CarbonRail: Celebrating Carbondale's Role in American History
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To honor and celebrate the first train's arrival into the City of Carbondale, on July 4, 1854, as well as to commemorate America’s 250th, the Historic Preservation Commission of Carbondale, along with the City of Carbondale and The Varsity Center, are hosting a special event on June 27, 2026 - “CarbonRail: Celebrating Carbondale’s Role in American History.”
Programming for “CarbonRail” will begin at the SIMMS (Southern Illinois Multimodal Station) with a proclamation from the City and a brief musical performance from renowned cellist Bill Cernota (Lyric Opera of Chicago, SI Music Fest). Attendees are encouraged to come mingle and view the main lobby of the SIMMS at 3:00 PM, with the proclamation and music beginning at 3:30 PM.
Immediately following, attendees are invited to make their way over to the historic Varsity Center for an evening of classic silent train films, live music, an educational panel discussion and entertaining demonstration on the history of Contra/Barn Dances, and the main feature - the debut of a new play “Full Steam Ahead”, that shares the story of the first train arriving in Carbondale on July 4, 1854.
Featured Films:
The following three films will be screened through the entirety of the evenings’ programming at The Varsity: The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (August and Louis Lumière, 1896), The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903), The General (Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman, 1926).
Admission for these films will be a nickel per viewer, a tongue-in-cheek admission fee, giving a nod to the nickelodeon theaters these would have been originally screened in. The three featured films will run back-to-back in two viewing blocks from 4:00-5:30, and again from 5:30-7:00. Guests are free to come and go as they please during these screenings.
Live Entertainment- Music, Dance, and new play “Full Steam Ahead”:
Kicking off live entertainment at The Varsity will be local musician Max Senteney, playing a clawhammer banjo set from 4:00-4:30 PM.
Next will be the world premiere of the new play, “Full Steam Ahead”. Written by Ramsey Uhter and directed by Jim Phillips, this play will bring to life the celebration of the first train coming into Carbondale on July 4, 1854. There will be three performances at 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM, and 6:30 PM.
The Southern Illinois Community Contra Dance group will lead a panel discussion on the history of barn dances from 5:00-5:30 PM followed by a demonstration of barn dance from 6:00-6:30, featuring live music once more from Max Senteney. Stop by First Christian Church that very Saturday, June 27, from 1-3:00 PM to see the “Migraciones Mobile Museum” and hear Paul Collins calling traditional barn dances- an event made available from a grant with Healing Illinois.
Cont. Programming for the 86th Anniversary of The Varsity:
Not only is this a celebration of 172 years since the first trains arrival into Carbondale, IL & 250 years since the Independence of the United States of America, but we will also be celebrating The Varsity’s 86th birthday! The Varsity had its very first film screening on June 27, 1940, with a viewing of “Our Town”. The Varsity will continue to celebrate later into the evening on June 27, 2026, with a special comedy production, Tom Kremmer’s Stand Up Mic Fight Comedy Competition Show.
Full schedule of programming is as follows:
3-4:00 PM: Live Music & Proclamation at the SIMMS (Proclamation at 3:30)
4-4:30 PM: Clawhammer Banjo set from Max Senteney
4:30-5:00 PM: First performance of “Full Steam Ahead”
5-5:30 PM: Panel Discussion with Southern Illinois Community Contra Dance
5:30-6:00 PM: Second performance of “Full Steam Ahead”
6-6:30 PM: Demonstration with Southern Illinois Community Contra Dance
6:30-7:00 PM: Final performance of “Full Steam Ahead”
7:00 PM: Tom Kremmer’s Stand Up Mic Fight Comedy Competition Show
Featured Films Screening Times (all three films screened back-to-back during these times):
4:00-5:30 PM – Block 1
5:30- 7:00 PM- Block 2
Programming for “CarbonRail” will begin at the SIMMS (Southern Illinois Multimodal Station) with a proclamation from the City and a brief musical performance from renowned cellist Bill Cernota (Lyric Opera of Chicago, SI Music Fest). Attendees are encouraged to come mingle and view the main lobby of the SIMMS at 3:00 PM, with the proclamation and music beginning at 3:30 PM.
Immediately following, attendees are invited to make their way over to the historic Varsity Center for an evening of classic silent train films, live music, an educational panel discussion and entertaining demonstration on the history of Contra/Barn Dances, and the main feature - the debut of a new play “Full Steam Ahead”, that shares the story of the first train arriving in Carbondale on July 4, 1854.
Featured Films:
The following three films will be screened through the entirety of the evenings’ programming at The Varsity: The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (August and Louis Lumière, 1896), The Great Train Robbery (Edwin S. Porter, 1903), The General (Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman, 1926).
Admission for these films will be a nickel per viewer, a tongue-in-cheek admission fee, giving a nod to the nickelodeon theaters these would have been originally screened in. The three featured films will run back-to-back in two viewing blocks from 4:00-5:30, and again from 5:30-7:00. Guests are free to come and go as they please during these screenings.
Live Entertainment- Music, Dance, and new play “Full Steam Ahead”:
Kicking off live entertainment at The Varsity will be local musician Max Senteney, playing a clawhammer banjo set from 4:00-4:30 PM.
Next will be the world premiere of the new play, “Full Steam Ahead”. Written by Ramsey Uhter and directed by Jim Phillips, this play will bring to life the celebration of the first train coming into Carbondale on July 4, 1854. There will be three performances at 4:30 PM, 5:30 PM, and 6:30 PM.
The Southern Illinois Community Contra Dance group will lead a panel discussion on the history of barn dances from 5:00-5:30 PM followed by a demonstration of barn dance from 6:00-6:30, featuring live music once more from Max Senteney. Stop by First Christian Church that very Saturday, June 27, from 1-3:00 PM to see the “Migraciones Mobile Museum” and hear Paul Collins calling traditional barn dances- an event made available from a grant with Healing Illinois.
Cont. Programming for the 86th Anniversary of The Varsity:
Not only is this a celebration of 172 years since the first trains arrival into Carbondale, IL & 250 years since the Independence of the United States of America, but we will also be celebrating The Varsity’s 86th birthday! The Varsity had its very first film screening on June 27, 1940, with a viewing of “Our Town”. The Varsity will continue to celebrate later into the evening on June 27, 2026, with a special comedy production, Tom Kremmer’s Stand Up Mic Fight Comedy Competition Show.
Full schedule of programming is as follows:
3-4:00 PM: Live Music & Proclamation at the SIMMS (Proclamation at 3:30)
4-4:30 PM: Clawhammer Banjo set from Max Senteney
4:30-5:00 PM: First performance of “Full Steam Ahead”
5-5:30 PM: Panel Discussion with Southern Illinois Community Contra Dance
5:30-6:00 PM: Second performance of “Full Steam Ahead”
6-6:30 PM: Demonstration with Southern Illinois Community Contra Dance
6:30-7:00 PM: Final performance of “Full Steam Ahead”
7:00 PM: Tom Kremmer’s Stand Up Mic Fight Comedy Competition Show
Featured Films Screening Times (all three films screened back-to-back during these times):
4:00-5:30 PM – Block 1
5:30- 7:00 PM- Block 2
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Where is it happening?
200 S. Illinois Ave. , Carbondale, IL, United States, Illinois 62901
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherCity of Carbondale Government
