The Association of Lincoln Presenters
2025 ALP Conference
April 24-27, 2025
Kalamazoo, MI

2025 ALP Conference Schedule

Conference Sponsor: the Kalamazoo Lincoln Institute (KLI)

Thursday, April 24, 2025

*Note on attire: Period attire is optional on Thursday but encouraged for the evening session.

Beginning at 2:00 pm: Conference check-in (Home2 Suites lobby)

Beginning at 2:00 pm: Drop off Silent Auction items (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”) (but not during the ALP Board Meeting which will begin at 3:00 pm and should end no later than 5:00 pm)

Beginning at 3:00 pm: Hotel check-in (Home2 Suites lobby)

3:00 – 5:00 pm: ALP Board Meeting (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

5:00 – 7:00 pm: Dinner on own (attendees will be provided with a list of local restaurants) / free time / Silent Auction open (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

7:00 – 9:00 pm: General Session (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”; public invited)

• 7:00 – 7:15 pm: Welcome
• 7:15 – 8:00 pm: Trivia with the Lincolns (with mixed teams of “locals” and “Lincolns”!)
• 8:00 – 8:15 pm: break
• 8:15 – 9:00 pm: Lecture: “Lincoln’s Winning Smile” by Cameron Brown (President of KLI)

9:00 – 10:00 pm: free time / Silent Auction open (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

[Note: The Home2 Suites and the Hilton Garden Inn are connected and together occupy the whole block of Eleanor St. between N. Church St. on the west and N. Rose St. on the east; the Home2 Suites faces N. Church St. while the Hilton Garden Inn faces N. Rose St. Our hotel rooms are in the Home2 Suites, while our conference room (“Rose 3”) is in the Hilton Garden Inn (on the third floor). The pool and fitness center are shared between them. Our breakfasts will be on the Home2 Suites side, while our dinners will be on the Hilton Garden Inn side.]

 

Friday, April 25, 2025

*Note on attire: Modern (non-period) attire is recommended for Friday morning, especially for the ladies, as the two morning venues are limited in space. Attendees may wish to change into period attire for the afternoon session at the museum and/or for the ball in the evening.

7:00 – 8:30 am: Breakfast (Home2 Suites breakfast room)

8:30 – 9:40 am: General Session (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”; conference attendees and invited guests only): Lecture/Panel on “Lincoln and Native Americans” by Dr. Scott Stabler, Professor of History and Social Studies at Grand Valley State University (Allendale, MI) and Matthew Zwart, Associate Attorney, Lennon Miller PLC (Kalamazoo)

9:40 – 12:00 noon: road trip to Schoolcraft, MI to visit Dr. Nathan Thomas home (Underground Railroad Museum)

Beginning at 12:00 noon: drop off items for Consignment Sale (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

12:00 noon – 1:30 pm: lunch (on own at local restaurants) / free time / Silent Auction & Consignment Sale open (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

1:30 pm – 5:00 pm: at Kalamazoo Valley Museum

• 1:30 – 2:45 pm: tour of museum (45 minute tour + 30 minutes on own)
• 2:45 – 3:45 pm: Lecture on “Why Did Lincoln Come to Kalamazoo? And Who Had Tea with Lincoln?” by Tom George (KLI Vice President) (museum theatre; public invited)
• 3:45 – 4:00 pm: break
• 4:00 – 5:00 pm (museum theatre; conference attendees only): “Talking Shop: The Fine Points of Being Lincoln (or Any Other Historical Character)”: a moderated discussion (“bull session”) to ask questions, share ideas, etc. about all aspects of historical re-enacting (moderators: John Voehl and Teena Baldrige)

5:00 – 6:00 pm: free time / Silent Auction & Consignment Sale open (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

6:00 pm – 7:00 pm: Dinner (Hilton Garden Inn: The Garden Grille restaurant; reserved for our group)

7:30 – 9:00 pm: Civil War Ball led by dance callers Jim & Loretta McKinney (Hilton Garden Inn: The Garden Grille restaurant; public invited)

9:00 – 10:00 pm: free time / Silent Auction & Consignment Sale open (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

 

Saturday, April 26, 2025

*Note on attire: Period attire is appropriate (and expected) for this day, especially as we will be having group photos taken.

