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Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival celebrates 45th anniversary with expanded festival line-up
 

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[September 18, 2015]  LINCOLN - The National Railsplitting Festival will be held in September from the 18th through the 20th. The weekend will begin with the Civil War Ball on Friday along with Cosmic Bowling. The full line up of events for the weekend will then begin on Saturday the 19th, at the Logan County Fairgrounds in Lincoln.

The longest running festival in Logan County is celebrating 45 years this year. The festival was developed to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's early days when he split logs into fence rails to keep animals in their respective farms. This was done by holding a railsplitting competition that has evolved into a national competition.

The festival also hosts authentic Pioneer Village, crafters, tomahawk throwing, antique tractors, fun and educational kid’s activities, a Civil War ball on Friday night at the American Legion and the national rail split finale on Sunday.

Bluegrass, Gospel, and Country music sensation, Emi Sunshine, who is just 10 years old, will be the headline performer Saturday September 19th at 7 p.m.

Emi Sunshine is described on the Railsplitting.com website as a “10-year-old East Tennessee prodigy who has captured the nation’s attention as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.

“Steeped in Appalachian music, she is a true vocal stylist, one who instinctively knows how to interpret the nuances of a song with her impressive range, even though she has yet to gain the life experience and empathy seemingly necessary to fully comprehend the words she sings”.

Other performers throughout the weekend include local bluegrass favorite Dan Tackett, the Prairie Aires, Justin Knollenberg and Cactus Ranch. For tickets and complete lineup, visit railsplitting.com. The tradition of great bluegrass music goes back a long way at the festival, including decades ago, when a very young Alison Krauss, now a bluegrass legend, performed for the crowd.

This year’s Civil War ball on Friday evening September 18th, will be held for the first time at the American Legion located near the fairgrounds next to the World’s Largest Covered Wagon. This will be followed by Cosmic Bowling at Logan Lanes next door from 10 p.m. to Midnight – a brand new event for the festival. Attendees can dress in period outfits or come as they are for this fun evening of dancing. Anyone can learn the simple dance steps and before the night is over, everyone will be dancing and having lots of fun.

Festival co-founder Daris Knauer is working on displays of the history of the festival over the years, and he is expecting his co-founder Leroy Buckheit to travel across country for the event as well.

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Knauer is encouraging local residents to contact him at (217) 732-7247 with photos and memories they would like to share for the festival. One of the most famous festival visitors was President Gerald Ford, who made a campaign stop in 1976, and split a rail while he was here.

The roots of the Railsplitting Festival began in 1970 at Jerry's Drive-In on Woodlawn Road in Lincoln. Daris Knauer met with the co-chairman of tourism at the Lincoln/Logan County Chamber of Commerce, LeRoy Buckheit.

LeRoy was "flipping burgers" in his restaurant as they talked about an event, because there was a busload of people in the restaurant. Daris had an idea about holding an event that was related to Abraham Lincoln’s days in Logan County. LeRoy mentioned that they should name the event the "Railsplitter" because Abe Lincoln was known for splitting rails. The Chamber of Commerce sponsored the first and second Railsplitting events.

During the first Railsplitter event, a man from Petersburg, named Johnny Jones split rails for the state of Illinois. He later became a judge at the inaugural event. Soon after, Johnny established "rail rules" for the contest/competition. These rules have evolved over the years, but have stayed generally the same. Paul Harvey, the famous radio personality, was heard to mention that the first Lincoln Railsplitting Festival was held in Lincoln.

The festival committee would like to thank all our sponsors over the years for keeping the tradition going for this amazing family-fun event. For complete details, visit the brand new Raislplitting.com website designed by Tracy Welch. For sponsorship and volunteer information, call (217) 732-9488.

[Tracy Welch]


 

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