How much would you risk to gain freedom? If you were enslaved, would you run away, hoping that the rumors were true about the Underground Railroad escape route?
Or, if you were living a free life, would you help others in their quest for that dream?
Find out how you would react at Conner Prairie Interactive History Park, Indiana’s only Smithsonian Affiliate, by participating in the Follow the North Star program.
The program runs Thursday through Saturday and Nov. 15-17. This is the 15th anniversary of the program, which has drawn nearly 65,000 people since it started in 1998. Dates are filling up quickly; reservations should be made soon.
The Follow the North Star program was developed from years of extensive research. It’s an interactive glimpse into the past that will affect visitors in ways that reading a book or watching a movie cannot.
The program offers a powerful diversity training tool and unique educational experience for groups, individuals and schools. The program provides an immersive, real-life encounter of what it was like to be enslaved and then a fugitive in one of Indiana’s most compelling periods of history.
“Follow the North Star” is not for everyone. Participants must be 12 years and older due to the nature of the experience. Participants will be treated as if they were enslaved; they will be spoken to harshly and won’t be allowed to make eye contact with others.
Participants should dress to walk approximately a mile on rough, sometimes dirty terrain, at night and in cold weather. The event will take place even if it rains or snows.
Follow the North Star runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Start times are staggered every 15 minutes throughout the evening and programs last 90 minutes. Tickets are $17 for Conner Prairie members and $20 for non-members.
Reservations are required and can be made by calling 317-776-6006 or by sending an email to info@connerprairie.org.
For more information visit connerprairie.org.
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Related Photos
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Become part of the story of the Underground Railroad at Conner Prairie’s Follow the North Star program. (Submitted/Conner Prairie)
Discussion
Seek freedom on Underground Railroad at ‘Follow the North Star’
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