Kentucky is known as one of the top states for hand crafted arts, and
it’s also home to many outstanding crafts fairs and festivals. Held
annually in locations as diverse as Whitesburg, Midway and Louisville,
these fairs feature displays by top artisans, demonstrations of crafts
techniques, music, and other celebrations of Kentucky culture.
Among the Bluegrass state’s leading arts and crafts fairs are; St. James
Court Art Show in Louisville; Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival in Midway;
Seedtime on the Cumberland in Whitesburg, the Bardstown Arts, Crafts
& Antique Fair in Bardstown and the Shaker Village Crafts Fair near
Harrodsburg. There are dozens of smaller festivals throughout the state
featuring artisans’ work.
St. James Court Art Show
is the granddaddy of Kentucky arts and crafts festivals, with its 56th
edition scheduled for Oct. 5-7 in Louisville. With nearly 750 exhibitors
and 300,000 attendees, this festival in the charming Old Louisville
neighborhood has achieved international renown. This neighborhood is
the site of the largest collection of Victorian homes in the country.
Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival,
scheduled for June 23-24 at Equus Run Vineyard in Midway, last year
featured some 130 exhibitors from 15 states, with about half from
Kentucky. Music, children’s art projects and a demonstration of
traditional printing techniques are standing attractions at this popular
festival set amid the beauty of central Kentucky’s grape-growing
country.
Berea Crafts Festival,
with its 31st installment on tap July 13-15 at the Indian Fort Theatre
in Berea College Forest, features great crafts, educational
demonstrations, performing artists and favorite foods.
Seedtime on the Cumberland,
Whitesburg’s annual festival of eastern Kentucky crafts and culture,
will take place June 7-9. Organized by the Appalshop arts cooperative,
which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, this festival promotes
traditional and modern Appalachian cultural expression from crafts to
music and films.
The 32nd annual
Bardstown Arts, Crafts & Antique Fair,
will be held Oct. 13-14 in historic downtown Bardstown. The festival
features 200 artists and craftsmen, delicious southern foods and music.
Historic and scenic
Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill,
near Harrodsburg, will host their annual craft fair August 4-5. This
juried event attracts the elite among regional artisans as well as
up-and-coming-new artists.
For information about smaller festivals, visit
kentuckyfairsandfestivals.com/eventSearch.php.
You can also find a wealth of information about artisans, studios,
galleries and other crafts-related themes at the Kentucky Department of
Travel and Tourism’s
web site section on arts and crafts.