Frankfort – This holiday season, Team Kentucky invites you to jingle all the way along the Kentucky Main Street Peppermint Trail. Twenty-three Kentucky Main Street communities, including Grayson, are preparing to spread joy and magic along the Peppermint Trail – an initiative to increase visitation to small towns, local businesses and artisans during the Christmas season.
“The Peppermint Trail is a great way for travelers to explore our New Kentucky Home as we come together to celebrate our great downtowns and support local businesses during the Christmas season,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Let’s embrace the spirit of giving by supporting our Kentucky Main Street communities.”
From now until December 24, visitors can enjoy local foods and shop for unique gifts as they stroll through the heart of downtown areas of Kentucky Main Street communities. The Peppermint Trail offers a chance to experience authentic holiday traditions such as tree lightings, parades, ice rinks and more while showing our New Kentucky Home spirit and supporting local communities.
New this year is the “Peppermint Passport,” featuring Kentucky Main Street communities along the Peppermint Trail. Collect stamps from at least four communities along the trail and drop off your passport to enter for a chance to win a prize package valued at $1,000.
Participating communities include Bardstown, Beattyville, Campbellsville, Carrollton, Grayson, Guthrie, La Grange, London, Maysville, Middlesboro, Morehead, Murray, Paducah, Perryville, Pikeville, Pineville, Salyersville, Scottsville, Shelbyville, Springfield, Taylorsville, Tri-Cities of Cumberland (Cumberland, Benham and Lynch) and Williamsburg.
The Kentucky Main Street program was created by the Kentucky Heritage Council/State Historic Preservation Office in 1979 to reverse economic decline in central business districts through historic preservation and redevelopment of commercial buildings. The Kentucky Main Street program builds on the New Kentucky Home initiative by revitalizing downtown communities to attract new visitors.
Earlier this year, the Governor announced that 2023 was the best year on record for tourism, with $13.8 billion in economic impact and 95,222 jobs. This followed a record-breaking 2022 when he announced that tourism had generated more than $12.9 billion in economic impact and secured 91,668 jobs in Kentucky that year.
In November 2023, Gov. Beshear announced that the commonwealth broke an all-time record with nine new tourism development projects set to generate an estimated $292.1 million in economic investment. These projects are also expected to create 550 jobs once operational. Through October 2024, nine tourism development projects have an estimated investment of $251.5 million. The projects will provide 352 full-time jobs and 1,326 part-time jobs once operational.
For more information, visit heritage.ky.gov.
