STATEWIDE ABE

Calendar of events
Here’s a complete list of activities planned throughout the state to commemorate the Hoosier heritage and 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. For more information on Lincoln-related events and on Indiana’s Lincoln bicentennial celebrations, go to www.IndianasLincoln.org.

Museum Exhibits and Ongoing Series

“The Faces of Lincoln” (through Feb. 26)  and “Freedom: The History of US” (Feb. 28 through March 31) Sheridan Public Library, Sheridan, Ind.
These exhibits will focus on emancipation and the end of slavery.

“Celebrating Lincoln” (Feb. 10 through 2010)Studebaker National Museum, South Bend Ind.

“Lincoln Remembered” (through Mar. 29) and “The Popular Lincoln” (through April 12) The Evansville Museum, Evansville, Ind.
These exhibits bring together Lincoln artifacts and memorabilia from across the state, including a number of items from the Jack Smith Lincoln Graphics Collection of the Indiana Historical Society and from Lincoln historian William Bartelt.

World Premiere of “Lincoln—A New Theatrical Experience” (June 12 through Aug. 15)Lincoln Amphitheatre, Lincoln State Park, Lincoln City, Ind.
Adramatic, multimedia presentation, the audience experiences the rough-and-tumble life of the Indiana boy who grew up to become the nation’s 16th president. In addition, the amphitheatre holds extensive archives and provides walking tours of trails Abraham wandered as a boy. Kids also can play pioneer games, just like Abraham and his sister, Sarah, did.

“Lincoln’s Treasurer: Hugh McCulloch of Fort Wayne” (through June) Allen County-Fort Wayne Historical Society, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Reflections on Hugh McCulloch, one of Lincoln’s most trusted advisors.

Lincoln Bicentennial Speaker Series and Lincoln Bicentennial Film Series (throughout 2009), Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Ind.
Throughout the year, the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial will host speakers from across the country as part of its bicentennial speaker series, and will also screen Lincoln-themed movies as part of its bicentennial film series.

 

Individual Events (by month)

February 2009

Feb. 11: “Abraham Lincoln: Profile in Courage,”St. Richard’s School, Indianapolis.
Indiana University professor Patrick Baude delivers the talk “Abraham Lincoln: Profile in Courage,” on the eve of the president’s birth, followed by a candlelight vigil. Eighth-grade students will read excerpts from Lincoln’s writings and speeches through the night and day to commemorate Lincoln’s birth.

Feb. 12: “Lincoln Bicentennial Birthday Celebration,” Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Ind.

Feb. 12: “Lincoln Bicentennial Birthday Bash” Indiana State House, Indianapolis.
This partytakes over the rotunda and east and west atriums of the Indiana State House. Organizations from across the state will erect Lincoln-related exhibits and displays, and, during a noon program, awards will be given to Indiana students by Gov. Mitch Daniels. In addition, the Commander of the USS Abraham Lincoln will receive a special gift for his ship and crew—a quilt made especially for the ship by a group of Hoosier quilters—and Honest Abe will speak.

Feb. 22: “That All Mankind Shall Be Free: Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass,” The Evansville Museum, Evansville, Ind.
Historian Thomas C. Mackey examines Lincoln’s views of slavery and its political threats to the nation, as well as Douglass’ view of Lincoln and his policies of the time.

 

April 2009
April 14: Abraham Lincoln Funeral Reenactment, Spencer County Courthouse, Rockport, Ind.
Assuming you weren’t there the first time around (144 years ago), you can pay your last respects to Honest Abe in a funereal observation from noon to midnight. A reproduction of Lincoln’s casket will be on display as guards in period costumes keep watch.

April 18: “Presidential Ball, honoring President and Mrs. Abraham Lincoln,” Lawrence County History Fest, Bedford, Ind.
Held in conjunction with the Lawrence County History Fest, this re-creation of a Victorian-era ball will feature period music, dancers, and costumes, as well as a Civil War encampment.

April 25: Pioneer Day, Rockport Lincoln Pioneer Village, Rockport, Ind.
Tour 14 replica cabins from the Lincoln era in Spencer County. Costumed interpreters will demonstrate life in the village and trade techniques commonly used during the period when Lincoln grew up in Southern Indiana. Walking tours hosted by the Spencer County Public Library will showcase Rockport and the Lincoln Pioneer Village. Participants will receive a book on Lincoln’s Indiana youth.

May 2009
May 14: Lincoln Penny First-Day Issue Event,Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Ind.
A first-day issue event for a special Indiana-focused penny being released by the U.S. Mint. One of four re-designs of the Lincoln penny (representing his four homes, in Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and Washington D.C.), the Indiana penny features Abe with an axe at his side and a book in his hands.

May 16-17: “1816-1830 Rendezvous,”Rockport Lincoln Pioneer Village, Rockport, Ind.
Presenting the village of Rockport as it was during Lincoln’s era. Activities include a young Abe look-alike contest, a mock wedding ceremony, muzzle-loading and tomahawk-throwing demonstrations, and shopping with vendors.

June 2009

June 12: Dedication of Public Art, Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, Lincoln City, Ind.
A new public art piece, funded by the Indiana Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and developed with support from the Indiana Arts Commission, will be unveiled at Lincoln State Park. Designed to honor the years Lincoln spent in Indiana, the circular plaza will be dotted with limestone pedestals signifying key moments in young Abe’s life. A larger-than-life bust of Lincoln will hold center stage in the plaza, designed by two Indiana artists.

June 16-20:  Indiana Lincoln Highway Association conference,South Bend, Ind.
The Indiana Lincoln Highway Association works to preserve the Lincoln Highway, which was America’s first transcontinental highway and the first major monument to President Lincoln, predating the Lincoln Memorial. A free public seminar on June 18 will feature a keynote speaker who will discuss national byways, as well as an artists and authors reception. A Lincoln Highway Day Parade on June 19 will feature the 90th Anniversary U.S. Military Cross County Convoy that will be en route from Washington D.C.  After the parade, the military vehicles will be on display at the Studebaker national Museum and Howard Park Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.  The five-day conference also offers a variety of daytrips from South Bend.

August 2009
Aug 5-9: Lincoln Bicentennial Jubilee, various locations in Spencer County, Ind.

September 2009
Sept. 6: “A Lincoln Portrait,” featuring the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra,Lincoln Amphitheatre, Lincoln State Park, Lincoln City, Ind.
This tribute to Lincoln will include a rendition of Aaron Copeland’s “A Lincoln Portrait,” which combines music with readings from Lincoln’s writings.

 

December 2009
Dec. 5: Holiday Open House, Buffalo Run, Lincoln City, Ind.
In addition to visiting a Lincoln-era home (where Abe spent the night in 1830), you can watch buffalo roam behind the candlelit cabin. On Dec. 12 and 13, visit “Buffalo & Mistletoe” to see pioneers, frontiersman, and Native Americans demonstrate life skills of the Lincoln era.

Dec. 12-13: “Buffalo & Mistletoe,”Buffalo Run, Lincoln City, Ind.
See pioneers, frontiersman and Native Americans demonstrate life skills of the Lincoln era.