BARDSTOWN, Ky. — The Kentucky Bourbon Festival, America’s premier celebration of the nation’s native spirit, announced Tuesday it will delay this year’s event due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, and will host the festival one month later, Oct. 15 – 18, 2020.
The decision comes after thorough evaluation and consideration by Festival leadership, its board of directors and partner distilleries. KBF President and COO Randy Prasse said the ever-changing COVID-19 pandemic, business operations guidelines and the time lost during the key event planning time this spring, ultimately led to the decision.
“We are regaining 30 days of planning with this decision. We feel that with this short delay, we have time to still produce a quality event — and do it safely. We will continue to monitor the CDC, the governor’s office and the tourism industry, and implement our own best practices developed over our 29 years in existence,” Prasse said. “Unlike some of our region’s larger events, we are smaller and more agile and can make decisions a lot closer to the target. If we do have to cancel the event, we will but we owe it to our supporters and bourbon industry partners to make every effort to produce the 2020 festival.”
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival began as a simple bourbon tasting dinner and has grown tremendously over nearly three decades. Today, it’s known as one of the commonwealth’s leading cultural festivals and as a celebration of the people and the community that have contributed to the state’s signature industry for generations. In late 2019, the KBF announced changes to the festival’s leadership, a new mission and vision and plans for a redesigned event.
“We are doing everything we can to plan for and execute a new and reimagined 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival,” said KBF Board of Directors Chairman David Mandell. “At the same time, we’re working to ensure the health and safety of our attendees and valued partners. If that means we need to make adjustments in the coming weeks, we will do so.”
Tickets for the 2020 Kentucky Bourbon Festival will be made available for purchase at a later date. Please continue to visit the Kentucky Bourbon Festival at www.kybourbonfestival.com to stay up to date on the latest festival happenings and developments.
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