Local Sports Calendar

More than 100 musicians will gather for two days of songs and fun when the 36th annual Traditional Music and Bluegrass Festival  opens Sept. 9 at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site

The free event, which is open to anyone with a love for music, begins Friday evening and wraps up Saturday, Sept. 10.

Several bands will be featured in the festival’s outdoor theater, and other players will gather for impromptu jam sessions scattered across the historic site. Performers from all over the Midwest will entertain on dulcimers, concertinas, autoharps, fiddles, banjos and more.

In keeping with New Salem’s mission of interpreting the past, no electrified instruments or equipment will be permitted. The log buildings of the village that Abraham Lincoln called home for six years will be open and staffed by costumed interpreters demonstrating lifestyles of the 1830s.

The New Salem Museum Shop and the New Salem Lincoln League Souvenir and Book Store will both be open during the event. OMG Bistro will serve sandwiches, hot dogs, ice cream and cold drinks.  

Concerts will be held 6:30-10 p.m. both Friday and Saturday. Informal music in the village will take place 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday.

The event is sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the New Salem Lincoln League.

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site is located 20 miles northwest of Springfield and two miles south of Petersburg on Route 97.  A donation of $4 for adults, $2 for children or $10 per family is suggested.

The site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. IHPA protects the state’s historic resources, which contribute to education, culture and the economy. IHPA sites include ancient burial mounds, forts and buildings erected by settlers, and homes connected to famous Illinoisans.