Lincoln Bicentennial Events Set For Next Week

Lincoln Bicentennial Events Set For Next Week

The bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth will take place on February 12, 2009.  The National Park Service is privileged to be the steward of most of the sites with primary connections to the events of Lincoln’s life, from his birthplace and boyhood, through his family and presidential experiences, to his death and later commemorations. 

All of these park units, ranging across four regions, are planning special events and activities around this anniversary:

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, Hodgenville, Kentucky – The birthplace will mark the day with a series of festive events.   At 10:00 a.m., the park will host a representative of the U.S. Mint, deputy director Andy Brunhart, for the release of the first of four Lincoln 2009 pennies.  The first one will depict the log cabin where Lincoln was born on the reverse; all will retain the familiar Lincoln profile on the obverse.  After the morning ceremony, the annual Lincoln Days luncheon will take place at the nearby Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the afternoon of the Boyhood Cabin at Knob Creek, which has just been restored as part of a major effort for the bicentennial.  A number of other events will take place in the Hodgenville area in cooperation with state and community partners, including a preview of a documentary film on February 10th, the play “One Man’s Lincoln” on February 11th, and a flag raising and wreath laying in downtown Hodgenville on the morning of the 12th.    Details are available at http://www.nps.gov/abli/bicentennial-news.htm.

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Indiana – Dr. James Madison, professor of history at Indiana University, will be the featured speaker at the annual Lincoln Day program at the park.  The ceremony will include presentation of the colors by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, as well as period music.  Following the indoor program, there will be a traditional pilgrimage to the gravesite of Nancy Hanks Lincoln to lay a wreath.  A reception in the memorial’s visitor center will follow, and the park entrance fee will be waived for the event.

Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Springfield, Illinois – The Lincoln Home will host a range of special programs from February 11th to February 15th, with special living history and ranger programs taking place daily; they will include tours of the home with staff in period costume, as well as ranger talks and living history programs throughout the park.  On February 12th, there will be a family storytelling program with Lincoln presenter Fritz Klein and a children’s book signing. The George L. Painter Lincoln Lectures will be held at the visitor center, where Lincoln scholars will participate in two sessions of the community’s Lincoln Author Book Fair for a roundtable discussion, followed by book signings.  Events will continue on February 13th and 14th with a “Lincoln and Leadership” workshop; two discussions on freedom, equality and civil rights among Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King, Jr. presenters; a concert of Lincoln-era music at the visitor center; and a performance of “Abraham Lincoln: A Biography in Words and Music.” Details on all the bicentennial events are posted at http://www.nps.gov/liho .

Gettysburg National Military Park, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania – The David Wills House in downtown Gettysburg will have its grand opening on February 12th as a new part of the park.  The museum will tell the story of Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address.  Wills’ home was the center of the immense clean-up after the battle and the place where President Lincoln put the finishing touches on the Gettysburg Address.  The museum features seven galleries, including two rooms restored to their 18th-century appearance:  Wills’ office, where he received letters from families looking for loved ones after the battle and began planning for the cemetery and its dedication, and the bedroom where Lincoln stayed and prepared to deliver his address.  Exhibits will include artifacts and two films.  The property was added to the park boundary by Congress in 2000; Main Street Gettysburg will operate the museum as an official park partner.  Grand opening events will continue through February 16th.  For more information, please visit http://www.nps.gov/gett .

Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland – Two talks about the 16th President and his connection to the Battle of Antietam are scheduled in the visitor center on February 12th.  Author Joseph Garrera will present “Abraham Lincoln and his Image in American Popular Culture,” and John Schildt will speak on “Four Days in October: Lincoln’s Antietam Visit.”  On February 16th, the park will host a symposium on “Lincoln, the Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation.”

Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site, Washington, D.C. – Ford’s Theatre will have its grand reopening in February, following the site’s closure for an 18-month rehabilitation. A capital campaign with the Ford’s Theatre Society has raised $45 million to date for the renovation of the theatre, its museum and the building of the new Center for Education and Leadership.  The theatre will reopen on February 3rd with a world premiere of “The Heavens are Hung in Black,” a play about Lincoln in 1862.  A series of public programs on February 12th will include a wreath-laying and performances by area students and the Federal City Brass Band in the morning, and interpretive programs throughout the day.  President’s Day, February 16th, will feature an all-day open house.  More information is available at http://www.fordstheatre.org

Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. – The National Mall and Memorial Parks staff are working closely with the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (ALBC) and the Military District of Washington on a special program at the Memorial on February 12th, for which the ALBC is organizing the program.  It will begin at 8:00 a.m. with a welcome and presentation of the colors by an honor guard of the Military District of Washington.  Singer Michael Feinstein will perform the National Anthem.  An invocation will be followed by a welcome address and remarks, and by third-grade students reading the Gettysburg Address.  Poet Nikki Giovanni will recite a new work commissioned for the event, and a student essay winner will be announced.   After placement of 25 wreaths, the ceremony will conclude with Taps, a benediction, and retirement of the colors.

Additional information can be found at a number of websites:

• The National Park Service has developed a web site for the public that will help provide a better understanding and appreciation for Abraham Lincoln. Log on to the “Celebrate the Bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s Birth” website at: http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/lincoln200/index.html to learn of the many special places managed by the National Park Service that commemorate the life of Abraham Lincoln.  In addition to a list of national park sites, the web site includes information and web links to books, photographs and documents related to Abraham Lincoln, as well as a link to the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
• Information about all the NPS bicentennial events, with links to partners and other information, can be found at http://www.nps.gov/news/lincoln
• Comprehensive information on the bicentennial, including many more non-NPS events, can be found on the web site of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org .
• Also see Eastern National’s web site, http://www.eparks.com, for a featured tab for the “Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Store.”