Presidential press conference with Abraham Lincoln February 13, 2008

CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE KICKS OFF YEAR-LONG LINCOLN CELE- BRATION BY HOLDING A FREE "PRESIDENTIAL PRESS CONFERENCE WITH ABRAHAM LINCOLN" ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2008 AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 13, 2008
WHERE: Cramer Hall, Room 494. 1721 SW Broadway
TIME: 7:00 social half hour, 7:30pm Lincoln speech, 8:05pm- Lincoln Press Conference
COST: Free and open to the public

To launch the year-long celebration of the Bicentennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War Round Table at PSU will hold a "Presidential Press Conference with Abraham Lincoln" with Lincoln re-enactor and playwright Stephen Holgate in the Dodds Seminar Room in the History Department on the 4th floor of PSU's Cramer Hall.

The press conference and celebration will mark the 199th anniversary of Lincoln's birthday and the 6th anniversary of the founding of the Civil War Round Table at PSU by Professors Gordon B. Dodds and G. Thomas Edwards back in 2002. Cake and refreshments will be served during the social reception preceding the regular program.

The actor portraying "Honest Abe" is a Portland native who is also a member of the Oregon Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. His portion of the program will start with a stirring delivery of excerpts of famous writings and speeches by our 16th President. Then there will be a question and answer period where "Lincoln" will take questions from the audience.

This role comes naturally to Holgate, who started to research and write a play on Lincoln in 1998, while he served in various countries as a member of the diplomatic corps. His 2-act play "A. Lincoln" debuted in 1999 in Monterrey, Mexico and was subsequently taken on the road and performed in Bahrain and Sri Lanka; making its American debut in 2003 at the now defunct Jack Oakes Theater on NE Sandy Blvd.

The Civil War Round Table is an affiliate of the non-profit Friends of History at PSU. Its meetings are free and open to the public and are held on the Second Wednesday of each month during the regular school year. For more information please call the History Department at (503)725-3917.

Official Website: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/eve/549765780.html