Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum The ALPLM offers venues for wedding ceremonies and wedding receptions, including the three-story atrium in the library. The museum plaza, the building’s magnificent rotunda, makes a spectacular backdrop for receptions, with a replica White House and a log cabin. Couples can even be introduced from the White House. Couples […]
Special Issues
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Wedding caterers
Arena Food Service, Inc. Since 1985, Arena Food Service has provided chef-driven catering services for events of more than 25 guests. Arena catering offers a wide range of menu options and styles to fulfill the needs of your unique event. With a wide range of ancillary services such as linen and china rental, table, chair […]
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The Wedding Issue
More than 40% of engagements in the U.S. occur between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, so this is the time of year many couples are starting to plan their weddings. We talked to area business owners involved in the wedding industry to find out the latest trends. An increasing number of people are looking beyond traditional […]
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Backyard birdwatching
“We need the tonic of wilderness…we can never have enough of nature.” – Henry David Thoreau Recognizing that much of the world was becoming increasingly industrialized, American naturalist and essayist Henry Thoreau was already urging folks to reconnect with nature back in the mid-19th century. If only he could see us now, with screens and […]
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Celebrate Valentine’s Day as a family
In the middle of a cold, dark winter sits a bright spot called Valentine’s Day. As a holiday, I think Valentine’s Day gets some (justified) bad PR for being too commercial, or being too snobbishly exclusive to those experiencing romantic love, but the older I get the more I figure we may as well lean […]
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Third spaces for kids
Third spaces used to be ubiquitous in our cities, for both adults and children. A third space can be described as a place other than home or work (or in the case of children, school) where people to go to connect with others. Often it is intended to mean places that do not charge money […]
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Adults can learn from kids’ books, too
I have found that children’s books are a great way to learn more about history in general or specific history-makers, so much so that children’s books are a large part of what I read for fun. There are a couple of books I read recently that fall into this category that are great options for […]
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Try these podcasts for kids
I don’t know about you, but we have had a bevy of unwelcome germs come through our house so far this winter. Combined with the ultra-cold weather, conditions have been ripe for entirely too much screen time. And while we did exceed our Netflix limit this winter (any port in a storm), one thing that […]
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Family event calendar
FEBRUARY “Journey Into Abstract” Wednesdays-Saturdays, 11am-5pm. Through March 29. This solo exhibit at The Underground Gallery features one of its juried artists and photographer, Gregory Pratt. springfieldart.org. Free. SAA Collective Gallery, 105 N. Fifth St., 217-523-2631. “Layers” Wednesdays-Saturdays, 11am-5pm. Through March 1. The first exhibit of 2025 is a striking collection of 2D and 3D […]
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ALPLM volunteers
In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Volunteer Services Department at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, our staff humbly offers a collective remembrance to memorialize the 191 volunteers who have passed over the last two decades. These dedicated individuals faithfully served our institution and the Springfield community by sharing the life and […]
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MARY AONO YOSHIMURA Feb. 18, 1955 – Aug. 21, 2024
When Mary was 10 years old, she auditioned for a professional production of South Pacific. One other youngster auditioning that afternoon was called to the stage and sang loudly; her voice reaching the back row of seats where we sat. Then Mary was called. With shoulders squared, her shiny black hair streaming down her back, […]
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WILL BURPEE Dec. 2, 1954-Jan. 7, 2024
Will Burpee passed away on Jan. 7, 2024 – just over a month after turning 69. When he relocated to Springfield to attend Sangamon State University, he carried with him a lifelong passion for writing (and also for the New England Patriots). As befitting a person whose middle name was Byron, Will was a keen […]
