Kentucky Historical Society
Experience Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln at the 2008 Kentucky State Fair

Frankfort, KY - Visitors to the 2008 Kentucky State Fair will have an opportunity to explore the many facets of Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln, an experience provided by the Kentucky Historical Society (KHS).

“We’re so excited about the opportunity to introduce Lincoln to both children and adults at the 2008 Kentucky State Fair,” said Kent Whitworth, executive director of KHS. “We’re going to give them an opportunity to learn about Lincoln’s many Kentucky connections and to have a lot of fun in the process.”

The 8,000-square-foot Lincoln experience will be housed in South Wing B of the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. The Kentucky State Fair runs from August 14 to August 24.

Students and adults who visit the fair will be introduced to Kentucky’s many Lincoln-related sites through the Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail. They can pick up a trail passport to begin collecting stamps at each of the Lincoln sites throughout the commonwealth. After collecting ten or more stamps, visitors are entered to win monthly prize drawings.

Lincoln interpreters, rail-splitters, museum theatre, and the KHS HistoryMobile are all part of the experience in this area. The HistoryMobile is a tractor-trailer that is now housing an exhibit on “Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln.”  The exhibit explores Lincoln’s frontier childhood, his career from a log house to the White House, and his struggles to end slavery and lead the nation through the Civil War.

In addition, a new portable museum exhibit on Lincoln will debut at the state fair this year.

Educational games and a narrative stage will help bring Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln to life for visitors. There will also be an opportunity to have your picture taken with both Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln.

Lincoln merchandise will be available in the mobile 1792 Store in this area. Students can also get a temporary Lincoln bicentennial tattoo or pick up a free Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission window cling.

“We want this to be an educational experience,” said Whitworth. “We want both students and adults to leave this area with a better understanding of Kentucky’s many connections to Lincoln throughout his life. There’s no better time to learn his legacy than during the bicentennial commemoration of his birth.”

Along with the Kentucky Historical Society, organizations such as Kentucky Educational Television, the Kentucky Heritage Council, the Kentucky Arts Council, and the Kentucky Humanities Council‘s Chautauqua characters have joined in the effort to present Lincoln’s experience to all Kentuckians.

Kentucky’s Abraham Lincoln is free with State Fair admission and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. August 14-23 and from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on August 24.

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An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage 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 the Web site.