Spielberg

Filmmaker Steven Spielberg is scheduled to speak at the 149th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address on Monday, Nov. 19.

The top-grossing director of all time will be the keynote speaker at the Dedication Day events at the Soldiers National Cemetery in Gettysburg.

A wreath-laying ceremony at the Soldiers National Monument at 9:30 a.m. will precede the Dedication Day ceremony at 10 a.m. where Spielberg will deliver the address.

James Getty, who portrays Lincoln, will recite the Gettysburg Address and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will hold a naturalization ceremony for 16 citizenship candidates.

The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited so everyone is encouraged to take along lawn chairs.

Spielberg's visit coincides with the release of his film Lincoln, which focuses on Lincoln's time in office.

The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook and Tommy Lee Jones. It is based in part on the Doris Kearns Goodwin biography entitled Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.

Spielberg received his first two Oscars for best director and best picture for "Schindler's List," and his third Oscar for best director for "Saving Private Ryan." He is a three-time Academy Award winner.

The Lincoln Fellowship of Pennsylvania has been commemorating November 19 in Gettysburg since 1938. It was officially declared as Dedication Day by a joint resolution from the Senate and the House of Representatives in 1946.

Past speakers include Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Tom Ridge, John Hope Franklin, Shelby Foote, Adlai Stevenson, Carl Sandburg, Colin Powell, Jack Kemp, Stephan Lang, Richard Dreyfuss, Sam Donaldson, Sandra Day O'Connor, Ken Burns, and Tom Brokaw.

For more information, or to join the Fellowship, visit www.lincolnfellowship.org or follow us on Facebook.