Mike Anderson, “The Dulcimer Guy,” to Kick-off the New ‘Looking for Lincoln Conversations’ Online Performance Series

 

[August 11, 2020] 

Award winning musician and storyteller Mike Anderson, also known as the Dulcimer Guy, will be presenting, Folk Instruments of Early Illinois on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 7 PM on the Looking for Lincoln Facebook and YouTube channels. This entertaining program is engaging for all ages, and will feature a conversation with Mike Anderson about folk instruments of early Illinois and musical demonstrations including the jaw harp, bones, mountain dulcimer, and banjo. Mike’s combination of a classroom educational background, award-winning music, storytelling and humor has made Mike Anderson a very sought-after performer and speaker. His latest recordings and writing have won multiple Parents’ Choice, IParenting, and Children’s Music Web awards.

This event will kick-off Looking for Lincoln Conversations, a new series of live, virtual programs featuring a variety of history topics surrounding the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. The series will include conversations with interpreters portraying Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, and Stephen Douglas. In addition, presenters will discuss music associated with early Illinois, the Civil War and the Underground Railroad.

The Looking for Lincoln Conversations series will be broadcast live on the Looking for Lincoln’s Facebook page and YouTube Channel and with include a facilitated question and answer session after each presentation. The schedule includes:

• Wednesday, August 19, 2020, Folk Instruments of Early Illinois

• Wednesday, September 9, 2020, Lincoln-Douglas Debate

• Wednesday, October 21, 2020, A Conversation with Harriet Tubman

• Wednesday, November 4, 2020, A Conversation about the Underground Railroad in Illinois

• Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Lost Songs of the Civil War

• Wednesday, February 24, 2021, Press Conference with President Abraham Lincoln

“Join us for the Looking for Lincoln Conversations. We use this series as a way to share the stories of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln,” said Executive Director, Sarah Watson. “We are able to engage with you, the virtual audience, from throughout the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area and beyond.”

During the Covid-19 event, Looking for Lincoln has been proactively moving its 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 Looking for Lincoln’s Facebook page and YouTube channel. Looking for Lincoln Conversations is funded by Illinois Humanities and partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. All events are free to watch, and will be retained in the Looking for Lincoln online video libraries for later viewing.

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.

[The Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition]