Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration
Indiana is one of 49 states officially taking part in the Lincoln Bicentennial celebration, which takes place nationally from February 2008 to February 2010.
Indiana’s permanent Lincoln attractions are many and varied and the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis offers one of the most extensive Lincoln collections found anywhere in the world. The Society will host several free events in Indianapolis the weekend of Aug. 8-9:
- Aug. 8: Participate in a reenactment of Lincoln’s February 1861 Indianapolis speech and Q&A session with noted Lincoln interpreter Fritz Klein outside the Indiana State House, as well as free family activities at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center. That evening, Lincoln enthusiasts, educators and scholars can attend a dinner and lecture at the History Center with scholar, author and Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission co-chair Harold Holzer.
- Aug. 9: The History Center will host a Lincoln Bicentennial Conference featuring a keynote address by Edna Greene Medford (Howard University) in addition to several concurrent sessions for: libraries and local historical organizations facilitated by Joan Flinspach (CEO, Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne), schools and educators led by IHS education staff and Martin Tuohy (National Archives and Records Administration – Great Lakes); and history buffs, directed by Holzer and Medford.