Lincoln 200th Celebration Begins Feb. 11 In Kentucky
- (January 2008) LOUISVILLE, Ky. – President Bush is expected to formally launch the two-year celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s Bicentennial, capping two days of festivities and tributes in Kentucky on Feb. 11 and 12. A ticket package for the events is on sale through the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.
Feb. 11 events begin with a “Lincoln on Leadership” afternoon symposium featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin at the Frazier International History Museum in Louisville.
The University of Louisville’s McConnell Center is co-sponsoring the symposium, which will include Goodwin’s husband, Richard Goodwin, an advisor to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and to U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
A Champagne Reception for invited guests and Premier Lincoln Package holders will be held at Louisville’s Kentucky Center for the Arts followed by a Kentucky Tribute to Abraham Lincoln with radio journalist Bob Edwards as master of ceremonies.
The program will include a musical tribute by the Louisville Orchestra and soprano Angela Brown and the premiere of a new Lincoln work composed by Peter Schickele. Brown will also perform Marian Anderson’s 1939 rendition of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.”
Actor Sam Waterston and Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer will perform “Lincoln Seen and Heard,” a narrated and dramatic presentation of Lincoln speeches and photographs.
On Feb. 12 President George Bush will give the keynote address at the formal bicentennial opening ceremony at the Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site near Hodgenville. It is free and open to the public.
The program for Bush’s address will include the American Spiritual Ensemble and Saxton’s Cornet Band. Sam Waterston will deliver a dramatic presentation of Lincoln’s words.
The Premier Lincoln Package includes admission to the Lincoln Symposium and reception, preferred seating for A Kentucky Salute to Abraham Lincoln and seating at the opening ceremony. It is available for $200 at www.abrahamlincoln200.org under “Latest News.” For more information, visit the site or call (202) 707-6998
The national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission was established by Congress to plan educational, public and legacy events to mark the 16th president’s 200th birthday in 2009. For more information, go to www.lincoln200.gov.
