The weather hasn’t been very autumn-like but there are signs around town that it is indeed fall.
My favorite nod to autumn is a straw bale display on East Ninth Street in front of Nook & Cranny, a consignment and gift shop halfway between Main and Virginia streets.
Nook & Cranny’s four bales are dressed up like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Each one has a unique expression that matches the personalities of those beloved cartoon turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo. The display is part of Christian County 4-H’s Bale Trail, an agriculture-inspired seasonal contest.
This year there are 12 hay and straw bale creations with clever names such as Hay Dolly at Super Lawn & Garden, Bailed Assets at Planters Bank and One Shell of a Store at Nook & Cranny.
The participants are competing in two categories — square hay/straw bales and large round bales.
The public gets to start casting their votes for favorite bales on Monday. Learn more about voting and see a list of all the bale locations here.
I’m going to make a point to drive the bale route this week and see them all. Watch for photos of all the bale displays in Hoptown Chronicle’s social media
And since the awesome turtle bales nudged me into an autumn mood, we’ve compiled a list of seasonal happenings in and around Hopkinsville through October. Here they are:
A corn maze and miniature golf
Christian Way Farm, 19590 Linville Road in northern Christian County, is about a 25-minute drive from downtown Hopkinsville. The farm has a mini-golf course, plus a pumpkin patch, a corn maze, a playground, hay rides, farm animals, a cafe and a country store. Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Learn more here.
Pumpkins, Spice & Everything Nice
Every Friday in October at Virginia Park, a fall festival of food, drinks, pumpkins and more featuring food trucks (No Sugar Kneaded, Vansauwa’s Tacos & Vegan Eats and Jewel’s Sweet Eats). The park is at Ninth and Campbell streets. Hours are 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 2, 9, 23, 30. More information here.
Halloween candy and wine
The Book & Bottle Shop, 123 E. Ninth St., hosts its Halloween Candy Pairing Parties on Friday, Oct. 16, (two sessions) and Saturday, Oct. 17 (one session). Guests will select four from six options of candy and wine pairings. Tickets in advance are $15. More information here.
Chili and cornbread
The Military Affairs Committee’s Battle of the Bowls Chili Cook-Off & Cornbread Challenge features several community and military cooking teams on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Founders Square in downtown Hopkinsville. Public sampling of the chili starts at 4 p.m. What you need to know is here.
Downtown Trick or Treating
Downtown businesses and community groups will greet children (up to 12 years old and accompanied by an adult) for the city’s Downtown Trick or Treating from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, on Main Street. Details here.
Scary good times
The Sinister Schoolhouse in the Trenton Community Center is known as one of Kentucky’s best haunted houses with special 3D effects. It’s open from 7 to 11 p.m. every Friday and Saturday in October. The proceeds help maintain the old Trenton school building, a historic landmark on U.S. 41 in the heart of Trenton. Tickets are $27. Find more information here.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
