I’ve had the privilege of living around the country, from Louisville to DC to Utah to Olympia, WA,...
“We are the TIGERS!” Us Bardstown Cheerleaders would exclaim with our arms extended under the Friday night lights at Garnis Martin Field. With a crisp fall evening in the night air, we hurried to the locker room to change from our gameday uniforms to our "cute going-out” attire. The annual Bardstown Bourbon Festival was happening just two blocks south and we couldn't miss the celebration.
Bardstown’s Bourbon Festival is one I remember well. As a 2007 graduate from BHS, my friends and I would walk to the corner of 4th and Flaget to the yellow Victorian house—where the kids hung out—the adults were on the Spalding Hall side of 4th Street. And if you were one of the lucky ones to snag a FiveStar styrofoam cup… man, you were set to have a good night. IYKYK.
While the Bourbon Festival looks different these days, now marketed as an exclusive and ticketed event, just down the road you will find a new (and free) festival where locals and tourists alike join to celebrate the backbone of the bourbon industry. The festival? CHEERS TO BARDSTOWN!
Saturday, September 14, 2024, is the 4th Annual Cheers to Bardstown Festival hosted by Main Street Bardstown and Lem's Cafe is an approved vendor! From 1:00 PM-12:00 AM, there will be live music, specialty drinks, food trucks, craft vendors, and community-filled fun!
Whether you are a bourbon connoisseur, looking for a fun family outing, or looking to re-live your yellow Victorian house days, there will be something there for you!
Be sure to stop by Lem's Cafe. We'd love to see you!
