A fun alternative on Black Friday
Lincoln presidential library offers free family activities the day after Thanksgiving
 

[November 20, 2018]   A family-friendly alternative to the stress and headaches of Black Friday shopping is returning to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

“Fun Frosty Friday” offers an array of free activities the day after Thanksgiving, including games, face-painting, a life-sized Candy Land Adventure and visits with Santa Claus. This year, we’ve added demonstrations by a 13-year-old cup-stacking champion and ballet performances.

Now in its fourth year, this free family event runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 23 in the ALPLM’s library building at 112 N. Sixth St., Springfield. Doors open at 10 a.m.

The fun includes:

• Racing Hot Wheels cars

• Demonstrations by Austin Naber, a cup-stacking champion from Indiana

• Using Civil War technology to create a coded message for Santa

• A robotics demonstration by the FIRST Lego League squad from Rochester

• Balloon art and face painting

• Performances by the Springfield Ballet Company

• Meeting Santa and an ice princess

The museum also will be presenting a new exhibit called “Holidays at the White House: A Presidential Christmas,” as well as “From Illinois to the White House: Lincoln, Grant, Reagan, Obama.” Actors portraying historic characters will be on hand to mingle with visitors.

For more about the day’s fun and games, visit www.PresidentLincoln.Illinois.gov.

The presidential library will also be collecting for the Sojourn Shelter, which helps victims of domestic violence. Visitors can stop by the library’s “angel tree” through Dec. 20 and pick decorations listing items the shelter needs. Then they buy the items (or make a monetary donation) and return them to the library.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is dedicated to telling the story of America’s 16th president through old-fashioned scholarship and modern technology. It also serves as the state historical library.

The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln material, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to other aspects of Illinois history. Meanwhile, the museum uses traditional exhibits, eye-catching special effects and innovative story-telling techniques to educate visitors.

[Christopher Wills]