Frankfort, KY - The Kentucky Historical Society has awarded $51,359 in Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission grants for Lincoln-related community projects.
"These grants from the Kentucky Historical Society will allow communities throughout the state to celebrate our native son during the bicentennial commemoration," says Kent Whitworth, executive director of the Kentucky Historical Society, which administers the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. "The projects these grants fund help Kentuckians to discover Lincoln's many connections to the state, which gives them perspective on the present and inspiration for the future."
The grants, using funds previously appropriated by the Kentucky General Assembly, will be used to support a variety of themes related to Lincoln and Kentucky, including slavery, nineteenth-century political culture, the Civil War, and Lincoln's legacy. Projects include educational programs, exhibits, public art, community celebrations, speakers, classroom tools, and more.
Grants are available to museums, historical organizations, educational institutions, city and county governments, and other nonprofit organizations. This round of Lincoln Bicentennial grants were made available to the Commission from the General Assembly and were distributed to Kentucky communities through the Kentucky Historical Society.
On February 12, Kentuckians can be a part of history during the official kickoff ceremonies for the Abraham Lincoln bicentennial at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville. The ceremony at the birthplace is free and open to the public. The program is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., but gates will open at 7 a.m. Vehicles will not be allowed on-site; shuttle transportation will be provided from several area parking lots in Hodgenville.
Featured invited guests include President George W. Bush, First Lady Laura Bush, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, Governor Steven L. Beshear, Pulitzer-Prize- winner Doris Kearns Goodwin, and actor Sam Waterston from Law & Order. Music will be provided by the Saxton Cornet Band and the American Spiritual Ensemble. Representatives from Kentucky's Lincoln sites and Lincoln- related art and merchandise will also be available on-site.
For more information on Kentucky's Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial commemoration, visit the official Web site. For more information about how the Kentucky Historical Society will share Kentucky's Abraham Lincoln experience throughout the commonwealth, visit the Web site.
Editor's note: A complete list of grantees is attached.
Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission Grant Recipients
Through funding previously made available by the Kentucky General Assembly to the Kentucky Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission (KABLC), grants for Lincoln-related community projects are being offered through the Kentucky Historical Society. Below is a list of grantees as of February 1, 2008.
- Northern Kentucky University, Chase College of Law - "Abraham Lincoln's Law Career," a Symposium Sponsored by the Northern Kentucky Law Review
- Somerset Community College - "Lincoln's Lasting Legacy in Kentucky: An Educational Exploration"
- Thomas More College - "Lincoln's Wartime Stand on Political Opposition"
- Belle of Louisville - "One Man's Lincoln: A Biographical Play Performed on Board the Historic Steamboat Belle of Louisville"
- City of Greensburg - "Lincoln Connection to Greensburg and Green County"
- Historic Russellville, Inc. - "Lincoln's Loyalists in Logan County: Blakey, Burbridge and Bailey"
- Lexington Philharmonic Society, Inc. - "Discovery Series: Lincoln - The Man, the Music, and the Legacy"
- Stage One Children's Theatre - "The Lincoln Project"
- Forkland Community Center - "Roots, Trunk, and Branches: Abraham Lincoln's Connections to the Forkland Community"
- Hardin County History Museum - "Operation Online with Lincoln"
- James Harrod Trust - "James Harrod Trust's Cemetery Tour"
- Northern Kentucky University Research Foundation - "Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Lecture Series"
- Stephen Foster Drama Association, Inc. - "The Civil War: Communicating History Through Music"
- Washington County Fiscal Court - "Captain Abraham Lincoln" Painting
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An agency of the Kentucky Commerce Cabinet, the Kentucky Historical Society, since 1836, has provided connections to the past, perspective on the present, and inspiration for the future. KHS operates the Old State Capitol, the Kentucky Military History Museum, and its headquarters, the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History. Since 1999, the thirty- million- dollar Center has welcomed more than one million visitors. For more information about the Kentucky Historical Society and its programs, visit our Web site.