Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Pumpkin Festival September 27, 2014.
Make Your First Stop in Marion the Welcome Center located at 213 South Main St., Marion KY 42064.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Article in Kentucky Living magazine..... Admiring our Amish Communities
While driving in more rural areas of Kentucky, you may encounter a slow-moving, black, horse-drawn buggy bearing bonneted women and girls and brimmed straw hat-wearing men and boys. Before you make your way around them, you might wonder what their lives are like and how it compares to your own.
It’s like taking a step back in time, as the Amish have no telephones or electricity and use horses and buggies for transportation. They meticulously care for the land and are skilled craftsmen and artisans in baking and other crafts.
The town of Marion in Crittenden County helps promote its Amish neighbors by linking them with visitors eager to encounter members of this highly conservative religious group and buy their handmade quilts, mums, gourds, produce, flowers, and furniture.
With between 400 and 600 Amish living nearby, the mystique of the Amish is alive and well here, says Michele Edwards of the Marion Tourism Commission, who estimates that 75 percent of local tourism is Amish-related.
“I think it’s a different lifestyle and a different culture and it’s something that people can see and experience,” she says. “Here they really contribute to the community.”
The Amish established their first Marion-area settlement in 1977, Edwards says, and have built their livelihoods around plant nurseries and greenhouses, a quilt shop, bakery and country store, a leather shop, cabinet shops (they don’t advertise, yet have a long waiting list), and a variety store.
The commission distributes a map showing a 30-mile Amish loop of these destinations, primarily along Kentucky 654 North and 91 North. It’s best to visit during daylight hours, any day except Sundays, which is their day of worship, and some Thursdays when Amish weddings are typically celebrated, Edwards explains.
The Amish don’t like their faces to be photographed, but are very friendly and welcoming, she says, and don’t scowl in judgment at visitors’ jewelry, makeup, or modern attire as some might fear.
Amish ties are evident in Marion—near the commission’s new, modern welcome center is a hitching rail for Amish horses, and Edwards says some locals make extra money driving Amish to visit their friends and relatives in Ohio, New York, even Canada. The Amish don’t believe in owning or driving vehicles, but don’t mind to pay for rides with individuals, who are known as Amish Haulers, she explains.
One particular kind of summer produce is highly sought by Marion residents and visitors alike, says Edwards: “There’s a perception that the Amish tomatoes are better than anybody else’s.”
Edwards says locals familiar with the Amish can serve as guides for visitors with advance notice.
The Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau also points visitors to Amish and Mennonite communities with a map of destinations in the nearby Phil community. The map features a leather shop, organic produce, blacksmith and buggy shop, bulk food store, greenhouses, feed store, and quilt shop.
In Danville, there are nearly a dozen bed and breakfasts and chain hotels as lodging options, all featured on the tourism map, also available online by clicking Accommodations. For more information, drop by the bureau at 304 South Fourth Street, call (800) 755-0076, or go on the Web to www.danvillekentucky.com.
DESTINATIONS
When in Marion (Central Time), visit the Marion Tourism & Welcome Center at 213 South Main Street for a map of Amish-related destinations.
Heritage Days in Marion is October 21, when visitors flock to town to snap up colorful fall mums and gourds from local Amish families.
Each spring, the Backroads Festival, April 28–29, 2007, offers arts and crafts, and guided tours to Amish destinations.
Any time of year you can experience old country store browsing at Yoder’s Variety, 7-1/2 miles north of Marion on Kentucky 91. Its shelves are stocked with fabrics, dried herbs and spices, candy, Amish-made jelly, glassware and kitchenware, toys, wood furniture, clothing, and more.
For country cooking, visit Marion Café at the corner of Main and Belleville, (270) 965-2211. Open 6 a.m.–2 p.m. Monday; 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Tuesday–Thursday; Friday–Saturday 6 a.m.–9 p.m. Or try The Coffee Shop at 108 Main Street, (270) 965-5185, open 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday–Saturday; 6 a.m.–3 p.m. Sunday.
For information about Marion-area Amish, call (270) 965-5015 or go online to www.marionkentucky.us/Marion-Kentucky-amish.htm.
Amish in Hardin County are located primarily in the Sonora and Glendale areas, and can often be found selling their wares in Sonora near the Pilot Travel Center and the Five-Star gas station, both on E. Western Avenue; in Glendale near the Whistle Stop and near the Pilot Travel Center on Glendale-Hodgenville Road; and in Elizabethtown just north of Towne Mall on Dixie Highway.
Amish are relatively new to the Mayfield area, locals say, but they sometimes sell handwoven baskets on Kentucky 45 toward Paducah. The Mennonites, an order from which the Amish descended, operate a bulk food store in Mayfield off Kentucky 121.
Shannon Leonard-Boone is a regular contributor to the Traveling Kentucky column.
Source: http://www.kentuckyliving.com/article.asp?articleid=1794&issueid=278#parttwo
It’s like taking a step back in time, as the Amish have no telephones or electricity and use horses and buggies for transportation. They meticulously care for the land and are skilled craftsmen and artisans in baking and other crafts.
