Jimmy Carter, who entered home hospice 19 months ago and was expected to live only days longer, celebrates his 100th birthday Tuesday.
A number of events are planned in Plains and in Atlanta to honor the milestone for Carter, who has lived longer than any other U.S. president. He is at home in Plains.
Here are some of the events planned:
Tuesday, Oct. 1
— In Atlanta, a special $1 admission price will get you into the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, following its tradition of having the admission price match the president’s age. (Last year on his 99th birthday, it was 99 cents.) As always, kids 16 or younger get in free. The library and museum will have a new exhibit about Carter’s 100 years, including documents, photos and art that haven’t been on display at the facility before.
— Trees Atlanta plans to plant one tree on the Georgia State Capitol grounds near the Jimmy Carter statue at 10 a.m. Another tree is scheduled to be planted at the Atlanta-based Carter Center at noon, the first of 100 planned to eventually be planted there in his honor.
— Naturalization ceremonies are scheduled in both Atlanta (at the Carter Presidential Library) at 10 a.m. and in Plains (at the former high school) at 11 a.m. Each ceremony is scheduled to include 100 new U.S. citizens in honor of the former president’s birthday.
— In Plains, a U.S. Navy jet flyover is scheduled at 12:30 p.m. Four F/A-18 aircraft from supporting squadrons based at the Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach will participate.
— Plains plans to dedicate a monument called the Charters of Freedom, permanently displaying replicas of the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, at 4:30 p.m. on Main Street.
— A music concert called “Happy Birthday, Mr. President! … Celebrating 100 years of Jimmy Carter in Plains,” is planned in Carter’s hometown in southwest Georgia. The 7 p.m. event is scheduled to be held in the old Plains High School Auditorium at Jimmy Carter National Historical Park. The sold-out concert will feature pianist David Osborne and singer-songwriters Cindy Morgan and Andrew Greer. Greer and Morgan will debut a new song written in Jimmy Carter’s honor. More details are available at jimmycarterfriends.org/events. Proceeds are expected to benefit the Friends of Jimmy Carter.
— Staff members at the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains are planning a riff on the Carters’ famous frugality, putting together lists of 100 ways to save time, energy and money. More information related to the park is available at nps.gov/jica/index.htm.
— Habitat for Humanity, the Georgia-based homebuilding nonprofit that Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter championed for decades, already holds a special building push each year coinciding with the former president’s birthday. This year the weeklong Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which runs through Friday, is in St. Paul, Minnesota. Marking the Carters’ 40th anniversary of first volunteering for Habitat, 30 homes are expected to be built, with the event hosted by country music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.
Several other events already were held to honor the former president. Those included:
Sept. 28
— A free film festival featured some of the former president’s favorite movies while in office. Among the offerings scheduled: “Jaws,” “All the President’s Men,” “Rocky,” “Casablanca,” “Carterland” and, in the evening in an outdoor garden, “Star Wars: A New Hope.”
— A free one-mile and three-mile JC 100 Fun Run was planned at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta.
— A 100-mile community bicycle ride in Sumter County, the southwest Georgia community that includes Plains, Carter’s hometown. The event coincided with the annual Plains Peanut Festival, which this year included a film and memorabilia tied to the White House Communications Agency.
Separately, in August, a number of events were held to honor the birthday of Rosalynn Carter, who died last November and would have turned 97 on Aug. 18. The former president and first lady were married for 77 years.
Sept. 17
— A music concert, “Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song,” was held at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta to benefit the nonprofit Carter Center. The center also has launched a new digital mosaic composed of images, videos and messages from members of the public. People can view it and contribute to it by visiting CarterCenter.org/JimmyCarter100.
