Kentucky's oldest city, Harrodsburg, and its second oldest city, Bardstown, have lots of events, including several new ones, planned for spring.

Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill and Old Fort Harrod State Park in Harrodsburg present new baby farm animals, sheep shearing, sternwheeler cruising to see blue heron, a chamber music festival and opportunities to make Shaker boxes, "Breakfast with the Babies," take tea with historical figures and shop a section of the 400-mile Antiques, Collectibles & Stuff Sale.

Click here to see Harrodsburg's spring events.

In Bardstown, the "Bourbon Capital of the World," the Second Annual Bardstown Colonial Days weekend returns to Old Bardstown Village, March 30 to April 1, with an 18th Century Market Fair, flintlock rifle demos, military drills and displays, re-enactors, entertainers, artisans and more. The 45th Annual Antique Show & Sale, featuring 100 dealers, comes to town April 14 and 15. And there's plenty more fun in store, including themed train excursions and opportunities to sample bourbon and local "tastes."

Click here to see Bardtown's spring events.

With its quintessential Southern small town sensibility, nearly 200 National Register of Historic Place buildings and charming circular Courthouse Square, Bardstown seems more like a yesteryear village than a bustling town in central Kentucky. But bustle it does: The "Bourbon Capital of the World" is a spirited community that is home to the distilleries of Kentucky Bourbon Country: Heaven Hill, Maker's Mark, Jim Beam and Barton 1792 Distillery. Bardstown has one of the four most important Civil War museums in the country, the Civil War Museum of the Western Theatre, as well as the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History and The Kentucky Railway Museum. It is the backdrop for "The Stephen Foster Story," Kentucky's official outdoor drama, and for a vibrant restaurant landscape that includes numerous historic dining venues and plenty of locally owned eateries, many of them situated - along with a lively collection of shops, boutiques and galleries - in the historic downtown district. Additionally, Bardstown has four 18-hole golf courses, three self-guided tours (Historic Downtown Walking, Architectural and African-American), two wineries and numerous religious attractions.

 

Founded in 1774, Harrodsburg is Kentucky's oldest city but it's far from staid. Amidst four National Register Historic Districts and 250 square miles of gently rolling pastures is a town that bursts with historic charm in its superlative attractions: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, the largest restored Shaker community in America; Beaumont Inn, the state's oldest family-operated country inn; Old Fort Harrod State Park - where Kentucky was born - with full-scale replica fort that stands as a tribute to the first permanent settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains; an authentic sternwheeler, the 115-passenger Dixie Belle, which gives an up-close view of one of the most unique ecosystems in the country at the geologically ancient Kentucky River Palisades, a channel of steep gorges and 200-foot tall limestone outcroppings that unfold in scenic splendor; an early American drug store at the circa 1865 Dedman's Drugstore, home of the Kentucky Fudge Company and the shop's original soda fountain. Located in the heart of Kentucky's famed Bluegrass region, Harrodsburg is affordable and family-friendly and has a hometown atmosphere, with streets lined with architectural treasures, shops given over to period crafts and restaurants dishing up traditional Southern cooking. Unique. Historic. Authentic. Harrodsburg.