The town of Marion in Crittenden County helps promote its Amish neighbors by linking them with visitors eager to encounter members of this highly conservative religious group and buy their handmade quilts, mums, gourds, produce, flowers, and furniture.
With between 400 and 600 Amish living nearby, the mystique of the Amish is alive and well here, says Michele Edwards of the Marion Tourism Commission, who estimates that 75 percent of local tourism is Amish-related.
“I think it’s a different lifestyle and a different culture and it’s something that people can see and experience,” she says. “Here they really contribute to the community.”
The Amish established their first Marion-area settlement in 1977, Edwards says, and have built their livelihoods around plant nurseries and greenhouses, a quilt shop, bakery and country store, a leather shop, cabinet shops (they don’t advertise, yet have a long waiting list), and a variety store.
The commission distributes a map showing a 30-mile Amish loop of these destinations, primarily along Kentucky 654 North and 91 North. It’s best to visit during daylight hours, any day except Sundays, which is their day of worship, and some Thursdays when Amish weddings are typically celebrated, Edwards explains.
The Amish don’t like their faces to be photographed, but are very friendly and welcoming, she says, and don’t scowl in judgment at visitors’ jewelry, makeup, or modern attire as some might fear.
Amish ties are evident in Marion—near the commission’s new, modern welcome center is a hitching rail for Amish horses, and Edwards says some locals make extra money driving Amish to visit their friends and relatives in Ohio, New York, even Canada. The Amish don’t believe in owning or driving vehicles, but don’t mind to pay for rides with individuals, who are known as Amish Haulers, she explains.
One particular kind of summer produce is highly sought by Marion residents and visitors alike, says Edwards: “There’s a perception that the Amish tomatoes are better than anybody else’s.”
Edwards says locals familiar with the Amish can serve as guides for visitors with advance notice.
The Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau also points visitors to Amish and Mennonite communities with a map of destinations in the nearby Phil community. The map features a leather shop, organic produce, blacksmith and buggy shop, bulk food store, greenhouses, feed store, and quilt shop.
In Danville, there are nearly a dozen bed and breakfasts and chain hotels as lodging options, all featured on the tourism map, also available online by clicking Accommodations. For more information, drop by the bureau at 304 South Fourth Street, call (800) 755-0076, or go on the Web to www.danvillekentucky.com.
DESTINATIONS
When in Marion (Central Time), visit the Marion Tourism & Welcome Center at 213 South Main Street for a map of Amish-related destinations.
Heritage Days in Marion is October 21, when visitors flock to town to snap up colorful fall mums and gourds from local Amish families.
Each spring, the Backroads Festival, April 28–29, 2007, offers arts and crafts, and guided tours to Amish destinations.
Any time of year you can experience old country store browsing at Yoder’s Variety, 7-1/2 miles north of Marion on Kentucky 91. Its shelves are stocked with fabrics, dried herbs and spices, candy, Amish-made jelly, glassware and kitchenware, toys, wood furniture, clothing, and more.
For country cooking, visit Marion Café at the corner of Main and Belleville, (270) 965-2211. Open 6 a.m.–2 p.m. Monday; 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Tuesday–Thursday; Friday–Saturday 6 a.m.–9 p.m. Or try The Coffee Shop at 108 Main Street, (270) 965-5185, open 6 a.m.–8 p.m. Monday–Saturday; 6 a.m.–3 p.m. Sunday.
For information about Marion-area Amish, call (270) 965-5015 or go online to www.marionkentucky.us/Marion-Kentucky-amish.htm.
Amish in Hardin County are located primarily in the Sonora and Glendale areas, and can often be found selling their wares in Sonora near the Pilot Travel Center and the Five-Star gas station, both on E. Western Avenue; in Glendale near the Whistle Stop and near the Pilot Travel Center on Glendale-Hodgenville Road; and in Elizabethtown just north of Towne Mall on Dixie Highway.
Amish are relatively new to the Mayfield area, locals say, but they sometimes sell handwoven baskets on Kentucky 45 toward Paducah. The Mennonites, an order from which the Amish descended, operate a bulk food store in Mayfield off Kentucky 121.
Shannon Leonard-Boone is a regular contributor to the Traveling Kentucky column.
Source: http://www.kentuckyliving.com/article.asp?articleid=1794&issueid=278#parttwo
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum Dig September 20, 2014.
Come to Marion, Kentucky and dig for Fluorite and related minerals during the daytime digs hosted by the museum. Nighttime digs are also offered and are a completely different experience as black lights are used to identify and collect fluorescent minerals.
Pre-registration for a dig is required, so register early as space is limited to the first 30 people per date.
Registration forms can be found HERE.
If you would like to schedule a private dig, please call the museum (270) 965-4263.
The Ben E. Clement Mineral Museum
PO Box 391 Marion, KY 42064
(270)965-4263
Click Here for Registration Form
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce
Welcome to the historic city of Marion, Kentucky, located in western Kentucky along the Ohio River, heart of the Amish country, and the Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce. Marion was first incorporated in 1851 and named after General Francis Marion, a Revolutionary war leader from South Carolina.
Mission Statement: The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization of diverse economic interests, unified to provide services to its members and leadership in promoting economic development in Marion, Crittenden County and to develop and maintain a viable business community.
