World Country Guide

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Food & Drink
Kentucky is home to the famous ‘Kentucky Fried Chicken’, which consists of chicken fried in a secret original recipe involving a blend of 11 herbs. KFC fast food restaurants can be found throughout the USA. In the Bluegrass Region, many menus feature Country Ham, which is usually cured for a few years to strengthen its flavour. It is traditionally served with crunchy Beaten Biscuits. Spoonbread is a corn-based bread, so moist it has to be spooned out of the dish, and Kentucky Burgoo is a tasty local stew.
Bourbon is the number one drink in Kentucky. Visitors can take a distillery tour at Maker’s Mark Distillery, near Loretto, Labrot & Graham near Versailles, Buffalo Trace Distillery in Frankfort, Austin Nichols Distilling Company and Four Roses Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, Jim Beam’s American Outpost in Clermont, and Heaven Hill in Bardstown. Alcohol can be bought in 30 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, and in 15 cities in the remaining 90 counties.

Theatres & Concerts
The Kentucky Center for the Arts in Louisville offers a diverse mix of entertainment virtually every night of the year. Also in Louisville, the Actors Theater features a Tony Award-winning company which takes part in the successful Humana Festival of New American Plays in the spring.

Nightlife
Country music is very popular in many of the bars and clubs in Kentucky, which is not surprising for a State that has produced stars such as Billy Ray Cyrus, Crystal Gayle, Loretta Lynn and Dwight Yoakam. Jazz performances take place at Glassworks on Market Street, Louisville.

Shopping
Berea is Kentucky’s arts and craft capital. Local shops sell pottery, woodwork, jewellery, quilts and weaving. The largest hand-weaving studio in the USA, The Churchill Weavers produces a quality collection of ladies accessories, blankets and neckties. Louisville is great for antique shopping. Popular antique shops in Louisville include Den of Steven and Joe Ley Antiques. In Western and Northern Kentucky, there is a variety of outlet malls in which to shop for bargains.

Sport
Kentucky is called the ‘horse capital of the world’ and riding options range from pony trekking to overnight horse camping. Louisville hosts the annual Equitana USA, the world’s fair of equestrian sports. Kentucky is a great place for hiking and backpacking. Two major trails, the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail and the Jenny Wiley National Recreation Trail, provide routes through the scenic forested highlands of Eastern Kentucky. Cumberland Gap National Park has 1790km (1112 miles) of trails, including the popular 34km (21 mile) Ridge Trail. The 14 major river systems in Kentucky offer a wide choice of canoeing, kayaking and rafting opportunities. Rockcastle is one of the most popular whitewater canoe runs in the USA. The Daniel Boone National Forest offers excellent climbing. The State’s quiet, winding roads are ideal for cycling and almost 1000km (620 miles) of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail are in Kentucky. For golf enthusiasts, Louisville’s challenging Valhalla Golf Course hosted the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championship. The Kentucky Speedway is a motor racing circuit located 18km (30 miles) south of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport.

Special Events
The following is a selection of special events occurring in Kentucky in 2005:
Mar 12 Mammoth Cave Hamfest, Cave City. Mar 17-20 My Old Kentucky Home Festival of Quilts, Bardstown. Apr 14-16 Hillbilly Days, Pikeville. Apr 15-May 8 Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville. Apr 20-23 American Quilter's Society National Quilt Show, Paducah. May 7 131st Kentucky Derby, Louisville. May 28-30 Iberian Horse Weekend, Lexington. Jun 11-12 Great American Brass Band Festival, Danville. Jul 6-10 Shakespeare Festival, Lexington. Jul 8-10 Berea Craft Festival. Jul 13-14 National Corvette Homecoming, Bowling Green. Sep 14-18 Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Bardstown. Sep 16-18 Historic Constitution Square Festival, Danville; Spoonhead Festival, Berea. Oct 2 Clog Fest, Lexington. Oct 8-9 Kentucky Guild of Artists and Craftsmen Fall Fair, Berea.