GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As president Gerald Ford’s centennial birthday approaches, celebrations in Grand Rapids are already underway.
On Friday, Ford International Airport will hold a birthday party to celebrate the late president, and it will feature a birthday cake, balloons, and games.
People flying out of the airport will also get to celebrate, and there will be games for the children. The birthday party runs from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and has a red, white, and blue theme.
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation will host three events over the weekend.
On Saturday, Pulitzer Prize historian Jon Meacham will present “The Centennial Legacy of Gerald R. Ford” as part of a lecture series that President Ford first announced in 1988.
On Sunday, the day that would have been the late president’s 100th birthday, there will be a Presidential Wreath Laying Ceremony at President Ford’s tomb at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
A wreath will be placed on behalf of President Obama, as part of a White House tradition in which the President sends a wreath to the tomb of a deceased president on that president’s birthday.
After the ceremony, at 2 p.m., there will be a ceremony at the museum’s library to unveil a model of the USS Gerald R. Ford.
The Ford Family has invited the public to attend both ceremonies.
