Ingersoll Oratory Contest Oct. 4, 2009 in Washington, DC

At noon on Sunday, October 4, 2009, in Dupont Circle, Washington, DC, up to 20 contestants will each deliver a brief excerpt from Robert G. Ingersoll’s works.  A panel of judges will evaluate and award prizes** for the best performance.   Sign up to be a contestant, or just come to hear the outrageous blasphemy and rhetoric of this undeservedly forgotten American orator.  Bring your blanket or chair and applaud your favorite selection or speaker. No chairs will be provided.

 This free public event is sponsored by:

Washington Area Secular Humanists (www.WASH.org) 

Center for Inquiry DC (www.centerforinquiry.net/dc)

American Humanist Association (www.americanhumanist.org)

 To register as a contestant* and receive a copy of the rules and judging criteria, please provide the following information: Send an e-mail to: Ingersoll@wash.org  or call and leave a message at the WASH phone number: 202-657-6346

• Name:
• Address:
• Phone:
• E-mail:
• Are you a member of WASH?  
• Are you a Friend of the Center at CFI?
• Are you a member of AHA?

 Visit http://ingersollcontest.wordpress.com/announcement/ for more and updated information.

 * Register no later than October 1. But hurry!  The contest is limited to 20 contestants!

 **Prizes:

• First Place:       $150 and a rare original period poster including a color gravure photo of Ingersoll with his grandchildren, a quote from “Love”, and facsimile signature.  c.1890
• Second Place:  $100 and two books: “On the Gods and Other Essays” and “Superstition and Other Essays”
• Third Place:       $75 and an audio CD of selected Ingersoll works professionally read and recorded by a Shakespearean actor.
• Fourth Place:     $50

All contestants will receive a certificate.