With Abraham Lincoln’s birthday just around the corner, Holiday World’s Koch family has issued a $25,000 challenge gift to the Lincoln Amphitheater.Lincoln lived in, what is now, Lincoln City, Indiana, from the age of seven until the age of twenty-one. Lincoln City is located just four miles west of Santa Claus, Indiana, where Holiday World is located.
“My oldest son was such an admirer of our sixteenth president,” says Holiday World matriarch Pat Koch. “Part of Will’s legacy is his dedication to seeing the story of Abraham Lincoln’s Indiana roots shared in Lincoln Amphitheater.”
The Koch family and Holiday World are encouraging others to donate to the theater in memory of their late president, Will Koch. Koch passed away at the early age of 48.
Admirers and friends around the globe who sent condolences upon his passing remembered him for his sense of humor, integrity, and his vision. For more than twenty years, Koch was president of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. He also served as the president of the Lincoln Boyhood Drama Association.
“We hope our gift will inspire others to make a donation as well,” says Pat Koch. “Our goal is to see today’s contribution double, helping to jump-start the amphitheatre’s upcoming fund drive so that they may continue telling the story of Lincoln’s Indiana years for many seasons to come.”
Donations can be made through the Lincoln Amiptheatre’s official website by clicking here.
Lincoln: Upon the Altar of Freedom play will be “re-tooled” and is expected to return as a more family-friendly musical in 2012. Over the summer, the amphitheater will host a variety of outdoor films and theatrical productions, including The Wizard of Oz, as a collaborative production with the Evansville Civic Theatre.
