Jimmy Carter's 99th birthday celebrations moved a day up amid talks of government shutdown

Former president Jimmy Carter's 99th birthday has been moved from Sunday, Oct. 1 to Saturday, Sept. 30., amid the possibility of a government shutdown later this week.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta announced Tuesday that the former president's birthday celebration has been moved to Saturday instead of Sunday, the day of his actual birthday.

“We want to make sure we are celebrating regardless of what Congress does,” Tony Clark, the site’s public affairs director told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Like other federal agencies and services that officials do not deem "essential," the library and museum will pause operations starting Sunday if Congress doesn’t reach an agreement this week to avert a federal government shutdown.

However, if the shutdown does not go through, the museum will have another round of festivities for visitors on Sunday, Clark told the AJC.

The possible government shutdown could also affect Carter's birthday celebration plans in his hometown of Plains, approximately 160 miles south of Atlanta. Sites at the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park — including the former president’s boyhood farm and school — could be closed beginning Sunday, the AJC reported.

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Party like it's 1924

Festivities include cake, birthday card signing, painting, games and trivia and a screening of the film "All the President's Men". Admission is 99 cents for adults, in a nod to the president's age, while children under the age of 16 can attend the celebrations free of cost.

"Let's party like it's 1924," the invitation to the event reads.

Ahead of the birthday, the Carter Center is calling on the public to upload birthday wishes with a photo or video to be featured in a digital mosaic of Carter.

Watch:Jimmy Carter makes surprise trip to Plains Peanut Festival in Georgia ahead of 99th birthday

'Coming to the end':Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are 'coming to the end' but together and 'in love,' their grandson shares

Oldest living president

Carter, who entered hospice care at his home in February, is the oldest living president and the president who has lived longest after his term in office. The most important milestone to him though, arrived in July 2021, when he and his wife Rosalynn Carter celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary, making the Carters the longest-married presidential couple in history.

In recent days, Jason Carter, the Carter's grandson and chairman of the Carter Center’s Board of Trustees, told USA TODAY that both Jimmy and Rosalynn have been in declining health. But last weekend, the couple surprised attendees at the Plains Peanut Festival by visiting the event by car.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.