Arts & Crafts Shopping In Kentucky

Beginning with the earliest days of English settlement, handicrafts have been a beloved art form in the Bluegrass State. While many Kentucky arts and crafts are rooted in tradition, others are on the cutting edge of contemporary art. You can find it all on your visit, and even bring home a piece or two as a gift or souvenir.

Berea, known as the Folk Arts & Crafts Capital of Kentucky, is home to a thriving community of artisans with shops and studios scattered throughout town. The city’s craft heritage is tied to historic Berea College, the first integrated and coeducational college in the South. Paducah, home to the National Quilt Museum and Lower Town Arts District, has been designated a UNESCO Creative City, one of only nine in the United States. Inspiration awaits visitors to this city’s many vibrant galleries and workshops.

The Kentucky Artisan Center, Appalachian Artisan Center and KMAC Museum all display and sell works of hundreds of Kentucky artisans. Kentucky Arts Council maintains directories of Kentucky Crafted Artists and Retailers that have met the Council’s criteria of artistic excellence and professionalism as judged by independent panels of arts professionals. Plus, handcrafted wares are the centerpiece of many festivals throughout the Commonwealth, large and small.

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Bluegrass Horses Bourbon & Boone Road Trips

Kentucky Bourbon Experiences

If you want to taste Kentucky bourbon and see how distilling is done, there are no wrong turns with Kentucky Bourbon Experiences.

 

 

Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Craft Tour

With stops at 19 superb small-batch distilleries, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Craft Tour is proof that it pays to venture off the beaten path.

 

 

Interstate 64

Discover all that is quintessentially Kentucky on this east-west roadway – from Louisville’s buzzing bourbon and culinary scene to the proud musical and cultural heritage of the Appalachian Mountains.

 

 

Interstate 75

Highlights along this highway include Kentucky Horse Park, the original KFC and Cumberland Falls – but there are many more sights, sounds and local bites to savor along the way.

 

 

Country Ham Trail

A savory Southern specialty for breakfast, lunch or dinner, country ham is one of Kentucky’s favorite foods.

 

 

Fried Chicken Trail

From the original KFC to soul food joints to fine dining, sink your teeth into some of the best fried chicken in America.


Brewgrass Trail

Tap into Kentucky’s ever-growing craft beer scene in and around Lexington.


Bon Appetit Appalachia Kentucky

Get a taste of Kentucky mountain culture and traditions, from farm to table.

 

 

Kentucky Lincoln Heritage Trail

Abraham Lincoln lived in Kentucky for the first seven years of his life, and that period left a lifelong impression on the future leader.

 

Boone Trace

Daniel Boone was an explorer and hero of American pioneer history, the preeminent symbol for America's westward movement across its first frontier.


 

Bluegrass Parkway

The Bluegrass Parkway winds through the knobs of central Kentucky where Abraham Lincoln was born, and travels onward through Bourbon Country amid rolling hills of the bluegrass that give the roadway its name.

 

Boone Parkway

This parkway travels through the heart of Kentucky’s Daniel Boone Country, where adventure waits around every bend.


Group of men dressed in Civil War era clothing. One man is standing to the right of the group holding an American Flag.

 

Civil War Heritage Trail

Kentucky's Civil War Heritage Trail was created to observe the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, and includes 36 historic and interpretive sites around the state – from battlefields and cemeteries to the birthplaces of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis.

 

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