The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide - The Official Kentucky Visitor's Guide 2026
Festivals & Events
2026-05-04 07:24:52
Barrels of fine Kentucky bourbon, kegs of locally brewed beer, a ginormous skillet sizzling up thousands of pieces of chicken. Festival-goers twinning with Colonel Sanders and Abraham Lincoln — on Main Street and on riverbanks, in historical downtowns and in the rural countryside. From one day to a full week. And so many fairs and festivals free. All ages, all welcome. Kentucky knows how to festival.
APRIL
Tater Day, Benton:
In celebration of the spud — a parade, carnival rides, a flea market, a classic car show, a demolition derby and fireworks.
AQS Quilt Week, Paducah:
It’s all about the quilt with workshops, lectures, special events and tours.
Hillbilly Days, Pikeville:
Live music, clogging and square dancing, a parade and carnival, the Hillbilly Car Show and Kin Calling Contest and even pickers garbed in wild hillbilly outfits.
Mountain Mushroom Festival, Irvine:
Free family fun includes live performances, morel-cooking demonstrations, pie throwing, a quilt show, the Grand Ole Parade and Agate, Gem, Mineral & Fossil Show.
Bluegrass, Brew & BBQ Festival, Grand Rivers:
A full-blown hootenanny with outstanding bluegrass bands, local breweries, a winery and a distillery, plus lots of barbecue.
Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville (April/May):
Hang onto your hats at Thunder Over Louisville, Great BalloonFest, Pegasus® Parade, WineFest, the Great Steamboat Race — and those are just a few of the highlights leading up to the big race.
Somernites Cruise, Somerset (April–October):
Headlined by the Saturday Show & Shine with muscle, custom and classic cars, these free-admission events in the Car Cruise Capital of Kentucky are all about fun, food, fellowship and fab cars.
MAY
BBQ & Barrels, Owensboro:
Two tastes delicious on their own and even better together — bourbon and barbecue. Add live bluegrass for one over-the-top celebration of Kentucky traditions.
The Great American Brass Band, Danville:
Three days featuring legendary horn players and nonstop music, including wind bands, brass bands, jazz bands, mariachi and New Orleans-style brass bands.
Sleeping in the Woods Festival, Monticello:
Three days in celebration of songwriting at Lake Cumberland’s Hidden Ridge Camping.
Kentucky Highland Renaissance Festival, Eminence (Late May–July):
Eight weekends. Additional experiences held in September (Celtic Festival & Highland Games) and November (Fenrir Viking Festival). All events take place at the Kentucky Renaissance Fair.
Railbird Festival, Lexington (May/June):
Two days, three stages, world-class artists like Lainey Wilson, Luke Grimes and Jelly Roll — all steeped in seriously curated bourbon experiences.
Old Mulkey Knap-In & Artifact Show, Tompkinsville:
Bring a lawn chair and watch primitive-skill practitioners demonstrate their craft and artistry in making arrowheads, marbles, baskets and more. Bring your own artifacts to display.
JUNE
Beattyville Bourbon & Moonshine Festival, Beattyville:
Bourbon and moonshine cocktail tastings, moonshiners’ country games, festival grub and live music.
Wally Parks NHRA Nostalgia Nationals, Bowling Green:
Held at Beech Bend Raceway, this three-day festival revs with nostalgic drag racing, the Show ‘N Shine Car Show, Cacklefest (celebrating dragsters’ glory days), vendors, the Swap Meet and more.
Laurel Cove Music Festival, Pineville:
Live music performed in a shady mountain holler at the 1,400-seat Laurel Cove Amphitheater against a rock-cliff backdrop in Pine Mountain State Resort Park.
Maysville Uncorked Wine and Art Festival, Maysville:
A summer Salut! to regional wineries, with some beer and bourbon thrown in for fun, on brick-lined Market Street.
NKY Pride Parade and Festival, Covington:
“Y'all means all” at this celebration of the LGBTQ+ community in MainStrasse Village, with local performers, 100-plus vendors and family-friendly activities.
JULY
Twin Lakes National Fiddler Contest, Leitchfield:
Lots of prize money at stake for this contest held on the town square and in conjunction with the Leitchfield Fiddling Festival.
Glier’s Goettafest, Covington (July/Aug):
Two weekends of live music, family fun and lots of goetta. Taste why the locals love this spicy German breakfast sausage so much.
Master Musicians Festival, Somerset:
Musicians of every stripe — country, blues, bluegrass, newgrass, Celtic, jazz, rock and roll, and more — gather with songwriters for two days of outdoor concerts.
Freedom Fest, Murray:
A homegrown weekend celebration charged with patriotic spirit and filled with family fun, from the parade to fireworks.
