On the last weekend of August, Bishop Hill will be having the 3rd annual Bishop Hill Chautauqua and Sweet Annie Primitives Autumn Open House. If you enjoy history and fall shopping, then Bishop Hill will be the place to be.

Celebrate the life of Abraham Lincoln and the end of the Civil War at the Bishop Hill Chautauqua on Saturday and Sunday, August 29 & 30, 2015. In its third year, the Chautauqua is adding a second day and also adding a Saturday morning workshop called Stepping into Character for teachers, actors, students and home-schoolers. Veteran Chautauqua performer Brian “Fox” Ellis will teach workshop participants how to research and write first person monologues. Plus there will be a special youth component with students from Geneseo and Williamsfield performing on the main stage Sunday afternoon.

This year the community is invited to meet Abraham Lincoln and his friends. With a theme of “Lincoln and The Civil War”, you are invited to meet Lincoln, his boyhood friend Austin Gollaher, Lincoln’s law partner William Hendon, Elizabeth Keckley a Freed Woman and First Ladies’ Confidant, and James Monroe, the Drummer Boy of Shiloh. All programs will be held at the village park gazebo in Bishop Hill, IL. Folks are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. This free event is sponsored by the Bishop Hill Heritage Association, Illinois Humanities, The Illinois Arts Council, private donations, and The Twinflower Inn Bed and Breakfast. For more information, call 309 927-3899 or email bhha@mymctc.net .

Sweet Annie Primitives Fall Open House will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday August 29. Located at 106 South Bishop Hill Street, Sweet Annie’s specialize in early cupboards, tables, crock, jugs, quilts, textiles, soaps, candles, and one of a kind handmade autumn objects. For more details, call 309-927-3072 or go to www.sweetannieprimitives.net .

 

The Chautauqua Schedule

Saturday, August 29

10 a.m.   A workshop for Teachers, Actors, Storytellers and Students on “Stepping Into Character” bringing history to life with Brian “Fox” Ellis in the Steeple Building.

1 p.m.              Austin Gollaher:

Lincoln’s Boyhood Friend (Brian “Fox” Ellis)

2:15 p.m.         Elizabeth Keckley:

First Lady’s Dressmaker (Kathryn Harris)

3:30 p.m.   The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

The Civil War in Song (Barry Cloyd)

Sunday, August 30

1 p.m. Local students perform as various historical figures 

2:15 p.m.          William Herndon 

            Speaks on Lincoln the Lawyer (Brian “Fox” Ellis)

3:30 p.m. A Visit with Abraham Lincoln (Fritz Klein)