'Evening with Edgar Allan Poe' returns to Garfield National Historic Site in late September

Inside Lawnfield's Victorian parlor, where the Garfield family once gathered to read, play music and entertain guests, An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe will return to the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor on Sept. 24, 25 and 26.

Performances are scheduled for 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. each night, with tickets having gone on sale Aug. 15. Priced at $40 per person and available through the Garfield Trail website, tickets include light refreshments and an open-house tour of the Garfield home before the show. Tickets are limited, required for each performance, and available to attendees ages 16 and older.

The setting is central to the experience. The parlor's Victorian interior is furnished with original Garfield belongings and period pieces; around 80 percent of the furnishings are original family pieces. That intimacy has helped turn the annual performance into a Mentor tradition — one that typically sells out each year, according to organizers. In a city that serves as a regional retail hub, with 135 shopping centers, more than 325 retailers and 135 independent retailers and restaurants as of 2025, the Poe evening offers a cultural counterpoint at Mentor's most nationally recognized address.

The 6 p.m. performances will feature The Raven and The Pit and the Pendulum, while the 8 p.m. shows will present The Raven and Hop-Frog.

Baltimore-based actor and Poe interpreter David Keltz has portrayed Edgar Allan Poe at the Garfield site since 2010. He began performing as Poe in 1991, first appearing on Halloween night at Poe's grave in Baltimore. Keltz holds a B.A. in Theatre from Florida Atlantic University and has trained at the Lee Strasberg Institute.

The after-hours performance also gives residents a different way to experience a landmark they may know primarily from driving along Mentor Avenue. The James A. Garfield National Historic Site, located at 8095 Mentor Ave., was established by Congress on Dec. 28, 1980. During regular hours, its visitor center serves as the check-in location for guided house tours and features interpretive exhibits and an 18-minute film on Garfield's life.

The Garfield Trail and James A. Garfield Alliance host the event. Created in 2020, the Garfield Trail is a nonprofit support group that works to preserve and promote James A. Garfield's legacy through advocacy, service and philanthropy. It connects four Garfield-related sites in Northeast Ohio in a cradle-to-grave route: his Moreland Hills birthplace, Hiram College, the James A. Garfield National Historic Site and Lake View Cemetery.

The James A. Garfield Alliance, created in 2017, is a nonprofit friends group that supports the historic site through advocacy and by raising philanthropic funds for educational and community programs. Together, the groups have turned the annual Poe evening into a quiet civic institution — a reminder that Mentor's nationally recognized presidential site is also a living cultural asset.