SIMI VALLEY : Library Plans Events for Presidents’ Day

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library will hold a White House Weekend from Friday through Feb. 21 in celebration of Presidents’ Day weekend.

Events will include a presidential look-alike contest, a turn-of-the-century lawn party and the Presidential Race--an uphill foot race on the hillside behind the library.

“This is the first of what will be a lot of free events and events built around themes,” said Stefanie Salata, spokeswoman for the library. “It’s a fun thing for us to do.”

The Presidential Theatre Festival will kick off the events with the first of three one-man performances Friday, featuring Jim Cooke as Calvin Coolidge. Ted Zalewski will play Theodore Roosevelt on Saturday, and Jim Getty will portray Abraham Lincoln on Sunday. All performances start at 7 p.m., and admission is $10 for each performance or $25 for all three.

On Feb. 21, the day’s events will begin at 8 a.m. with the Presidential Race. The entrance fee of $5 includes a “I Ran in the 1994 Presidential Race” T-shirt.

The lawn party--complete with games, music and refreshments--will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free with library admission: $4 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and free for children 16 and under. The winner of the presidential look-alike contest will get to meet former President Ronald Reagan.

Salata said Presidents’ Day is an appropriate date to kick off a series of events aimed at bringing new visitors to the library. In addition to the special events, the library’s current exhibits will be open.

The White House Replica, a 60-by-20-foot model of the White House, and “Symbols of Diplomacy,” an exhibit of gifts from heads of state given to Ronald and Nancy Reagan, are on display until April.