Bardstown Colonial Days: Play in Another Century
With a Market Fair, military drills, artisans and entertainers and visits from Daniel Boone and other historical figures, the brand-new Bardstown Colonial Days festival will allow you to “play in another century” on April 2 and 3, 2011, one organizer promises.
Bardstown Colonial Days is a fitting celebration for the city, established in 1788. Kentucky’s second-oldest city, it has more than 200 buildings from the late-1700s and early 1800s on the National Register of Historic Places.
"I couldn't believe something like this had never been held in Bardstown before," says festival organizer Dennis Medley of Louisville.
Living history has long been a hobby for Medley. But after participating in several Civil War and World War II military re-enactments, he said, “I wanted to do something other than playing soldier. The 18th century does just that – it’s so much more broad-based.”
Bardstown Colonial Days will have a military component, with an 18th century military encampment, drills and displays and a “rifle frolic,” a sport-shooting competition, at Historic Wickland Estate. But there will also be a ladies’ tea party from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Wickland.
The nearby Old Bardstown Village, meanwhile, will be the site of an 18th century Market Fair from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Artisans including silversmiths, knife makers, blacksmiths, seamstresses and woodworkers will demonstrate their crafts and sell their wares.
Street performers – jugglers, a magician, maybe even a sword-swallower – will entertain, and you might just encounter Daniel Boone or George Rogers Clark.
“When I shifted my focus to the Colonial period, I was amazed by the drama and the personalities,” Medley said. “It’s a phenomenal story.” And you can be a part of it at Bardstown Colonial Days.
HelloLouisville tip: While you’re in Bardstown, tour Federal Hill, the Georgian-style mansion that inspired Stephen Foster to write “My Old Kentucky Home,” now the official state song, after he visited cousins there in 1852. For more information, visit the website.
Posted on Feb 14, 2011 by Carla Carlton
