It's Corn Maze Time!
The fact that I've had my windows open nearly all day the past two days means one thing: it's almost corn maze time! (Technically I guess it means a bunch of things, but go with me here.)
I visited the Kelley Farms Corn Maze in Lexington for the first time last year and shared my experience here. I joked that I wanted to go in order to test out my new riding boots, but really, I wanted to say I walked among corn shaped like Coach Calipari's head.
Not only can you get lost in the corn maze (is it just me or does the 2012 design look a little harder? What if I get lost in the arm pit?) but you can play corn hole, pick pumpkins, have a funnel cake, hot cocoa, feed goats, and take a hayride. If that doesn't personify fall in Kentucky, I'm not sure what else does (except the Keeneland fall meet). The maze is fun for families, couples, or friends. Just make sure that if you get easily frustrated when lost like I do, that you have a companion that can calm you down so you can soothe your ragged emotions with a funnel cake.
Opens September 21. For days, times, and weather updates, visit them on Facebook or on their website for the most recent updates.
I visited the Kelley Farms Corn Maze in Lexington for the first time last year and shared my experience here. I joked that I wanted to go in order to test out my new riding boots, but really, I wanted to say I walked among corn shaped like Coach Calipari's head.
Not only can you get lost in the corn maze (is it just me or does the 2012 design look a little harder? What if I get lost in the arm pit?) but you can play corn hole, pick pumpkins, have a funnel cake, hot cocoa, feed goats, and take a hayride. If that doesn't personify fall in Kentucky, I'm not sure what else does (except the Keeneland fall meet). The maze is fun for families, couples, or friends. Just make sure that if you get easily frustrated when lost like I do, that you have a companion that can calm you down so you can soothe your ragged emotions with a funnel cake.
Opens September 21. For days, times, and weather updates, visit them on Facebook or on their website for the most recent updates.
Barbecue on the River
Fall means festivals. School festivals. Church festivals. Festivals celebrating old wars. Festivals celebrating shrimp.
Paducah is no different. Fall brings street carnivals and fairs of one kind or another but the biggest one of all is Barbecue on the River. We already know Western Kentucky knows barbecue. Seventeen years ago, the organizers decided to capitalize on that passion and create Western Kentucky's answer to Memphis in May while raising lots and lots of money for charity.
Every booth is hosted by a charity around Paducah who then brings in the barbecue experts to smoke up the meet and hopefully win a trophy in the competition. All the festival goers benefit from the competition as we feed our faces with the best in smoked pork and chicken. The charity's benefit by keeping the proceeds to benefit their organization!
Over the course of three days, more than 30,000 people flood (no pun intended) the riverfront to take in the live music and food as well as the "Old Market Days."
Barbecue on the River didn't started until I was in high school. So, while it is a highlight of my year now, I don't have any happy memories of gobbling down barbecue at the festival as a child. In a way, I feel like that is a testament to the event that it has grown so quickly to become an essential outing as the seasons begin to change. I look forward to Barbecue on the River every year because it reminds me of all the ways Paducah grew and changed in the ten years I was gone and of all the new memories I have to create with my own children in the falls to come.
~ Sarah Stewart Holland
HerKentucky Charity Event: Lexington Trivia Bowl
Once per month, we feature a non-profit or event benefitting a non-profit that serves Kentuckians. Today we spotlight the Lexington Trivia Bowl which benefits the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute for Parkinson's Disease Research at the University of Kentucky and the Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana.
I have participated in lots of fundraisers over the years for causes that I support. None have come close to being as fun, or as personally meaningful as the Lexington Trivia Bowl. My mom was diagnosed with young onset Parkinson's disease when she was in her early 40's, and passed away at the age of 50 from complications caused by the disease. She had an atypical progression of the disease, and the awesome work being done locally at UK's Kentucky Neuroscience Institute (KNI) is something I can't promote enough.
This year, the trivia bowl also benefits the Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana, which is something I really wish I knew about when I was trying to decipher what was really going on with my mom as the disease progressed.
