Date: May 19, 2017
On Sunday, May 28, at 1:00pm, bring your chairs or blankets to Lincoln Home to listen to a “History through Music” free concert performed by the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band. Following this concert, at 3:00pm, the band and members of the Central Illinois Civil War Dance Society will play 1860s music and lead a street dance. The public is invited to participate in this dance.
Attired in authentic period dress, the band members will play similar music to the music played by the 1861 Civil War era band that was formed, at State Normal University, in McLean County. During the Civil War, regimental bands were a major part of a soldier’s life because they played music that reminded Civil War soldiers of home and kept their spirits high. Like the original band, today’s musicians are recruited from the same geographic area in Illinois and are from all walks of life. In 1995 Gary Borling re-created this band to provide music at the David Davis Mansion, in Bloomington, IL. Since then, the 33rd Illinois Volunteer Regiment Band has performed throughout the Midwest at festivals, re-enactments, historic programs, school events, and the Presidential Inaugural Parade in Washington D.C.
For more information about this band visit the band’s website at www.33rdband.org or www.33rdband.com. To learn more about this program and other special Lincoln Home programs call 217-492-4241 or visit www.nps.gov/liho.
