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The Best Christmas Lights in Lexington + Kentucky 2022
One of my all-time favorite holiday activities is spending a night in the car driving around and looking at all the Christmas lights! There’s just something so special about doing this with your family every year. This year I wanted to share an updated list + route of the best places to go in Lexington, as well as some fun special event light displays that are happening across Kentucky this month.
The Best Christmas Lights in Lexington + Kentucky
One of my all-time favorite Christmas activities has always been driving around all over Lexington and looking at lights! There’s just something so cozy and fun about doing this with your family every year, so this year I wanted to share a route of the best places to go in Lexington, as well as some fun special event light displays that are happening in businesses across Kentucky (some free, some paid). Thanks to one of my high school classmates, Sarah Wainright and her friend, Kerry Steinhofer who put the majority of this info together (see their full list with details at the end of this post!). I saw her share on Facebook and thought it was such an amazing, complete list that I had to share!
All the Best Drive-In Movie Theaters in Kentucky
One of the greatest things about summer is catching a movie at a drive-in theater. Drive-Ins have been around since the 1930s, and there’s something about them that seems to transport you back in time! There are only about 300 of these theaters left around the country, and we are fortunate to have some amazing options in and around Kentucky! Check out this list to find one near you, and start planning a perfect, nostalgic night for your summer bucket list.
Our Summer Bucket List
Every year when we return from vacation I feel that kind of sadness that summer is almost over and I haven’t done enough “summery” activites. This year I decided to jot down a little summer bucket list on the way home and we’ve been crossing lots of things off our list since our return. There’s still plenty of time left this summer to do all the fun things with your friends and family and really you can continue to do many of these things into fall as well! Some of the items I listed are specific to Lexington, Kentucky but you can definitely customize to something similar in your area. I’ve also included a blank summer bucket list template if you want to fill out your own! Enjoy and let me know what you’re excited to try first!
The Keeneland Paddock Dinner Series
I can't think of a better way to kick off summer than a dinner under the stars in the Keeneland Paddock! Thanks to Keeneland's new Paddock Dinner Series, you too can experience one of these intimate, family-style dinners right smack dab in the center of beautiful Keeneland. I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best meals I have ever eaten in Lexington, and each course was better than the last. The decor and ambiance was also just perfect with live music, delicious appetizers and drinks being passed, colorful tablesettings, and twinkle lights strung across the Paddock.
Better in the Bluegrass + The Kentucky State Parks Culinary Trail
It wasn't an ordinary Wednesday afternoon for me, last week I got to take a day trip down to Lake Cumberland State Park for a lunch previewing the new Better in the Bluegrass Culinary Tourism Initiative with the Kentucky Department of Tourism and Kentucky State Parks. The afternoon was warm and sunny, and the state park was the perfect setting with amazing views of Lake Cumberland from every angle! The purpose of the event was to kick-off the new Kentucky State Parks Culinary Trail (more on how to participate in that below), taste some of the amazing signature dishes that had been thoughtfully planned and prepared to represent each region of Kentucky, and overall just promote the impressive and ever-evolving food scene we have here in Kentucky.