Opportunities in the Arts -
Champaign County Lincoln
Bicentennial Commission
bicentennial commission website | ideas for lincoln programs | about the bicentennial commission | what can you do now? | homeChampaign County is joining other Illinois communities in planning celebrations in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday in 2009. Recently, the cities of Urbana and Champaign and the County of Champaign collaborated to form a Champaign County Bicentennial Commission, bringing together nineteen citizens to coordinate and encourage schools, civic organizations, clubs, churches, libraries, and the like to develop and execute celebrations to honor our 16th president.
Some plans are already underway. The Early American Museum and Champaign County are jointly constructing an exhibit area at the courthouse which will be completed in 2009. This space will not only chronicle Lincoln’s legal work while in the County but serve as an educational resource for school children. WILL-TV recently received a $40,000 grant from the Illinois Bicentennial Commission to develop local programming on Lincoln the Lawyer in Champaign County. Next June, the Urbana School District’s American History Teacher’s Collaborative is sponsoring a workshop to prepare teachers for the Bicentennial by focusing on Lincoln in East Central Illinois.
In early January 2008, 40 North | 88 West - Champaign County's Arts, Culture and Entertainment Council - welcomed representatives from the Champaign County Lincoln Bicentennial Commission to an intake session with members of the area's arts community. Commission Chair Cheryl Kennedy opened the meeting by discussing the Commission’s role in the upcoming Bicentennial celebration as one of facilitator and solicited ideas for arts-related activities and programs which might be developed. The ideas considered at that session are available for download here (requires Microsoft Word) and can also be viewed online by following this link.