Lincoln, The Great Communicator goes Virtual

 

[July 10, 2020] 

Looking for Lincoln is proud to announce it will host Lincoln, The Great Communicator online seven (7) times with partner communities around the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.

The live, online performances will combine period music with conversation and narrative by President Lincoln, using Lincoln’s own words, while illuminating Lincoln’s use of communication as a personal and political tool. This engaging show features Lincoln impersonator George Buss and Illinois folk musician and folklorist Chris Vallillo. Each performance will be followed by a Q&A with Buss and Vallillo.

The seven performances will be broadcast on the Looking for Lincoln Facebook page and YouTube Channel in addition to the sponsoring community’s Facebook page.

• Wednesday, July 15, 2020, Freeport, IL

• Wednesday, July 29, 2020,
  Decatur, IL

• Wednesday, August 12, 2020, Ottawa, IL

• Wednesday, September 2, 2020 , Pontiac, IL

• Wednesday, September 23, 2020, Lincoln, IL

• Wednesday, October 14, 2020, Mahomet, IL

• Wednesday, December 2, 2020, Carthage, IL

“This performance provides an engaging way for visitors to learn more about Abraham Lincoln and the work of Looking for Lincoln and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area in telling that story,” said Executive Director, Sarah Watson.

This is a collaborative project involving Looking for Lincoln, Chris Vallillo, George Buss, and key partners in the seven Looking for Lincoln Communities.

This theatrical style performance is presented as a casual conversation between President Lincoln and Vallillo discussing Lincoln's gifts as a communicator and way he used those skills for the betterment of mankind throughout his lifetime. In the midst of the conversation, Vallillo will perform period music on guitar, bottleneck slide Dobro, banjo and jaw harp to illustrate Lincoln’s point and the President will quote passages from some of his favorite speeches.

Lincoln lived in a time when the power of mass communication was just beginning to come of age and his mastery of those skills would play a large role in his ultimate success as a leader. Traditional means of mass communication like books and popular music would be augmented by the rise of the Industrial revolution, steam powered printing presses, the telegraph, photography and improved transportation systems like steamboats and railroads.
 

This online series is part of a greater slate of programming entitled Looking for Lincoln Conversations which will run through 2020. Presentations will feature a variety of topics surrounding the life and times of Abraham Lincoln including performances of celebrated music, reenactments of historic events, interpretation of historic people, and much more. During the Covid-19 event, Looking for Lincoln has been proactively moving it’s programming online to make it accessible to a wide audience throughout Illinois and the world. The performances will be free to view, and broadcast on social media platforms.

Lincoln, The Great Communicator is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
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The Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition is the coordinating entity for the 43-county Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. It is a partnership of organizations and individuals dedicated to enhancing the communities and landscapes of central Illinois through recognition and support of their significant natural, cultural and historical legacies. Few individuals have so profoundly influenced American history as did Abraham Lincoln. Millions around the world are inspired by the story of Lincoln’s rise from humble beginnings to President of the United States, his qualities of integrity and courage and his decisive leadership – traits that carried a fragile nation through one of its most trying periods.

For more information about the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition and the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, go to www.lookingforlincoln.com.

[Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition]