Springfield ready for Lincoln birthday bash
February 4, 2009
By Nathan Harmon
Staff writer
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As Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday quickly approaches, there have been several events planned to commemorate this event on a local and national scale.
From Feb. 6-15, the Bicentennial Commission has around seventy events scheduled in and around Springfield, Ill.
At places like the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, the Hoogland Center for the Arts, and the Prairie Capitol Convention Center, there are events planned ranging from book signings to concerts.
According to the Lincoln Bicentennial Coordinator, Kay Smith, these events have been planned to “commemorate Lincoln and all he did for the country.”
Sample of events include: Our American Cousin 'Reflecting on Lincoln' 'The Lincolns' Marriage' |
Kim Rosendahl, the Director of Tourism for the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau said that a vacation to Springfield for the bicentennial could be “a very fun and economical vacation.” While there is no way to know how many tourists will come, Rosendahl said, the goal stated on the visitors bureau’s website for the bicentennial is to “awaken the world’s appreciation of Abraham Lincoln’s hometown and the years he spent here.”
In terms of a budget, many organizations and donors have come together to sponsor the events in Springfield, so there is no central budget figure, according to Rosendahl.
According to both Rosendahl and Smith, President Obama and his family have been invited to Springfield to attend the events, but they said they do not know if he or his family will attend.
For more information about the bicentennial, you can look on the web at:
www.lincoln200.net or www.visit-springfieldillinois.com
