Annual Historical Society Tasting Party hits 28 years of funding preservation in Harrodsburg
Published 6:46 am Saturday, May 5, 2018
- Photos contributed a table from a previous Tasting Party’s is shown. Many popular items will return that have been on the menu for years, as well as some new creations, including breakfast and brunch selections. People may dine in or fill their plates and carry out.
The Harrodsburg Historical Society will once again hold its annual Tasting Party on Monday — adding up to a whopping 28 years running. The party is an ongoing favorite due to the homemade meals served up, at only $5 a plate.
The event is the biggest money-maker for the Historical Society, along with its annual homes tour, and goes toward the continued maintenance and preservation of the town’s beloved Morgan Row.
“It’s one of the oldest areas in Kentucky,” says Marian Bauer, who has been with the organization for years. “It’s important to us that we keep it looking good, standing and in good order.”
As started last year, the society is offering an earlier start-time: 10 a.m. There will be breakfast and brunch items on the menu, as well as the tried and true homemade dishes made popular year after year, donated by volunteers.
Harrodsburg Historical Society member Maggie Hardy has created this “quilt window,” made with an old window frame which once was part of the foundation of Morgan Row. Other window frames that were removed due to their replacement recently will be for sale during the Tasting Party, with the most expensive at $40.
Living in the oldest settlement in Kentucky, Bauer says, is a blessing. However, those buildings need special loving touches and upkeep attempts. “People won’t travel here, tourist-wise, to visit if it looks like every other place in other towns,” she says. That’s why it’s important to keep the unique, historical attributes of the area pristine, and the society works to do just that — with the help of the community.
The facility is wheelchair accessible, though, Bauer says. Visitors are welcome to eat on the premises in a cozy dining room where fellowship abounds, or they may fill their plates and carry-out. The $5 covers the plate and a drink, but desserts are extra — but worth it, Bauer says.
Another addition this year is a piece that’s unique in its own right — a quilt window, made by Maggie Hardy, another society member. She used an old window that was removed from the west side of Morgan Row when they were recently replaced, and created a quilt out of it.
“A limited number of ‘undecorated’ windows will be for sale, with the most expensive — like the size Maggie used — running at $40, and they go down in price, depending on the condition,” Bauer says. The finished window Hardy has constructed will be on display during the Tasting Party, and directions for finishing window with quilt squares will be available for those interested.
“And, as usual, I have to say — our price is still the same, after all these years.”
It’s a great time to come out and eat, since many of the downtown eateries take Mondays off in Harrodsburg, Bauer says.
No reservations are necessary, but dishes can go quickly, depending on what they are, she says.
