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Celebrating Lincoln

From now through February 2010, the entire country is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the self-educated backwoods lawyer who became America’s 16th president and one of history’s most revered leaders. And it all began right here where Honest Abe got his own start—in Kentucky.

KET is joining the bicentennial salute with two major productions. The new Kentucky Life special Lincoln: ‘I, Too, Am a Kentuckian.’ explores Lincoln’s lifelong ties to his home state. We also taped a special bicentennial kickoff concert featuring the Louisville Orchestra, soprano Angela Brown, and actor Sam Waterston for broadcast later this year.

Lincoln: ‘I, Too, Am a Kentuckian.’

Preview the Program:
Video Trailer (1:52)
Slide Show
Description/Links »

Bonus Video:
The Lincoln Wedding: A Kentucky Life Special features a reenactment of the wedding of Lincoln’s parents. It is available in two versions:
30-minute video
60-minute video
Program Details »

a Kentucky Life special

Though Abraham Lincoln left Kentucky as a boy, he maintained close ties to the state of his birth throughout his life. His wife, his best friend, and his law partners and business associates were all Kentuckians. And as president during the Civil War, he considered the control of Kentucky to be absolutely critical to maintaining the Union.

Lincoln: ‘I, Too, Am a Kentuckian.’, a special expanded edition of Kentucky Life, follows the trail that took Lincoln from his birth in a log cabin on the Kentucky frontier to the White House—and into history. Host Dave Shuffett visits Lincoln’s birthplace outside Hodgenville and the Knob Creek farm of his boyhood; tours historic sites associated with his wife, Lexington native Mary Todd Lincoln, and lifelong friend and confidant Joshua Speed of Louisville; journeys to Indiana and Illinois in the footsteps of the Lincoln family; walks the fields of Gettysburg; and tours our nation’s capital to ponder the enduring legacy of this extraordinary man.

Produced in high definition, Lincoln: ‘I, Too, Am a Kentuckian.’ premiered during KET’s TeleFund 2008. The program is available on DVD or VHS as a thank-you gift for your donation to KET, along with a related book and CD. See our Support KET pages for details.

A description of the program and links to many of the places visited are available on the Kentucky Life web site.

A Kentucky Salute to Abraham Lincoln

coming to KET this summer

To kick off the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, the Louisville Orchestra presented a special concert gala featuring contemporary and period works as well as a multimedia presentation of Lincoln speeches and writings narrated by actor Sam Waterston. Held on February 11 at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, the performance included the world premiere of Lincoln at Ease, a specially commissioned work by Peter Schickele, and spirituals and arias from Margaret Garner sung by Angela Brown, a soprano who has appeared in several leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera.

Journalist Bob Edwards, a Louisville native, emceed the concert, which also featured tenor Daniel Weeks, banjo ace Tony Trischka, studio artists from the Kentucky Opera, and historian and author Harold Holzer. KET taped the event for broadcast later this year.