Fall and Winter
Kentucky Bourbon Festival
Bardstown
Mid-September
Bardstown honors Kentucky’s favorite liquor for six days during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Distillers from across the state share their brand of bourbon with about 50,000 festival attendees.
More than 30 events fill the weeklong celebration, among them a bourbon barrel relay among many of the Kentucky distilleries. Guests can sip their bourbon while listening to concerts by regional bands.
Mainstrasse Village Oktoberfest
Covington
Mid-September
Experience a taste of Munich’s Oktoberfest in Kentucky at the Mainstrasse Village Oktoberfest. Six blocks of a historically German neighborhood relive their heritage each year with German food, music and beer.
About 125,000 people flock to the beer-loving festival that the Southeast Tourism Society has ranked as one of its “Top 20 Festivals.” The festival’s Main Street Bier Garten provides a traditional way to enjoy Oktoberfest while patrons listen to the music at the nearby Main Street Stage.
World Chicken Festival
London
End of September
For four days around the last weekend in September, London pays tribute to its connection with Colonel Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The Annual World Chicken Festival remembers its fried chicken legacy with fried chicken booths, craft vendors and music.
Contests, such as the annual clucking contest, also keep visitors entertained. The festival features a parade, carnival rides and the world’s largest skillet, which weighs 700 pounds and cooks more than 7,000 pieces of chicken by the end of the festival.
Christmas at the Galt House
Louisville
Mid-November through January 1
Every holiday season, the Galt House Hotel transforms into a winter wonderland with impressive decorations and elaborate luminaries. Groups can wander through the extensive KaLightoscope luminary sets, such as a Victorian-era English village.
Every year, the experience expands: A new set tells the story of “A Christmas Carol.” Other favorite sets are the Snow Fairy Princess and her castle, and the Dancing Bellmen.
