Logan Railsplitting Association in high demand as central Illinois events honor Abe's bicentennial

[July 01, 2009]  The Logan Railsplitting Association will be presenting demonstrations throughout central Illinois beginning this weekend. Event planners have been incorporating an Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial theme into their annual events this year by inviting the Logan Railsplitting Association to demonstrate.

On July 3 and 4 the railsplitters will be in Springfield as part of the state capital's Fourth of July celebration. On Friday they will be at the Miller House Lot in the Lincoln Home District from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and at the corner of Sixth and Monroe from 5 p.m. to dark. Saturday they will be splitting at the Miller House Lot from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. as well as the corner of Sixth and Monroe from 11 a.m. to dark. They will split approximately one log an hour.

Aug. 8 and 9 the railsplitters will be at the Decatur Celebration with their Pioneer Village from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on both days. The Logan Railsplitting Association will also be producing and directing the Midwest Abraham Lincoln Railsplitting Contest on Aug. 9, beginning at 1 p.m. For more details, visit www.decaturcelebration.com.

Then it's back to Lincoln on Aug. 28-30 for the Art & Balloon Festival. The railsplitters will have a demonstration on Aug. 28 at the Logan County Airport at 5:30 p.m. and again on Aug. 29 in downtown Lincoln at noon. They will also demonstrate during the 1800s Craft Fair at Postville Courthouse on Aug. 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

After the Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival in Lincoln Sept. 18-20, the railsplitters will be on the road again, demonstrating on Sept. 26 at the Apple & Pork Festival in Clinton from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In keeping with the bicentennial theme, the 39th annual Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival will have an extra bicentennial event this year. Storytellers Brian "Fox" Ellis and Mike Anderson will be at the Lincoln Park District Rec Center on Friday, Sept. 18. Ellis has been entertaining audiences for the past 29 years, offering some education along the way, through song, myth, poetry and stories. The festival then moves to the Logan County Fairgrounds on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 and 20. Vendor opportunities for this festival are still available. For more information, visit www.railsplitting.com or call 217-732-8687.

[Text from file received from Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County]