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Lincoln Tomb
State Historic Site in Springfield Two annual pilgrimages to
honor Abraham Lincoln's birthday will be conducted Feb. 11 and 12 at
the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site in Springfield's Oak Ridge
Cemetery. Both events are free and open to the public. The 59th
annual pilgrimage of the Veterans of Foreign Wars will be at 2 p.m.
Feb. 11. A service at the tomb will feature a eulogy for Lincoln.
Military honors for the 16th president will follow, and uniformed
soldiers will give Lincoln the traditional 21-gun salute. The 72nd
annual national pilgrimage by members of Springfield American Legion
Post 32 will be Feb. 12. Dignitaries will assemble at 10:30 a.m.,
and wreaths from Legion posts across the state will be placed in the
burial chamber. The American Legion national commander and other
officials will address those gathered for the event at 11 a.m.
David Davis Mansion State Historic Site in Bloomington
A Lincoln's Birthday celebration featuring hands-on activities
and special tours of hidden spaces at the David Davis Mansion State
Historic Site in Bloomington will be Feb. 11 and 12 from 9 a.m. to 4
p.m. The event is free and open to the public and is suitable for
both adults and children. The mansion's new, Lincoln-related
interpretation, which debuted last April, will be highlighted during
the tours, which begin every half-hour. Visitors may see areas of
the mansion that are not normally shown to the public, and hands-on
activities for children will be featured, along with new stories
about Abraham Lincoln and Judge David Davis. This Lincoln's Birthday
event is part of an ongoing series of new Davis Mansion exhibits and
programs examining the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and
David Davis.
Postville Courthouse State Historic Site
in Lincoln
The annual Lincoln's Birthday observance at Postville Courthouse
State Historic Site in Lincoln is scheduled for Feb. 11 from 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The Logan County
Arts and Crafts Guild will have children's activities from 10 a.m.
to noon. Period music will be provided all afternoon by Postville
Express. Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln impersonators will visit with
guests, and volunteers will conduct tours and serve birthday cake
and punch. Award-winning storyteller and musician Mike Anderson will
perform during the event, and Bloomington attorney and author Guy
Fraker will give PowerPoint presentations at 1 and 2:30 p.m. about
the 8th Judicial Circuit, which Abraham Lincoln traveled.
At the Vandalia Statehouse
The Vandalia Historical Society will host its annual Lincoln's
Birthday observance at 2 p.m. Feb. 12 in the Supreme Court room at
the Vandalia Statehouse State Historic Site. Dale Timmermann,
president of the Vandalia Historical Society, and Ron Neibert, a
noted Lincoln scholar, will present a program called "Lincoln in
Vandalia." Neibert will have his collection of Lincoln memorabilia
on display that day. Both men serve as historians on the Vandalia
Looking for Lincoln project. The Feb. 12 observance is free and open
to the public. It is sponsored by the Vandalia Historical Society
and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
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 Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield
The annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium will be on Feb. 12 at the
Old State Capitol State Historic Site in Springfield. The symposium
-- sponsored by the Abraham Lincoln Association, the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum -- is free and open to the public. The day's
events will begin at 11:30 a.m. with a book-signing by Doris Kearns
Goodwin, author of the national best-seller "Team of Rivals: The
Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." Goodwin will also be the
keynote speaker at the symposium banquet that evening, for which
paid reservations are required. The symposium sessions begin at 1
p.m. in the Old State Capitol's Hall of Representatives and feature
Catherine Clinton, biographer and historian; Daniel Mark Epstein,
award-winning poet and biographer; and Joshua Wolf Shenk, an expert
featured on the new History Channel biography "Lincoln" and author
of "Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and
Fueled His Greatness" (2005).
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield.
"Mr. Lincoln's Birthday Weekend Celebration" is scheduled for
Feb. 11 and 12 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and
Museum in Springfield. There will be birthday games and craft
activities from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days in the museum's Mrs.
Lincoln's Attic children's area, as well as story time in the same
area at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The museum's gift shop will host several
book-signings by Lincoln authors: Betty Kay Carlson, "What Did
Lincoln Do in 1832?" Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon; Bill Snack,
"Rare Personal Accounts of Abraham Lincoln," Saturday from 1 to 3
p.m.; and Doris Kearns Goodwin, "Team of Rivals: The Political
Genius of Abraham Lincoln," Sunday from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Period
entertainment and music will be featured both days in the museum.
The library will host three programs on Saturday. Historian Bryon
Andreasen will present "Mr. Lincoln's Springfield" at 9:30 a.m.;
"Major Findings from the Lincoln Legal Papers" will be offered at 11
a.m.; and archaeologist Robert Mazrim will present "The Archaeology
of New Salem" at 1:30 p.m. Activities inside the museum require an
admission charge of $7.50 for adults and $3.50 for children. The
book-signings in the bookstore and the events in the library are
free.
[Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency news release]
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