About Parkinson's disease:
How it works: You can have a team of up to 6 people. For $10 a person, you get a great brain workout in a fun atmosphere, and your team could win $500 plus the coveted Horseshoe Cup Trophy.
When: September 19, 2012 at 7:30pm
Where: The Cellar Bar & Grille, Lexington
Visit this link to register, or if you'd rather do it the day of, just come a few minutes early!
This year, the trivia bowl also benefits the Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana, which is something I really wish I knew about when I was trying to decipher what was really going on with my mom as the disease progressed.
About Parkinson's disease:
Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that affects movement. It develops gradually, often starting with a barely noticeable tremor in just one hand. But while tremor may be the most well-known sign of Parkinson’s disease, the disorder also commonly causes a slowing or freezing of movement. Friends and family may notice that your face shows little or no expression and your arms don’t swing when you walk. Speech often becomes soft and mumbling. Parkinson’s symptoms tend to worsen as the disease progresses. While there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, many different types of medicines can treat its symptoms. In some cases, your doctor may suggest surgery.I got the wild idea to do a half marathon and raise money to go towards KNI. I will completely admit that going to and supporting the Lexington Trivia Bowl is a much more fun way to raise money!
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| me and my mom |
When: September 19, 2012 at 7:30pm
Where: The Cellar Bar & Grille, Lexington
Visit this link to register, or if you'd rather do it the day of, just come a few minutes early!
Kentucky Find: Maya Brenner Designs
Last year I started seeing these "state" necklaces everywhere. I travel a lot in Mississippi and noticed some girls wearing Mississippi shaped necklaces and thought, "wow, what a cute idea". I soon found out that these necklaces are by a designer by the name of Maya Brenner.
You can choose any state, but the Kentucky shape is available in plain gold or silver, or you can choose to get a diamond anywhere along the border!
How fun are these necklaces? I think they'd make a perfect gift for the Kentucky lady in your life. I know that this Kentucky necklace will definitely be on my next gift list!
The Labor Day Rule
Every year, they almost get me.
Fashion blogs and women's magazines try to convince me. They create dualities like "modern vs. old-fashioned" or "fresh and new vs. stifling and fussy." And, they almost suck me in.
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| via Neiman Marcus. |
White jeans are, effectively, jeans, I tell myself. It was the hottest July on record and a miserably muggy August. Most days, I couldn't have worn capris, let alone long pants. Maybe September and October would be a good time to wear lighter, more flattering jeans. Maybe even ... white ones.
It all seems so logical and harmless. And then, I realize what I've just talked myself into. And I hear my mother's voice, giving me strict instructions about linen, seersucker, and whites. And I shudder to think of the horrible faux pas to which I've tacitly agreed.
I guess I'm an-old fashioned girl when it comes to hard-and-fast rules. Maybe I'm willing to accept the labels "fussy" and "old-fashioned." Maybe I'm okay with being traditional and Southern, magazines be damned. Or, maybe, like Megan, I'm just sick of wearing summer clothes.
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| Things I wore this summer. |
Summer 2012 included some absolutely amazing moments. My cousin got married. I got back into running, and entered my favorite 5K for the first time in years. HerKentucky started to reach a wider audience -- we were featured on a Lexington news show, and we learned that a whole lot of y'all wanted a little bourbon in your popsicles. It was really a fantastic three months.
But, it's time for this awesome summer to draw to a close. Sometime in the next week or so, I'll put away my sandals and sundresses. The Lilly Pulitzer prints and seersucker skirts will quietly sit on the shelf until next year. My unworn white jeans will give way to seasonally appropriate, on-trend jeans in vibrant colors and eye-catching patterns. I just couldn't live with myself any other way.
State Traditions Giveaway
To help us out, the awesome folks at State Traditions are giving away a prize pack -- a koozie, stickers, and the Kentucky Gameday Hat of your choice-- to one lucky HerKentucky winner.
To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below, and leave a comment letting us know whether you'll be wearing Cardinal Red or Wildcat Blue today. If you're covering all your bases, like Governor Brown famously did in the Eighties, we want to hear about that, too!
Giveaway ends at midnight Monday September 3. Winner will be contacted on Tuesday the 4th.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
