The Old King Coal Festival committee continue their efforts to raise funds for the proposed $40,000 Orient 2 monument with a special evening of fun and entertainment featuring popular entertainer Jonathan Len on Friday, February 14 beginning at 8 p.m. at the Moose Lodge, 327 East Main in downtown West Frankfort.

The new 6 foot 6 inches tall solid black granite monument will be placed in Coal Miners Memorial Park in downtown West Frankfort. The monument will honor the 119 miners who lost their life in the December 21, 1951 Orient 2 coal mine explosion near West Frankfort with their names and a picture of the mine etched in the granite.

In addition to a great evening of entertainment by Len, raffle drawings of over $600 in prizes along with a 50/50 drawing will be held. The Moose Lodge will be holding a pasta dinner between 6 and 7:30 pm before the show. Tickets for the pasta dinner are $8 at the door and tickets for the Jonathan Len show are $10 either at the door or by contacting Old King Coal Festival committee member, Sharon Ossig at 923-0797.

Fund raising efforts for the monument began in the spring of 2019. The committee would like to see the monument in place by the 2020 Old King Coal Festival in May. Donations can be made to Old King Coal Festival and mailed to Old King Coal Festival, P.O. Box 242, West Frankfort, IL 62896.

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