KBF seeks OK for Spirit Garden patrons to carry drinks around festival grounds
By JIM BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Outgoing CFO Mike Abell smiles during a discussion with the city’s new CFO, Tracy Hudson, at Tuesday’s council meeting. Click to enlarge.
Wednesday, March 25, 2015, 1:05 a.m. — The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is asking the Bardstown City Council to approve a request that will allow Spirit Garden patrons carry their drinks outside the Spirit Garden and around the festival grounds.
Tiger Huston, chairman of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, said tens of thousands of visitors love coming to Bardstown for the festival, but restricting Spirit Garden patrons to the small, enclosed area where they purchased their drinks is the top complaint festival organizers receive.
Other festivals in Kentucky and around the country allow visitors of legal age to buy alcoholic drinks and walk around with them while they browse booths, listen to music or buy food from a vendor. Visitors would not be allowed to bring coolers or their own drinks into the festival grounds.
According to a KBF letter, the festival plan is to fence off the city hall/Spalding Hall and Xavier Drive areas and allow five points of entry and exit. The Spirit Garden would be the only place alcohol is sold, but patrons would be able to carry their drinks outside the Spirit Garden and throughout the fenced areas.
Individuals who are 21 and older and wish to purchase drinks would be issued a wristband, Huston explained. The children’s area will be located at the baseball field adjacent to the festival grounds and will be alcohol-free.
“We believe these changes will make for a more enjoyable experience for our visitors,” he said.
The move will make the festival more competitive with other Kentucky festivals, he said. “We want to make this festival as friendly as possible and give our visitors an experience like they would have anyplace else in the United States.”
The council took no immediate action on the request.
In other action, the council:
— approved the Bardstown Main Street program’s “Mardi Gras in May” event. The event will feature Mardi Gras-inspired music and themed-food prepared by local restaurants. The event will close North Third Street from the Court Square to Broadway, and Flaget Avenue between North Second and North Fourth streets from 3:30 to 10 p.m. on Friday, May 15.
— approved appointing Tracy Hudson as the city’s new chief financial officer. Hudson replaces longtime CFO Mike Abell, who is retiring March 31;
— voted 5-1 to approve a $4,813.28 change order for a new sewer line being built along Old Bloomfield Pike and the Wickland property. Councilman Bobby Simpson cast the no vote, saying that he felt the project engineers should have caught the problem earlier;
— approved the Nelson County Community Clinic 5K Run on June 20, 2015;
— appointed Michael Johnson to fill the unexpired term of Luke Barlow on the Human Rights Commission;
— approved a mobile food vendor request for Kona Ice;
— approved an order establishing that the Historic Review Board meets on the third Tuesday of each month.
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