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Tags: Robots / Coal Mines / Kentucky Travel / → All Tags
Kentucky Town Transforms Coal Mine Into Robot-Filled Tourist Attraction
Among the many problems with forcibly peeling resources out of the earth is that, once they're gone, all you've got left is a gigantic hole in the ground (cf. the Mirny diamond mine, which functionally has its own weather patterns). For dozens of poverty-stricken towns across Appalachia, the old coal mines that used to provide economic livelihood have long since been tapped out.
One town in Kentucky, though, is determined to turn their old mine into an economically viable tourist attraction. It's not as chichi as Sweden's luxury silver mine boutique hotel, but in fairness to the Kentucky folks they haven't had since the Middle Ages to dig it out.
The renovated coal mine in Lynch, Kentucky takes passengers on a railcar tour that begins by plunging tourists into the darkness of the mine shaft. From there they go through each of eight different stops with narrations throughout. Each stop is supposed to represent some significant era of the mine's development and the exhibits are populated by animatronic robots of old Italian workers speaking broken, accent-laced English. Thereby confirming Jaunted tourist attraction rule #72 - if you're going to go for kitsch, go big. There's even a mule involved:
Tags: Food Festivals / Food Travel / Fall Travel / Kentucky Travel / Events / → All Tags
Would You Eat 'Burgoo,' Let Alone Go To A Festival Celebrating It?
Here’s a food festival for the person who has seen and eaten everything already. It’s the Anderson County Burgoo Festival in Kentucky, and apparently, the county is also the burgoo capital of the world. In case you didn’t know—and we definitely didn’t—burgoo is a sort of stew like mixture kind of like gumbo or chili but also kind of not. It’s really popular in Kentucky and they love to throw all kinds of meat into it, whether it be pork, chicken, or mutton. We’re thinking if they had some other stuff around—like fresh opossum roadkill—that it probably could and has been included throughout the years.
At this year’s festival, we’re hoping that only the freshest ingredients are used to prepare the celebration’s namesake. This weekend from September 25 to 27, the streets come alive with the sights, smells, and sensations of the mighty burgoo. There will be plenty of music to entertain the crowds, pumpkin painting for the little burgoo fans, and a boniest knee contest. Sorry ladies, but the contest is apparently for gentleman only. So get a warm cup of the stew and grab a good spot for the tractor pull.
Tags: Events / Montreal / Beer Travel / Kentucky Travel / Venice / → All Tags
This Weekend In the World: Bejeweled Toilet Seats and Canals of Art
· Venice: This weekend marks the opening of Venice's huge art to-do, the Biennale, which transforms the city into an exhibition space for international artists until November. While the acqua alta floods the city during late winter and early spring, the Biennale does its own summer flooding of Venice with tourists and fans of modern art, film, music and dance. Expect to see odd apparitions like inflatable icebergs plopped in squares, such as in the picture above. For information on the exhibition's major shows and locations, check out the official website.
