Tourist Commission Buys Downtown Lot, Will Host Yoga On The Lawn Sept. 16 And Other Events

Robert Moore
Herald Staff
rmoore@harrodsburgherald.com

The Harrodsburg-Mercer County Tourist Commission has completed the purchase of the empty lot next to Olde Town Park in downtown Harrodsburg, and has begun making plans on what to do with the property.

The tourist commission bought the lot on Main Street from John William and Donna Holiday for $65,000. The purchase closed Aug. 29.

“We are excited about the purchase of the lot on Main Street and what opportunities it can bring to our community,” said Daarik Gray, executive-director of the tourist commission, in a press release. “We have already started initial planning for events for the rest of the year and look forward to gathering with both locals and visitors soon.”

Gray said the tourist commission will host their first event on the property Saturday, Sept. 16. Matthew Higdon will lead the first “Yoga on the Lawn” starting at 6:30 p.m.

“We are excited to welcome popular Yoga instructor Matthew Higdon for our first event, and look to host this monthly through November,” Gray said. “More information and registration for the first yoga session is available on our Facebook page.”

Other yoga nights are tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 11, depending on the weather. The commission also plans to rent a movie screen for a movie night Friday, Oct. 6, and perhaps an ice skating rink Dec. 1-3. Other events, like Friday Nights on Main, Shop Small Saturday and Oktoberfest, which returns Friday, Sept. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 1, will also make use of the lot.

The commission has already purchased corn hole boards and giant-sized versions of Jenga, Connect Four, checkers and chess, among other games to give people something interactive to do on the lawn on Saturdays. Gray said the tourist commission may expand beyond Saturdays as they move forward.

A sub-committee was formed to make decisions about the property consisting of Gray, Erika Litton, Jennifer Kazimer, Sarah Hill, Kaitlyn Harder, Sky Maddox and Rita McIntyre.

“We’ve got a great group to help bring this vision to life,” Gray said. “Everyone involved has a passion for our community, and we are all trying to find creative ways to bring more experiences for those who live and visit here.”

The tourist commission has been in talks with the Holidays to purchase the property for nearly nine months, but were prevented from finalizing the transaction because of issues getting a clear deed. The title company that issued the deed went out of business 15 years ago, officials said. However, the tourist commission began making preliminary decisions about the property last month, voting to pay no more than $6,326 to fix the sidewalk on Poplar Street.

“We are always open to ideas, so we welcome community feedback on what they’d like to see in that space,” Gray said. “Over the next year, we are looking to host lots of exciting things for the community to give them another option of things to do in our wonderful town.”

Yoga on the Lawn with instructor Matthew Higdon happens at 133 South Main Street on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 6:30 p.m. For more, visit mercercountyky.com, or their Facebook page @Harrodsburg-Mercer County Tourist Commission.