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Spies, Spirits and Stampedes in Harrodsburg, KY
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Fall getaways include music, bourbon, ghosts and stealthy frontiersmen
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Bourbon in the Bluegrass Tours depart on Saturday mornings for excursions into the heart of Bourbon Country. Tour and taste at Four Roses Distillery and Woodford Reserve, maker of the “Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby,” plus either Wild Turkey Distillery, overlooking the Kentucky River, or legendary Buffalo Trace in Frankfort. The tour includes lunch in Midway. Pickup is at 8 a.m. at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill and 8:15 a.m. at Beaumont Inn. Tickets: $109 (includes distillery admissions). www.CentralKentuckyTours.com

Cemetery strolls and history/mystery walks

Find out what – or, more accurately, who – is beneath your feet on the History Underfoot Cemetery Tour at Spring Hill Cemetery. On Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11 and 12, from 6:30 to 10 p.m., costumed interpreters will relive history during guided tours through the cemetery. Entertaining and educational, these romps through the graveyard, sponsored by James Harrod Trust, are appropriate for all ages. $5/person. 859-734-3381.

On Friday and Saturday nights, 7:30-9 p.m., Murder Mystery Tours and Harrodsburg Ghost Walks and Historic Mansion Tours get underway. Join the Lead Inspector on Fridays for a mile-long walking investigation while you look for clues to solve a Harrodsburg mystery. The case is just for fun and not factual, but the historic victim is very real – and everyone gets to participate with a character role.

Saturday night features a mile-long walking tour to one of Harrodsburg’s oldest mansions for a private tour given by the mansion owner, if available. Learn about Kentucky’s first settlement, local folklore and results of recent paranormal investigations. At the mansion, hear about some unexplained activity. Reservations required. 859-319-1969, HGW1774@yahoo.com or RPMs_03@yahoo.com. Tickets: $10/adults; children ages 11 and under free. (No tours the weekend of Sept. 11-12, 2015.)

HarvestFest and Haunted Frontier

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill hosts HarvestFest, a down-home harvest celebration for the whole family that takes place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 26 and 27. Climb hay stacks. Bob for apples. Paint a pumpkin. Enter your favorite autumn recipe in the dessert contest. Meet the animals on the farm and enjoy live music. See the complete schedule of activities here. Tickets (included in tour admission): $10/ages 13 and above; $5/ages 6-12; 5 and under free. www.ShakerVillageKy.org

Enter the gates of Old Fort Harrod State Park if you dare for Haunted Frontier, 7:30-10 p.m. nightly on some of the most haunted nights of the calendar: Oct. 29, 30 and 31. You’ll find yourself in the smoky darkness of a haunted house 241years in the making: the old fort, the wooded area behind the fort and near the oldest cemetery in Kentucky. Not recommended for children under 10 or the weak-hearted. $5/person. www.FriendsOfFortHarrod.com

Music and more

There’s a stampede every Friday night in Harrodsburg – a Southern Stampede, that is, with live music featuring some of the best pickers in the region. Head to Burgin Barn for a family-friendly variety show hosted by Jamboree and Opry fave Sissy Rogers. Tickets: $8/over age 8; under 8 are free. www.TheSouthernStampede.com

On Saturday, Nov. 7, meet Harrodsburg’s secret agents during Spies of Fort Harrod-Shawnee Run, presented by storyteller John Curry, 1-4 p.m. in Old Fort Harrod State Park. The event recalls a nail-biting episode in the fort’s history that played out during the darkest days of the American Revolution. By late 1776, Fort Harrod had run out of gun powder and found itself at the mercy of the British. Enter George Rogers Clark and his band of patriots and spies who furtively made their way to Fort Pitt and back with 500 pounds of gunpowder as the besieged settlers anxiously awaited.

Learn more about these activities and others, including Devine’s Corn Maze & Pumpkin Patch and the Oct. 24 Spooktacular Halloween Parade. Overnight options in Harrodsburg include Beaumont Inn, which was honored with a 2015 James Beard America’s Classic Award; The Inn at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill; Bright Leaf Golf Resort; lakefront rentals and cottages, campgrounds and brand name chain hotels, including one with an outdoor pool. www.HarrodsburgKY.com

Media Contact:
Karen Hackett, Executive Director
Harrodsburg-Mercer County Tourist Commission
800-355-9192 or 859-734-2364

Photo: Bring the family to HarvestFest at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill in Harrodsburg, KY.
Credit: Harrodsburg/Mercer County Tourist Commission

Hi- and Low-Res photos available.

About Harrodsburg, KY
Sitting amidst four National Register Historic Districts in the heart of Kentucky’s famed Bluegrass region, Kentucky’s oldest town is one of the coolest places in history. Harrodsburg is full of the unexpected: Ten bourbon distilleries, four craft distilleries and more than a dozen wineries are a short drive away. There are horseback riding trails, backroads and byways for bicycle enthusiasts, and outdoor water sports from kayaking to skiing. Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, America’s largest restored Shaker community, and Beaumont Inn, the state’s oldest family-operated country inn, are here. Commemorating the first permanent settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains is Old Fort Harrod State Park with full-scale replica fort. Providing an up-close view of one of the most unique ecosystems in the country, the geologically ancient Kentucky River Palisades, is the authentic 115-passenger Dixie Belle sternwheeler. Harrodsburg is one of “the 10 Most Beautiful Towns in Kentucky” (TheCultureTrip.com); one of Best Choice Reviews’ “50 Best Small Town Downtowns in America”; Smithsonian Magazine’s “20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2014”; one of BBC NEWS Magazine’s “Five hidden US Travel Destinations”; and one of the “10 Most Beautiful, Charming Small Towns in Kentucky” (OnlyInYourState.com). Authentic, affordable, family-friendly – and full of the unexpected. This is Harrodsburg. www.HarrodsburgUnexpected.com, Facebook/Harrodsburg