7:00 – 8:30 am: Breakfast (Home2 Suites breakfast room)

9:00 am – 12:20 pm: events at Ladies’ Library Association (LLA) (public invited, but priority given to LLA members in case of limited capacity)

• 9:00 – 9:35 am: Lecture: “The Role of Jackson, MI in the Founding of the Republican Party” by Linda Hass (local historian/author based in Jackson)
• 9:35 – 9:50 am: Introduction of new Lincoln book: “Texting Lincoln: A semi-true tale of an Illinois prairie lawyer’s return to Kalamazoo” by the author Tony Ettwein
• 9:50 – 10:00 am: break
• 10:00 – 10:50 am: Lecture: “The Ladies’ Library Association of Kalamazoo and the Kalamazoo Ladies Soldiers Aid Society and their Sanitary Fair” by Sharon Carlson (local historian/librarian/archivist)
• 10:50 – 11:00 am: break
• 11:00 am – 11:50 am: Lecture: “Kalamazoo County and the Civil War – How One Michigan County Supported, and Didn’t Support, the War Effort” by Gary Gibson (local author)
• 11:50 am – 12:00 noon: break
• 12:00 noon – 12:20 pm: optional tour of LLA building [otherwise: free time]

 

12:30 pm – 5:00 pm: events at Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition (KNAC) and Bronson Park

• 12:30 – 1:00 pm: lunch (boxed lunches provided by local caterer)
• 1:00 – 2:00 pm: Men’s and Women’s Sessions (KNAC) (public invited)
  • Men (in Comedy Crawlspace Theatre): Lecture: “Engineers in the Civil War” / “The Story of the First Michigan Engineers and Mechanics” by Brian Conroy (historical re-enactor)
  • Women (in Training Room): Mary Lincoln Business Meeting; Laura Keyes portrayal of Mary Harlan Lincoln
• 2:15 – 2:45 pm: tour of Bronson Park including group photos in front of Lincoln statue
• 3:00 – 5:00 pm (may end earlier): ALP Business Meeting (KNAC Theatre)

5:00 (perhaps earlier?) – 5:15 pm: walk back to hotel; free time

5:15 – 6:15 pm: Dinner (Hilton Garden Inn: The Garden Grille restaurant; reserved for our group)

6:15 – 7:00 pm: free time / walk or drive to The Epic Center (walk: 0.4 mi; 10-12 minutes); parking $2-$4

7:00 – 9:00 pm: events in Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre in The Epic Center (public invited)

• 7:00 – 7:50 pm: Sojourner Truth portrayal by Madelyn Porter
• 7:50 – 8:00 pm: intermission
• 8:00 – 9:00 pm: “Chronological Lincoln” play featuring 14 ALP members

9:30 pm: theatre closes

10:00 pm: Silent Auction and Consignment Sale end (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”)

 

Sunday, April 27, 2025

*Note on attire: Period attire is optional on Sunday

7:00 – 8:30 am: Breakfast (Home2 Suites breakfast room)

9:00 – 10:00 am: Worship Service (non-denominational) (Hilton Garden Inn conference room “Rose 3”; public invited); speaker: Chaplain Edward Hass

*hotel check-out by 11:00 am

Local Sponsors/Collaborators:

The conference is being sponsored by the Kalamazoo Lincoln Institute (KLI), which has provided a generous contribution to cover many of the conference expenses. The conference is also being supported by the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, the Ladies’ Library Association of Kalamazoo, the Lucinda Hinsdale Stone Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, and Discover Kalamazoo (the Kalamazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau).

Venue Locations (all in Kalamazoo, MI, zip code 49007)

* Home2 Suites / Hilton Garden Inn: 303 N. Rose St. (corner of W. Eleanor St.); tel. 269-382-4000; parking in the garage to the east across N. Rose St. (discounted rate of $10/day for conference attendees)

* Kalamazoo Valley Museum: 230 N. Rose St. (between W. Eleanor St. and W. Water St.); tel. 269-373-7990 [Friday afternoon]

* Ladies’ Library Association: 333 S. Park St. (corner of W. Lovell St.); tel. 269-344-3710; free parking in the lot to the south across W. Lovell St. [Saturday morning]

* Kalamazoo Nonprofit Advocacy Coalition (KNAC) (located inside First Baptist Church): 315 W. Michigan Ave. (between S. Church St. and S. Park St.); tel. 269-216-9022 [Saturday afternoon; we will also visit Bronson Park this afternoon]

* The Epic Center (Judy K. Jolliffe Theatre): 359 S. Kalamazoo Mall (between E. South St. and E. Lovell St.); tel. 269-492-1782; parking in the garage to the east for a modest fee (entrance from South St.) [Saturday evening]