Party Planning Begins for Ronald Reagan's Centennial Birthday

Today would be former President Ronald Reagan's 99th birthday and with just one year to go before his centennial, organizers across the country are brainstorming creative ways to mark the occasion.

Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Simon says all kinds of "events are being planned across the country," ranging from a special Reagan-themed float in the Rose Parade to kick off the year, to a special course at his Alma mater Eureka College, to a possible Warner Bros. retrospective and even the naming of a Nevada mountain for him.

Even though organizers are looking to past presidential centennial celebrations for inspiration, they say the public can expect some remarkable events.

"I can tell you that it's going to be probably a centennial program unlike any others," Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley, Calif.), a member of the bipartisan Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission created by Congress, told the LA Times.

Reagan's actual birthday, Feb. 6, falls on Super Bowl Sunday in 2011 — therefore some kind of commemoration linked to the big game is likely, reports the Times. The Gipper, a nickname he picked up after playing George Gipp in a film about famous Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, was himself a big fan of the game.

Of course, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library founded by Reagan himself, has some plans in the works, including a military fly-over in Simi Valley to mark the building's multimillion dollar makeover. The Library announced just today that the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation has donated $12.75 million to help with the renovations.

But Americans who aren't in California will also get a chance to honor the former president. In Dixon, Miss, where Reagan lived as a teenager, a composer will premiere a piece of music penned in his honor. Residents in Reagan's birthplace of Tampico, Ill. plan to dedicate a statue of a young Reagan in the park.

Today's marking of Reagan's almost-centennial was more low-key than next year's plans. This morning, Elizabeth Dole was the featured speaker at events hosted at the Reagan Library, which were broadcast on the Web.

Reagan's popularity among Republicans has grown exponentially since his death in 2004, but he also had many critics. Reagan was originally a member of the Democratic Party, but switched to the GOP in 1962, shortly before he transitioned from acting to politics. Some say the effect of his sweeping economic initiatives, dubbed "Reaganomics," which called for reducing business regulation, and cutting taxes and government spending, can still be felt today.

Photo courtesy of the Executive Office of the President of the United States via Wikimedia Commons.