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Big Bone Lick Salt Festival coming up, festival features live demonstrations of pioneer lifeways


Step back in time as Big Bone Lick State Historic Site returns to days long past during the 36th annual Salt Festival the weekend of Oct. 19-21.
  
The festival features live demonstrations of pioneer lifeways and frontier skills. 

Lee Lynch demonstrates black powder firing. (Photo provided)

Enjoy folk and bluegrass music, listen to a storyteller, view prehistoric Ice Age artifacts, and observe a blacksmith working red-hot iron.
 
Guests can also see how salt was extracted from the waters of Big Bone, watch a flintknapper make a stone point, and discover how bison hair was spun into yarn. Browse the crafter’s corner to see the many local, handcrafted items for sale, and take advantage of the good eats at the food court.

All Nations Drum and Dance Group. (Photo provided)

This year’s festival entertainment will feature exclusive presentations by Kentucky Humanities performers including Daniel Boone: The First Kentuckian, and Dr. Ephraim McDowell: Frontier Surgeon. Also returning to the festival field is All Nations Drum; an Intertribal Native American group showcasing traditional song and dance.

While visiting the Boone County park, be sure to drop by the park’s museum and visitor’s center to see some of the “big bones.” A shuttle van will transport event-goers to and from the festival field, museum, and campground at regular intervals. Don’t miss seeing the bison herd, the park’s living link to Kentucky’s early history.

On Friday, Oct. 19, the park will host school groups.

Regular festival admission is $5 per person; children 5 and under are free. Admission is cash only.

For information about the park, visit this website.

Big Bone Lick State Historic Site is recognized as the birthplace of American vertebrate paleontology for its significant role in the development of scientific thought regarding extinction and the relationship between geology and paleontology the world over. The park is located 22 miles southwest of Covington on KY 338, off US 42/127 and I-71 & I-75.  From I-75 north or south, take exit 175 to KY 338.  From I-71 north or south, take exit 62 to 127N/42E to KY 338.

Kentucky State Parks


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