Kentucky-themed things you can do online while stuck at home

Like most of you, I find myself in unfamiliar territory – a travel writer who can’t travel, unless you count my daily walks around my neighborhood. A food writer who can’t go out to eat, unless you count a hastily grabbed meal at a curbside pickup.

So, what have I been doing? Along with daily calls to friends across the country and a weekly virtual cocktail party with my friend Ruth, a magazine writer in Manhattan, I have discovered some new pastimes.

Thanks to You Tube, I’ve toured the British Museum and Yellowstone National Park. I’ve watched a NASA produced video about our galaxy and listened to Mary Chapin Carpenter, accompanied by her dog and cat, give an impromptu concert in her kitchen.

All this got me thinking about what’s happening in Lexington virtually – how are our wildly creative residents bringing Lexington to you when you can’t come to it?

Virtual Kentucky horse farm tour

Let’s start with horses. We’ve missed the spring meet at Keeneland and will have to await the verdict on the fall meet and Breeders’ Cup, but we shouldn’t be bereft of our beloved equines altogether.

With the farms closed to the public until further notice, Horse Country has produced a series of videos allowing you to visit the horses while maintaining social distance. For example, raise your spirit by watching foals cavort in their paddocks at Denali Farm which offers a foaling barn tour every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. For this and other virtual equine experiences, go to visithorsecountry.com.

Virtual distillery tour

Bourbon lovers are probably breaking into their stash on a regular basis during these trying times, but did you know that Buffalo Trace has a virtual tour showing “visitors” how whiskey is made at the oldest continually operating distillery in America?

This creative video allows you to tour on your own or with legendary tour guide Freddie Johnson. It enables you to travel back in time to experience the distillery as it was in the 18th and 19th century and during Prohibition. You can also see the distillery as it transitions through the seasons – from the lush greenery of spring to the snow-covered grounds of winter. About the only thing you can’t do is sample its award-winning bourbons. Plus you can take a triva challenge. Take the tour by going to buffalotracedistillery.com/virtualtour/.

Ashland tour

Okay, it can’t be all horses and bourbon. Time for a little history.

Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate is staying connected with its “Wake Up with Ashland” tours offered every Tuesday and Thursday at 9:00 a.m. on Facebook Live (facebook.com/henryclayestate). These 20-minute tours will explore different rooms of the mansion, outbuildings and grounds.

Your family can get involved in the Our Kentucky Families project on the blog page at henryclay.org. Ask your kids to help select an artifact from your home that is part of your own family history. Take a picture and then submit the image and a brief description, and Ashland curator Eric Brooks will respond by sharing a similar artifact from the home’s collection as well as the story behind it. You may find you have more in common with Henry Clay than you know.

Culinary help online

If you’re getting hungry about now, you can catch a You Tube video of Outside TV’s chef Adam Glick as he visits Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, a spot he calls “the ultimate farm-to-table destination.” You can find the video on their website at shakervillage.org and also get a recipe for the Trustees’ Table’s delectable pimento cheese fritters.

Our own James Beard-nominated chef Ouita Michel is everywhere – on the University of Kentucky’s Food Connection Facebook page and on her own Holly Hill Inn Facebook page where you can watch videos of Ouita and her talented chefs making everything from pasta to egg dishes.

Livestream Aid the Industry music festival

You’ve had your bourbon and Kentucky Proud vittles. Now it’s time to listen to some music for a good cause. This Saturday, April 11, Aid the Industry will stream a live music festival (beginning at 1:00 p.m.) to help raise money for Central Kentucky musicians, bars and restaurants affected by the COVID-19 virus. To see a full line-up for the festival, go to aidtheindustry.com.

If it’s classical music you’re longing for, especially that from our own Lexington Philharmonic, you’ll be happy to know that as part of the #LexPhilLivingRoom series, WEKU (88.9 on the dial) will rebroadcast a February performance of Blue Beethoven. Dates are Friday, April 10 and Sunday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m.

Fashion show from Lexington boutique

Okay, admit it…..now that most of us are working from home, our wardrobe consists of our PJs and if we really feel like dressing up, our sweats or yoga pants.

Still, if you’re a woman with visions of cute frocks – you know, the kind we usually reserve for Keeneland or dinner at a swank restaurant – then Sasha Bowlby, owner of Sash & Bow Boutique on Walton Avenue, is ready for you on her Facebook page and Instagram (just search for Sash & Bow).

She may have closed her shop temporarily, but every Sunday and Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. from her parents’ home in Stanton, she presents a fashion show on the above sites. Her younger sister Brie struts the catwalk; her older sister Emie mans the computer, and Sasha comments on the clothing and accessories available for online purchase.

March Madness via UK Art Museum

I know you missed the NCAA Tournament and the chance for another possible title. The University of Kentucky Art Museum feels your pain. Welcome to Museum Madness, their version of March Madness where paintings from the permanent collection compete to make it to the Final Four and ultimately the championship game on April 26.

Several works have already advanced to the Elite 8 – most notably, Andy Warhol’s portrait of Muhammad Ali. You can still vote by going to bit.ly/3c2VDxI.

VisitLex offers daily options

Over the past few years, national and international travel writers have discovered the charm of Lexington thanks to the efforts of the city’s Convention & Visitors’ Bureau. Now, VisitLex wants to remind all of us why we love our city so much.

It has become the clearinghouse for online offerings related to the arts, music, food, historic attractions and other aspects of Bluegrass life. Go to their Facebook page at facebook.com/visitlex to find a daily schedule of performances, demonstrations and tours.

Want to watch Ouita Michel teach you how to make perfect cheese grits? Want to listen to Ben Sollee’s rendition of My Old Kentucky Home on his cello or take a yoga class with an instructor at Vinyasa Flow Yoga? VisitLex has what you want with four different videos every day.

“We’re trying to connect Lexingtonians with local companies in the most meaningful way we can during these challenging times,” says Niki Goldey, director of communications for VisitLex.

Zoom is all the rage right now, and this Thursday (April 9) VisitLex will join Horse Country in hosting a 1 p.m. conference from Mill Ridge Farm with one of their horses in attendance. It is limited to 100 attendees, so be the first to “Zoom” in on this opportunity. Go to VisitLex’s website for details.