The people of Springfield, Ill., like to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's birthday with a series of events.
This year, the first of these is "Abraham Lincoln: A Biography in Words and Music," performed Feb. 6-7 at the Lincoln Home Visitors Center. The event is a recreation of an old-fashioned political rally with a professional actor performing excerpts from Lincoln's stump speeches and music from the Springfield Symphony Chorus.Scheduled for Feb. 12, Lincoln's real birthday, is a series of lectures at the visitors center, a pilgrimage to Lincoln's tomb, and a symposium at the Old State Capitol.
There's plenty of other Lincoln spots to hit, including his old law offices, New Salem and the Illinois State Museum, featuring an exhibit called "At Home in the Heartland."
For more information on Lincoln events, call 800-545-7300; for information on the Illinois State Museum, call 217-782-5507.
---- Here's a chance to see nature heal itself.
Wilderness Inquiry is offering six-day canoe trips to the Ten Thousand Island Area of Everglades National Park, which was ripped up by Hurricane Andrew last summer.
After canoeing by day, visitors will camp at night on the beaches of the keys along the Gulf of Mexico or near historic sites inside the park.
No experience necessary; guides will teach the arts of paddling a canoe and pitching a tent.
The $645 fee includes staff, instruction, food, camping gear, canoes and tents. For more information, call 800-728-0719.
---- Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite: Here's an intriguing offer for avowed or would-be Francophiles:
- The French Experience is offering a new program called Country Escapades that gives travelers a chance to design their own itinerary. The company supplies a questionnaire, which the travelers complete and return to French Experience. Based on the questionnaire, the company provides the traveler with a computer printout detailing driving instructions - down to where to make that right turn - vouchers for hotel accommodations, and a customized guide book of attractions of interest.
For more information, call 212-986-1115.