{"id":632,"date":"2014-07-21T18:11:48","date_gmt":"2014-07-21T23:11:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.iwu.edu\/1970sclassnews\/?p=632"},"modified":"2015-05-21T10:01:39","modified_gmt":"2015-05-21T15:01:39","slug":"lincolns-fest-14-close-encounters-of-the-honest-kind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.iwu.edu\/1970sclassnews\/2014\/07\/21\/lincolns-fest-14-close-encounters-of-the-honest-kind\/","title":{"rendered":"Lincoln’s Fest ’14: Close encounters of the honest kind"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"33rd<\/a>

The 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regimental Band resting between sets at the Ball.<\/p><\/div>\n

BLOOMINGTON\u00a0\u2014 A chance to hob-nob with history, up close and personal, is one of the highlights of this summer’s edition of the annual Lincoln’s Festival.<\/p>\n

Spread out over seven Bloomington locations, the history began\u00a0living Friday night, 18 July, with an expansion of a new offering that debuted “under the radar” at last year’s fest. \u00a0“Encounters with Lincoln’s Bloomington,” from 5 to 8 p.m., featured a dozen costumed performers from the local Historic Acting Troupe, an offshoot of Heartland Theatre Company’s senior acting program, Young at Heartland<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The actors returned to\u00a0life by portraying\u00a0storied figures from Bloomington-Normal’s past as Allen Withers, James Allin, Sarah Walker Davis and Hester Vernon Fell … all of whom are tied to the festival’s designated 1850-65 time frame.<\/p>\n

Starting at the McLean County Museum of History, you could encounter period\u00a0folks at Heritage Plaza, 115 W. Jefferson St. (formerly W.H. Roland’s Department Store); and Ensenberger Condominiums lobby, 212 N. Center St. (formerly Ensenberger’s furniture store). \u00a0Capping the encounters was\u00a0Abraham Lincoln interpreter Randy Duncan, from Southern Illinois, performing at 7:40 p.m. at Francois Associates, 118 W. Washington St., site of Lincoln’s 1858 third-floor lecture. \u00a0Marcia Young, of the David Davis Foundation, says that the encounters were introduced in a “soft opening,” without ballyhoo, at last year’s fest and they were an immediate hit.<\/p>\n

Though similar in concept to the Evergreen Cemetery Walk, the Lincoln’s Festival encounters involve the costumed actors following a general script that also left\u00a0leeway for first-person interaction, in character, with the public.<\/p>\n

“The actors know enough that they’re able to function as living history exhibits,” says Young. “They do a of preliminary research to allow that.” \u00a0The encounters were\u00a0modeled after Springfield’s popular “History Comes Alive” program, in which costumed actors routinely inhabit historic downtown locations all summer long, thanks to an accommodating grant.<\/p>\n

Following those interactions, the festival proper expanded to Saturday and Sunday into its traditional wide-ranging offerings at the six other locales, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day (times may vary from locale to locale):<\/p>\n