Vision Statement: We are a membership driven organization that builds strong relationships with government, education, and community to create a prosperous business climate for Crittenden County. As the voice of business for Crittenden County, we the Chamber will work to ensure the region is a vibrant and prosperous place to carry on business. The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce furthermore, seeks to maintain and enhance a strong socially responsible business climate based on the principles of free enterprise and fair profit. We are committed to advancing existing businesses and attracting new economic opportunities and constructively influencing public policy to support healthy private enterprise system. We value the regions historical character, cultural and diversity while embracing economic prosperity and innovation as key components to the quality of life we enjoy.
The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce has a membership of over 130 members that live and do business here as well members from the surrounding communities. Our Chamber of Commerce is made up of nearly 90 percent small business, with the majority of those having four or fewer employees. The Chamber of Commerce is the ultimate business resource in our area. Membership is open to all businesses that maintain an annual dues investment. Benefits of membership include networking opportunities, community involvement, image enhancement, political advocacy, information access and benefits and heightened credibility.
Through words and the pictorial development of this website the Chamber of Commerce will try to convey the intangible yet vividly apparent spirit of the people of our community, their optimistic outlook tempered with acknowledgement of reality, their generosity blended with a belief of self-reliance and their unfailing faith in family, friendships and the grace of God.
The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors is an extraordinary group of people who dedicate their time, talents and civic concern to development of the area’s economy and quality of life. By being active in partnerships with governmental agencies, educational facilities, and other civic groups, they work to bring the county to full realization of its limitless potential. As a group and along with members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Board assists in attracting new business and supporting growth and expansion of existing businesses.
The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors maintains a group of committees who further help and assist in business concerns of the community. Those committees include but are not limited to: membership, constitution & bylaws, business recognition, festivals, business after hours, awards, marketing, finance, nominations, leadership, government advocacy, business days, A.P.E.S. (American Private Enterprise System & Youth Development) and fund-raising.
In addition to the many high profile events that the Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce hosts such as the Pumpkin Festival and the Annual Banquet, many smaller occasions for getting together are held throughout the year. The Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Luncheons, Business After Hours and 1st Dollar Presentations are held to provide networking opportunities by Chamber of Commerce members and their guests.
Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce Benefits – What’s in it for you? The benefits make it an easy decision. For less than a dollar for each work day on average, your return on investment is assured.
BECOME A MEMBER NOW!
Click on the Membership Button to download your application!!
Mission Statement: The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce is a membership organization of diverse economic interests, unified to provide services to its members and leadership in promoting economic development in Marion, Crittenden County and to develop and maintain a viable business community.
Vision Statement: We are a membership driven organization that builds strong relationships with government, education, and community to create a prosperous business climate for Crittenden County. As the voice of business for Crittenden County, we the Chamber will work to ensure the region is a vibrant and prosperous place to carry on business. The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce furthermore, seeks to maintain and enhance a strong socially responsible business climate based on the principles of free enterprise and fair profit. We are committed to advancing existing businesses and attracting new economic opportunities and constructively influencing public policy to support healthy private enterprise system. We value the regions historical character, cultural and diversity while embracing economic prosperity and innovation as key components to the quality of life we enjoy.
The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce has a membership of over 130 members that live and do business here as well members from the surrounding communities. Our Chamber of Commerce is made up of nearly 90 percent small business, with the majority of those having four or fewer employees. The Chamber of Commerce is the ultimate business resource in our area. Membership is open to all businesses that maintain an annual dues investment. Benefits of membership include networking opportunities, community involvement, image enhancement, political advocacy, information access and benefits and heightened credibility.
Through words and the pictorial development of this website the Chamber of Commerce will try to convey the intangible yet vividly apparent spirit of the people of our community, their optimistic outlook tempered with acknowledgement of reality, their generosity blended with a belief of self-reliance and their unfailing faith in family, friendships and the grace of God.
The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors is an extraordinary group of people who dedicate their time, talents and civic concern to development of the area’s economy and quality of life. By being active in partnerships with governmental agencies, educational facilities, and other civic groups, they work to bring the county to full realization of its limitless potential. As a group and along with members of the Chamber of Commerce, the Board assists in attracting new business and supporting growth and expansion of existing businesses.
The Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors maintains a group of committees who further help and assist in business concerns of the community. Those committees include but are not limited to: membership, constitution & bylaws, business recognition, festivals, business after hours, awards, marketing, finance, nominations, leadership, government advocacy, business days, A.P.E.S. (American Private Enterprise System & Youth Development) and fund-raising.
In addition to the many high profile events that the Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce hosts such as the Pumpkin Festival and the Annual Banquet, many smaller occasions for getting together are held throughout the year. The Chamber of Commerce Quarterly Luncheons, Business After Hours and 1st Dollar Presentations are held to provide networking opportunities by Chamber of Commerce members and their guests.
Crittenden County Chamber of Commerce Benefits – What’s in it for you? The benefits make it an easy decision. For less than a dollar for each work day on average, your return on investment is assured.
BECOME A MEMBER NOW!
Click on the Membership Button to download your application!!
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