  Loads of Lincoln lore There’s something for everyone at this weeklong celebration. Here’s your guide to bicentennial events. Next week, Illinois’ favorite native son finally turns 200. After days, months, and even years of planning and preparing, Springfield residents will tip their hats to the 16th president in a weeklong celebration of his life and legacy. The party kicks off Feb. 6 with the opening performance of Our American Cousin, the play Abraham Lincoln attended the night he was shot in Ford’s Theatre.
Throughout the week, songbirds can witness musical tributes, such as “Amazing Grace: A Time of Spirituals,” and bookworms can mingle with noted Lincoln scholars and authors at various panels and events surrounding such topics as Lincoln’s legal career, marriage, leadership skills, and his effect on the civil rights moment.
Children and families can join in the fun at “Springfield’s Farewell to Lincoln,” a kidfriendly production at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, or at Mr. Lincoln’s Science Fair at the Illinois State Museum.
However, and whenever, you choose to celebrate Honest Abe’s big day, there’s probably something planned for you. Whether it’s an 1860s Period Ball or a giant Lincoln portrait made of Post-It notes, the capital city’s got it all. Below we’ve compiled a list of Springfieldarea Bicentennial activities, running up to the Bicentennial and beyond, to Saturday, Feb. 14. For additional events, further details and updates, visit the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission’s Web site at www.lincoln200.net. Friday, Feb. 6
From Humble Beginnings: Lincoln’s Illinois
1830-1861
Explore the Illinois that Lincoln knew through a special Bicentennial exhibition at the Illinois State Museum, 502 S. Spring St. Witness how changes in agriculture and industry transformed his state and examine such artifacts as maps of Illinois from the 1830s and a rare John Deere plow. Open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
The exhibit runs from Feb. 6 to Jan. 10, 2010. Free admission. Abraham Lincoln: His Legal Career and His Vision for America
Assemble at the Old State Capitol for a Bicentennial symposium webcast featuring rarely seen historic documents such as the original Dred Scott petition to sue for freedom and a memorial to Abraham Lincoln from his Springfield bar association colleagues, as well as presentations from noted scholars such as Walter Dellinger, assistant attorney general under President Bill Clinton. The program, held in Chicago and webcast to four states, costs $25 for bar association members and $45 for non-members. It runs from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.7thcircuitbar.org to register. continued on page 14
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