‘Best kept secret in Kentucky’

Published 9:33 am Thursday, September 13, 2018

First Vineyard to host Daniel Boone event

First Vineyard in Nicholasville will host a Kentucky Chautauqua, “Daniel Boone in Kentucky” event with dinner and a live theater performance by actor Kevin Hardesty portraying Daniel Boone.

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The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 6.

Event coordinator Wilma Clapp said guests must be 21 or older and admission is free, but a reservation is required. Dinner is $12 and will be catered by Thomas Brown of High Mountain BBQ in Harrodsburg. The menu will include a pulled-pork BBQ sandwich or a cheese-stuffed Portobello mushroom with side options of macaroni and cheese, potato salad and coleslaw. For dessert, guests can choose between a brownie or a cookie.

Clapp said dinner will be served from 6 to 7 p.m., when Daniel Boone will perform for about 45 minutes and answer any audience questions afterward.

The event is funded by the Kentucky Humanities, which offers Kentucky Chautauqua characters.

According to KY Humanities, nearly 30 characters from Kentucky’s history are portrayed for Kentuckians to enjoy.

If guests wish to skip the dinner, Clapp said they are welcome to attend only the theater portion of the evening at 7 p.m.

First Vineyard is located at 5800 Sugar Creek Pike in Nicholasville and has a history Clapp said is unknown to many locals.

“I am surprised at the number of people who have no idea that the first commercial winery in the United States is right here in Nicholasville,” Clapp said. “People come out and say we have to be the best kept secret in Kentucky. They have no idea.”

Clapp said the vineyard started in 1799, and according to the First Vineyard website, was surveyed in 1783 by Daniel Boone before it was established by John James Dufour of Switzerland in 1799.

Clapp said the goal of the event is to increase exposure for the vineyard.

Three years ago, Mark Twain visited the vineyard with KY Humanities and Clapp said she is excited about this year’s event.

“It will be a lot of fun,” Clapp said. “The last one was awesome, and I know this one is going to be too.”

For more information or to RSVP, email thefirstvineyard@hotmail.com or call 859-421-8819.