A party worthy of the old saying “celebrating in the streets” is planned this summer to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Pennyroyal Area Museum in downtown Hopkinsville.
Community members are invited to the museum’s Birthday BBQ Bash at noon on Saturday, July 11. The celebration will be on East Ninth Street directly in front of the museum. The street will be blocked to traffic between Liberty and South Virginia streets during the event.
“The birthday celebration will include a Pioneers barbecue lunch, live Bluegrass music by the Todd County Boys and a special program featuring Hopkinsville-Christian County Historian William T. Turner,” the museum announced Monday in a press release.
Tickets for the meal and program are $15 per person. They can be purchased online or at the museum, 217 E. Ninth St.
Patrons also have the option of providing additional support for the museum by joining the 1976 Club for $50 or the 1776 Club for $250.
Donors to the 1976 Club will receive one ticket to the Birthday BBQ Bash, one “Making History in Hoptown” T-shirt and recognition at the event. Donors to the 1776 Club will receive two tickets to the Birthday BBQ Bash, two “Making History in Hoptown” T-shirts and recognition at the event. Visit the museum’s website for more information about joining one of the clubs.
The Hopkinsville History Foundation, a nonprofit organization established in 2023 to support the mission of the museum, is hosting the event.
The Pennyroyal Area Museum’s opening dedication ceremony was in July 1976 on the front steps of the former U.S. Post Office building. Start-up money for the museum included a $9,567 grant from the American Revolution Bicentennial Commission.
Hoptown Chronicle editor Jennifer P. Brown is a Hopkinsville History Foundation board member.
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.
