Department of Parks
Tickets On Sale For Lincoln-Hanks Wedding Reception

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Tickets are now available for the reception that will follow the wedding ceremony between Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks – the parents of Abraham Lincoln.

            The 1806 wedding – to be presented in a play on Saturday, June 3, 2006, at the Lincoln Homestead State Park at Springfield – will kick off the three-year Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in Kentucky. This event has been endorsed by the National Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

The day begins at 9 a.m. EDT with the opening of “The American Experience.” Famous Americans, including George Washington, Dr. Thomas Walker, George Rogers Clark, Isaac Shelby and York of the Lewis and Clark expedition, will speak.  There will also be demonstrations by craftsmen, as well as period music and a hands-on exhibition of log cabin construction.

 At 1 p.m., an outdoor performance titled “Dearly Beloved: The Vows of a Lincoln Legacy,” will debut. The reception will follow.

All events are free. There will, however, be fees for parking and for the reception that includes a meal.  Tickets for the reception are $10 and can be purchased by calling the park at 859-336-7461. A limited number of tickets for the reception are available.

The meal will include fried chicken, Mohawk corn, garden bounty, chunky applesauce, biscuits with preserves and jelly, sweet hoecakes, applesauce cake wedges, apple cider and tea.

For more information, visit www.lincolnhanks.net, call the Springfield/Washington County Chamber of Commerce at (859) 336-0052, ext. 3 or the park. The chamber, the Department of Parks, and the Kentucky Historical Society are sponsoring the events.

Lincoln Homestead State Park is located five miles north of Springfield on KY 438.

The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 52 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Commerce Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges -- more than any other state. Each year, Kentucky parks draw 7 million visitors and contribute $317 million to the economy. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov