Susan Eisenhower, J’Nai Bridges, Graham Sibley, Harold Holzer, and Doris Kearns Goodwin to appear at Dedication Day Events in Gettysburg Sunday, Nov 19.
November 8, 2023 by Community Contributors
UPDATE ALERT: CHANGE OF DEDICATION DAY CEREMONY VENUE FROM THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL CEMETERY TO GETTYSBURG COLLEGE’S MAJESTIC THEATER, 25 Carlisle Street, Gettysburg, PA.
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania is honored to invite the public to the Majestic Theater on November 19th, 2023 for a special Dedication Day ceremony commemorating the 60th anniversary of the historic 1963 ceremony that marked the centennial of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. The venue change is due to a potential U. S. government shutdown. The Majestic Theater is located at 25 Carlisle St., Gettysburg; doors will open to the public at 9:30 a.m. The ceremony is free, however seats are limited. NO FIREARMS OR WEAPONS OF ANY KIND, REPLICA OR NOT, WILL BE ALLOWED IN THE THEATER.
This year’s keynote speaker is the distinguished Susan Eisenhower, granddaughter of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Emmy®-nominated actor, Graham Sibley, star of the History Channel’s series Abraham Lincoln, will present the Gettysburg Address. Two-time Grammy® Award-winning American opera singer, J’Nai Bridges will deliver a special performance honoring opera singer and civil rights pioneer, Marian Anderson. Renowned Lincoln scholars, Doris Kearns Goodwin and Harold Holzer, also will be joining us.
Ms. Eisenhower commented, “I am humbled to help commemorate the 160th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s dedication of the National Cemetery and his immortal Gettysburg Address. This magnificent speech speaks to us through the ages and articulates, like none other, the enduring values of this great nation.” Ms. Eisenhower is well known for her work as a policy analyst, much of which is focused on national security, and related strategic issues. She has brought this work to light in her writing as an essayist, opinion writer, biographer, and editor. She has authored hundreds of editorials for newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. Her articles also have appeared in the National Academy of Sciences’ Issues in Science and Technology and the Naval Institute’s Proceedings. Her most recent book has received critical acclaim nationally and internationally: How Ike Led: The Principles Behind Eisenhower’s Biggest Decisions. Eisenhower has provided analysis for CNN International, MSNBC, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, FOX News, CBS Sunday Morning in an interview with Rita Braver, the BBC, and all three major network morning programs. Eisenhower will also be featured at the Lincoln Fellowship’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon at the Wyndham Hotel after the ceremony and will be available for book signing at the luncheon.
Emmy®-nominated actor Graham Sibley will be presenting the Gettysburg Address. Sibley has appeared in many groundbreaking television series, most notably embodying Abraham Lincoln in Doris Kearns Goodwin’s definitive biography mini-series for History Channel/A&E, which was nominated for a Critics Choice Real TV Award for Best Limited Series and won the 2023 BANFF World Media Award for Best Historical Biography.
J’Nai Bridges will deliver a special performance honoring opera singer and civil rights pioneer, Marian Anderson, who performed here in 1963 at the invitation of General Eisenhower. Bridges known for her “rich, dark, exciting sound” (Opera News) is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after talents of her generation. She also will be performing at the Lincoln Fellowship’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon at the Wyndham Hotel after the ceremony.
Preeminent Lincoln scholar Harold Holzer, and presidential historian and Pulitzer-prize winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, will be making a few appropriate remarks.
Wendy Allen, president of the Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania, expressed the Fellowship’s enthusiasm for the participation of so many special guests who truly honor the centennial Dedication Day ceremony of 1963.
New to the event this year participants will ride in a horse-drawn carriage, retracing the route (in reverse) President Abraham Lincoln took to deliver the historic Gettysburg Address. From near the National Cemetery, they will travel north on Baltimore Street and will be dropped off at the Majestic Theater.
The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has hosted ceremonies on Dedication Day since 1938. Over the years, many influential and noteworthy national figures, including Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Marian Anderson, Tom Ridge, John Hope Franklin, Shelby Foote, Carl Sandburg, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Stephan Lang, Sandra Day O’Connor, LeVar Burton, Ken Burns, Stephen Spielberg, and others have appeared at the ceremony to help new generations of Americans remember Lincoln’s words and to rededicate ourselves to the ideals at the core of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
This year, the Fellowship will partner once again with Gettysburg College, Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site, and the Gettysburg Foundation. The program also features a U.S. Naturalization and Citizenship ceremony, which will allow us the special opportunity to celebrate together, as Americans, while we welcome a new group of citizens.
Parking for the event can be found in Race Horse Alley Parking Garage immediately behind the theater, and limited street parking at parking meters on surrounding streets. Please be prepared to wait outdoors prior to entrance to the theater. For more information, visit www.lincolnfellowship.org.