Our little corner of the world isn’t known for much. (Well actually, I just thought of several things after I typed that…)
If you were making a list of things that Eastern Kentucky is known for, here are some of the things that might be on the list…
- Coal
- Cut-Through
- Hatfield-McCoy Feud
- Medical School
- Snake Handling Churches
- Breaks Interstate Park
… and something that shouldn’t be left out is HILLBILLY DAYS. Today is the first day of the 2015 Hillbilly Celebration. It is the second largest event in the state of Kentucky. Second only to the Kentucky Derby (seriously!).
Basically, it is a state fair in the middle of a city. It is set up all over every nook and cranny of downtown. Everything is shut down and school is cancelled for three days of more fried food than you can eat. There are also concerts, carnival rides, and more. It was started by Shriners to raise money for the children’s hospitals.
People come from all over to enjoy the festivities and fried food, but I love that some of the proceeds go to a good cause. The Shriner’s hospitals do a lot of awesome work to help kids regardless of their ability to pay.
Last year, my parents and grandparents were in town for the festivities and we had a lot of fun. My Dad and Granddad are Shriners so I think they enjoyed getting to be a part of it. Here are a few pictures of our adventures last year.
We are only on the first day but Andy and I have managed to find plenty of things to eat already. Andy is heading out of town tomorrow 😥 so we are attempting to fit in all of our hillbilly food before he leaves. We might regret that later. The best purchase so far was a cookie dough cupcake. We bought it at the booth that benefits the medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic Andy, Mom, and I went on last summer. You can follow along on instagram for real time updates, I’m sure there will be plenty.
Happy Hillbilly Days, ya’ll!
Update: Check out the fruit of our adventures in my Hillbilly Days Food Guide.
Adventures of Our Own 