National Tell A Story Day is marked annually on April 27, but Winchester celebrates great stories every day of the year. You’ll find a good yarn unspooling in places all over town, from the cemetery to the museum and including a charming tale told on the new BookWalk at College Park.
- The BookWalk at College Park: Follow young Marisol as she sets out to paint a sky without the color blue. Stroll from page to page as Sky Color by Peter H. Reynolds unfolds along the new BookWalk created by the Clark County Public Library. “It is a great opportunity to get in some steps, enjoy the outdoors and read a great book all at the same time,” said Misty Strain, head of youth services at the Clark County Public Library.
- Any story told through that heavenly concoction known as beer cheese is a story worth experiencing. Download the digital Cheese Log passport and follow the Beer Cheese Trail® for a novel adventure through the Birthplace of Beer Cheese. From Winchester’s first craft brewery to a pizza place tucked into the town’s original 1885 firehouse to a waterfront eatery not far from the spot where Daniel Boone’s daughter was kidnapped in 1776and more stops in between, you’ll learn the story of Winchester as told through this cheesy delicacy.
- Winchester Cemetery “Walk Through Time” Walking Tour: A delegate to the Kentucky Constitutional Convention, prominent physicians, an artist; each grave tells a story through its tombstone. So, too, do the symbols embellishing the tombstones. All over the cemetery, find stories of hope, wishfulness, mourning and perhaps even condemnation. A tree trunk means premature death. A lamb was the most common marker for children’s graves in the nineteenth century. A snake? Satan. Yikes! Better to have the columns with a gate, which means heavenly entrance. Download the brochure here.
- Historic Downtown Winchester Cell Phone Walking Tour: Dial up some history as you pass the Leeds Theater, the Clark County Courthouse, the Bluegrass Heritage Museum, the Winchester Opera House and other buildings housing independently owned shops, restaurants and businesses. With is charming blend of architecture, “Highside” elevated sidewalks on Main Street and original five-globe lampposts, this National Register of Historic Places downtown looks much as it did a century ago. Download the brochure here. Call 859-592-9166 and follow the stop numbers posted on the tour signs.
- Ale-8-One® Factory Tour: You won’t learn the scrupulously guarded secret family recipe for Kentucky’s Official Soft Drink—one that has been around for nearly 100 years—but you will see the process for bottling this refreshing ginger and citrus soda known for its iconic green glass. Want that “fizz” and taste of home? Learn the story of this popular thirst-quencher by scheduling a 30 to 45-minute tour at www.ale8one.com/tours. Tours are free and are available at 9:30, 10:30, 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 pm. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For groups larger than 12, contact Ale-8 at tours@ale-8-one.com for arrangements.
- Daniel Boone Heritage Trail: Drive along this Kentucky Scenic Byway, following the route established by Daniel Boone in 1775, from across the Kentucky River from Fort Boonesborough to Athens, near Boone’s Station, which Boone settled in 1779. Along the way you’ll pass Hall’s on the River—a restaurant on the Beer Cheese Trail®—Lower Howard’s Creek Nature & Heritage Preserve, nineteenth-century stone fences and other landmarks. Download the brochure here. Watch a video about the trail here.