Balloons & Tunes, Falmouth:
Live music plus hot-air balloons taking to the sky equals an amazing evening, one with tethered balloon rides, food trucks and watching hot-air balloon pilots set up and ignite their balloons.
AUGUST
NIBROC Festival, Corbin:
A variety of entertainment, contests and games for children, crafts, food and activity booths, plus a parade and carnival over three full days.
Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival, Henderson:
Famous for outstanding bluegrass music, plus folklife exhibits, kids' activities and more in a park overlooking the Ohio River.
Manchester Music Fest, Manchester:
Free admission, cold beer, a variety of food and non-stop music.
Maysville Oktoberfest, Maysville:
Break out the lederhosen! Everything German: traditional music and folk dancing, bier, cuisine, wines and schnapps.
Summer Vibes Music Festival, Franklin:
Headlining musicians, a beer garden, food trucks, merch and more.
Lake Cumberland Raft Up, Monticello:
Go big or go … you know the drill. Suit up and help break their world record for the world’s largest boat raft-up.
SEPTEMBER
Best of the Bluegrass, Georgetown:
Three days of headlining musicians, a parade, arts and crafts, a craft-beer garden, festival foods, family activities and bourbon in celebration of Georgetown as the Birthplace of Bourbon.
The Black Gold Festival, Hazard:
Kentucky’s second-largest festival features the Black Gold Bike Show, Road Hazards Extreme Team Stunt Show, Black Diamond Street Rod Show, antique appraisals and more.
Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Bardstown:
60+ distillers, 200+ brands and expressions, exclusive single-barrel selections, the chance to meet Master Distillers, workshops, panel discussions, a bourbon marketplace and more.
Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Festival, Beaver Dam:
Held at the Bill Monroe Homeplace, this four-day festival rocks with over 20 bands playing bluegrass music on stage atop the actual Jerusalem Ridge.
Cave Run Storytelling Festival, Rowan County:
A magical weekend with enchanting tales spun along the banks of the lake, featuring world-renowned storytellers, food and family activities.
Banana Festival, Fulton:
Bring your spoon — it’s the world’s largest banana pudding in the Banana Capital of the World, plus music, a parade, kids’ activities, a car show, food and crafts.
Bourbon and Beyond, Louisville:
The World’s Largest Bourbon, Food & Music Festival. Enough said.
World Chicken Festival, London:
The world’s largest stainless steel skillet, Colonel Sanders look-alike ambassadors, the 84 Lumber Chicken Invasion and plenty of music, family fun and chicken.
OCTOBER
Halloween/Fall Festival, Cynthiana:
Halloweentown, Kentucky. Kentucky’s spookiest town and one of the country’s top fall destinations hosts a monthlong Halloween and fall festival, kicking off with Witches Day Out and including ghost walks, haunted houses, headstone tours and more.
Greenup Old Fashion Days, Greenup:
Get immersed in the beauty of fall decorations, nonstop music on multiple stages, delicious food, artisans and craft vendors, and free children’s fun.
Logan County Tobacco & Heritage Festival, Russellville:
Tobacco-judging contest and reenactment of the 1868 Jesse James robbery, plus fan favorites like the Festival Queen's Pageant and historical walking and cemetery tours.
Legends of Bourbon County Festival, Paris:
Celebrates the history, culture and legacy of Bourbon County’s thoroughbred industry with a variety of activities, live entertainment, educational events, farm tours and more.
Lincoln Days, Hodgenville:
Lincoln look-alikes, pioneer games, a parade, 5k and 10k Railsplitter Runs, an art show, a classic car show and more.
Millstone Festival, Richmond:
Voted “Richmond’s Best Annual Event,” with music, food and crafts booths.
NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER
Christmas at Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville:
It’s a holly jolly holiday with 1.5 million lights, hundreds of trimmed Christmas trees and the largest snow-tubing hill in Kentucky.
Christmas in London, London:
One of Kentucky’s most Christmassy towns pulls out the holiday stops for an utterly magical season: Christmas markets, ice-skating and holiday events.
Mistletoe Art Stroll, Madisonville:
Christmas-tree lighting, caroling and street performers round out an evening of downtown strolling and shopping artisan-made goods and local business specials.
Southern Lights, Lexington:
Three miles and over a million twinkling lights outline holiday vignettes at Kentucky Horse Park, plus Holiday Village, model trains and photos with Santa.
Christmas Jubilee and Parade, Sandy Hook:
Have yourself a merry little Christmas at this hometown holiday celebration that includes live music, a parade, pictures with Santa and a petting zoo.
Paramount Arts Center Festival of Trees, Ashland:
A spectacle of lavishly trimmed trees, model trains, homemade crafts and vintage treasures, the Candy Cane Café, and more: It’s Ashland’s annual 10-day holiday extravaganza.
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