Lots of Bourbon, Bargains, Music, Mayhem and Murder in Bardstown, Ky.

The ‘Bourbon Capital of the World’ pours on the fun for Fall 2012

BARDSTOWN, KY – AUGUST, 2012 – Bardstown is pouring on the fun this fall with events that celebrate the history and making of the country’s only Native spirit, share a (kid-friendly) Halloween scare and help you find the perfect artisan-made gift or antique for the holidays. These events and others may be found at www.SampleOurSpirit.com, “Festivals and Events” tab.

The Big One

The 21st Annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival gets underway Sept. 11 for six days of spirited fun feting the state’s signature product: Kentucky Bourbon. Meet the master distillers, take tours of the distilleries to learn the secret of making good Kentucky Bourbon, listen to live music, dine on Southern cooking and sip some liquid gold. Sept. 11-16. Free and paid events. See the schedule of events here: www.KyBourbonFestival.com, 502-348-3623 or 800-638-4877 #4

Sign up for the Kentucky Bourbon Chase, Sept. 28-29, a 200-mile journey across the Bluegrass that wends its way through historic bourbon distilleries, across majestic horse country and into small towns colored with autumn’s changing leaves. Serious racers and casual runners – passionate spectators, too – are invited to sign up for the Bourbon Chase. This year’s theme is “Madness in the Moonlight”; how you interpret it is up to you. www.BourbonChase.com

‘Tis the season

Although not quite time to deck the halls and trim the tree, it is the season to wrap up your holiday shopping: The 32nd Annual Bardstown Arts, Crafts & Antiques Fair takes place Oct. 13 and14. Two hundred artists and craftsmen will give you plenty of ideas for gifts for everyone on your list: jewelry, pottery, floral creations, wood items, fabric art and antiques. Enjoy Southern foods and musical entertainment while you shop. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. www.SampleOurSpirit.com (click “Festivals & Events”), 502-348-4877 or 800-638-4877

Not-so-spooky Halloween fun

Friendly ghosts, goblins and many more surprises await when you and your kids board Kentucky Railway Museum’s Halloween Express, Oct. 27 and 28. Ride the rails through the scenic Rolling Fork River Valley. Costumes encouraged. www.KyRail.org, 502-549-5470 or 800-272-0152

On Oct. 28, My Old Kentucky Dinner Train’s Kid’s Halloween Excursion departs the station for ghoulish good times. Reservations required. www.KyDinnerTrain.com, 502-348-7300 or 866-801-3463

More fall fun

Other events taking place in Bardstown this fall include dinner, wine and bourbon-themed excursions aboard My Old Kentucky Dinner Train; Ghost Treks with Certified Ghost Hunter Patti Starr, voted “One of the Top Ten Ghost Hunter Paranormal Investigators in America”;a Visit With The Spirits Of Wickland, a 90-minute family-friendly psychic tour of this 1826 plantation home; and Bardstown Opry, featuring traditional country music every Friday night at the Blue Grass Entertainment & Exposition Complex.

Visit www.SampleOurSpirit.com for more information on all of Bardstown’s events.

PHOTO SHOWN

Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center

Photo: Bardstown-Nelson Couonty Tourist & Convention Commission

ABOUT BARDSTOWN, KY | Located in central Kentucky, Bardstown was recently selected as the Most Beautiful Small Town in America in the Rand McNally/USA Today 2012 “Best of the Road” contest. More familiarly known as the “Bourbon Capital of the World,” Bardstown sits in the heart of Kentucky Bourbon Country, home to five distilleries, including Barton 1792 with new Tasting Room and the restored and newly re-opened Willett Distillery. Three of Bardstown’s distilleries – Heaven Hill, Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam – are on the famed Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Major attractions include the “Stephen Foster Story,” Kentucky’s official outdoor drama that takes place in My Old Kentucky Home State Park; the Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre (one of the four most significant such museums in the country); The Kentucky Railway Museum, where Thomas the Tank Engine is known to put in appearances; and My Old Kentucky Dinner Train. Additionally, Bardstown has four 18-hole golf courses, three wineries, three self-guided tours (Historic Downtown Walking, Architectural and African-American), two haunted tours and numerous religious attractions.