will have open skating from noon to 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, there will be hockey clinics for children from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Afterward, the east rink will host games like ice bowling and shopping cart dashes for the rest of the afternoon.

Throughout the entire day, there will be prizes, as well as performances from skaters in the Mentor Figure Skating Club.

Pricing: $3

2. SPC SPORTS SOFTBALL LEAGUE SNOWBALL TOURNAMENT

Where/When: Mentor High School, Saturday

Why Go: The SPC Sports Softball League is holding a pair of "snowball" tournaments at Mentor High School.

The first is for mens teams and will be this Saturday. The second tournament is coed and will be Jan. 19. Both are one day, double elimination, one-pitch adult softball tournaments.

Each team entry costs $250.

All proceeds from the tournaments will be donated to CancerCare, including donations by the teams and umpires. There will also be a raffle to raise money for CancerCare during the mens tournament at noon on Jan. 12. Each raffle ticket costs $5.

Teams who are interested in playing in either tournament can email David Godshall at sidewinding34@gmail.com.

Pricing: $250 per team

3. BEHIND THE ROPES TOUR AT LAWNFIELD

Where/When: James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 11 a.m. Saturday

Why Go: The James A. Garfield National Historic Site has a new in-depth tour -- called “Behind the Ropes” -- that allows visitors to get closer to certain parts of the president's Mentor home than ever before.

This tour, not to be confused with the regular “Behind the Scenes” tour, will take participants behind the normal public barriers in select rooms in the large Victorian home of the twentieth President of the United States.

To be clear, on the "Behind the Scenes" tour, visitors are taken into parts of the Garfield home and property they are otherwise not able to see like the basement, the third floor and inside the windmill.

On the new "Behind the Ropes" tour, visitors will be inside the Garfield home but will be taken past the normal public barriers for a much closer look at some of the collection's most interesting artifacts and may even have the opportunity to handle or at least touch certain pieces.

Much of this will be centered in the home's Memorial Library but other rooms will be included as well.

Pricing: $15 per person

4. MOTHER GOOSE ON THE LOOSE

Where/When: Mentor Public Library's Read House, 10 a.m. Friday

Why Go: The Mentor Public Library is launching a new program for children 30 months and younger (who must have an adult with them.)

Mother Goose on the Loose is a fun-filled 30-minute interactive session that uses rhymes, songs, puppets, musical instruments and more to stimulate the learning process of babies and toddlers.

The event is free. However, parents need to register before Friday either online or by calling the library's children's department at 440-255-8811.

Pricing: Free