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Current News

Lots of Lincoln Activities at the 2023 Illinois State Fair
Saturday, June 24, 2023

Looking for Lincoln is proud to bring our 16th president to the Illinois State Fair again in 2023, along with other Lincoln-era activities on the lawn of the Illinois Building near the main gate.

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Looking for Lincoln on NPR
Saturday, February 18, 2023

NPR Illinois and Looking for Lincoln are joining forces all week long, Feb 20-24, 2023 to tell a handful of the lesser-known stories of early Illinois.

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Bronzeville-Black Metropolis is Illinois' newst National Heritage Area
Tuesday, January 24, 2023

Congratulations to Bronzeville-Black Metropolis for becoming Illinois’ newest National Heritage Area. Welcome to the NPS family!

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Upcoming Events

HARVEST FROLIC
Saturday, September 28, 2024 10:00 AM - Sunday, September 29, 2024 4:00 PM

Come celebrate the arrival of autumn at the Harvest Frolic. The event is free and open to the public. Don’t miss experiencing 19th-century life on the farm. Activities will take place at both the Lincoln and Sargent farms and will include children’s games, crafts, hearth cooking, and activities. A number of artisans will be on site demonstrating their crafts including, spinning, pottery, broommaking, blacksmithing, embroidery, and many other 19th-century crafts.

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UNFORGETTABLE LINCOLN DAYS
Friday, October 4, 2024 3:00 PM - Saturday, October 5, 2024 9:00 PM

Unforgettable Lincoln Days is a celebration of Visit Forgottonia's Unforgettable connection to our nation's most popular and enduring leader.  The event features the world's only giant Living Lincoln Topiary Monument, "selfie" opportunities with the nation's leading Abraham Lincoln interpreter, entertainment from historic singer/songwriter, and roots musician Chris Vallillo, Macomb's historic Looking for Lincoln Historic Self-Guide Tour powered by eATLAS, horse drawn trolley rides, Civil War reactors encampment, working Blacksmith, Hy-Vee's Looking for Lincoln Scavenger Hunt, a special three-story tall "Living Lincoln Mural" and as the event's centerpiece, our original play When Macomb Hosted Lincoln: Devising the Freeport Question by Dr. Tim Roberts, plus more surprises.

The event runs from 3:00-6:00pm on Friday, October 4, and from noon to 9:00pm on Saturday, October 5.

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Lucy Pettengill Fighter for Freedom
Wednesday, October 23, 2024 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM

This program finds Lucy Pettengill, resident of Peoria, IL, in March 1857, soon after the Supreme Court decision of the Dred Scott Case. This decision, and its implications that black people are not citizens of the United States, is the impetus to redouble her efforts of assisting in the abolition and underground railroad (UGRR) activities. This first-person program will cover an overall history of abolitionist movements and actions in Illinois (mostly Western Illinois) up until March 1857 and then will go into detail about what she, as a station keeper, has experienced while assisting freedom seekers.

Since there are so few extant papers in Lucy’s own voice, much of this presentation will be culled from other first-person accounts from conductors on the UGRR in Illinois, whose experiences are very likely similar to Lucy’s.

Laura Keyes graduated from UW-Madison with a Master’s Degree in Library Studies, and is a lifetime member of the Association of Lincoln Presenters. Laura recently won the Excellence in Performing Award from that Association. She devotes much of her non-existent spare time to baking, and caring for her cat Mr. Darcy.

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Full Schedule of Events

Regional Highlight

On May 29, 1856 Abraham Lincoln gave the "lost speech" at the Illinois State Republican Convention in Bloomington, Illinois to a group of over 1,000 people. The speech lasted 90 minutes and so transfixed his audience that the reporters in attendance forgot to take notes. The speech addressed the need to prevent the expansion of slavery. The speech helped rejuvenate the fledgling Republican Party in Illinois.

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