Big Brownsville Bash Returning In June

Second Annual Event Runs From June 1st - June 3rd

Madison Doyle, story:
The Edmonson County of Chamber of Commerce is hosting its second annual Big Brownsville Bash, a three-day event, starting Thursday, June 1st and running through Saturday, June 3rd. All of the events will be downtown in Brownsville, with the exception of the firework show, which will be at ECHS.

Chamber President Darren Doyle said this year's Bash will see a couple of changes from last year that the Chamber Board felt needed a little improving.

"Last year, the Bash was overwhelmingly successful," said Doyle. "We saw more people out on the square on Saturday's events of last year than we have seen in decades. We basically ran out of room, but that was a great thing."

Doyle said this event absolutely could not happen without the support of the sponsors. Last year, there were six corporate sponsors that are all returning, plus the addition of one more. These seven sponsors are Rafferty's, Patton Funeral Home, A Plus Family Health Care, Alford's Pharmacy, Scott Skaggs Photography/The Hidden Homestead, Edmonson County Tourism and Commission, and Bank of Edmonson County.

"We are so thankful that the same people that sponsored us last year wanted to sponsor us again, and the additional sponsor on top of that. This just couldn't happen without them," Doyle said.

There will be several major events; many of those being the same as last year. Doyle says the Chamber hopes that the improvements being made on these events will draw out an even larger crowd than last year for a more "festival friendly atmosphere."

"In addition to our sponsors, our Chamber Board has been dedicated to the Chamber's mission, which is to strengthen our local business community and provide whatever resources we can to our members," he said. "We have a great board that believes in our community, made up myself, Vice President Josh Casey (C&C Firearms), Treasurer Daniel Bolton (Bank of Edmonson County), Scott Skaggs (Hidden Homestead/SS Photography), Mark Wardlow (Santa's Helping Hands), Mike Stoyonovich (DAV Chapter 32) and our newest member, Sherrell Thompson (Edmonson County FRYSC)."

To kick off the events on Thursday, there will be a three day 4-H Rally Day exhibit, which will be a qualifier for the state competition. Doyle said that last year's Rally Day exhibits allowed many kids to compete at the state level, and said many even received "impressive"statewide  awards. This event will be at the Heritage Center in Brownsville.

In addition to the 4-H Rally Days, there will also be an art exhibit from the newly reformed Edmonson County Arts Guild. This is going to be organized by Mrs. Phyllis Miller, retired art teacher from ECHS, who will be recruiting local artists to put together their own art exhibits. This will be held during all three days of the Bash.

Thursday night will be the Edmonson County Homemakers Baby Show, presented by Scott Skaggs Photography/The Hidden Homestead. There will be a number of divisions for both boys and girls. This event will be in the Community Center.

"We want to personally thank the Homemakers, they organize the Baby Show themselves and they put this on for us; we are thankful they want to be part of it, and we couldn't do it without them," said Doyle.

On Friday, the 4-H Rally Days and the art exhibits will continue, but there will also be a new event. There will now be a tractor show, also on the square. While antique or "out of the ordinary" tractors will be featured, any and all tractors are welcome. This event is free to all with no registration fee to participate.

There will also be gourmet Texas-style barbecue and Tex-Mex available for purchase from Creekside Market and BBQ, one of the Chamber's newest members. Also on Friday will be the Arts, Crafts, & Vendor Fair, sponsored by Patton Funeral Home. Last year, this event was held only on Saturday. Doyle said because of the event's success, the Chamber has decided to extend it to Friday. Also on Friday night, the Big Brownsville Bash Miss Brownsville Beauty Pageant will be held at the ECHS Auditorium. The pageant is sponsored by the Bank of Edmonson County, and it also a sanctioned Kentucky Festival pageant. Doyle said he hopes that this will be a benefit to those who will be competing.

EVENT FLYER SLIDESHOW:

Doyle says Saturday will be the biggest day of the Bash with multiple events lined up. Kicking things off early will be a 5K run and one mile walk. Doyle says while this event was successful last year, it wasn't the best location. The Chamber decided to move this event downtown as well. The runners will start at the square, and there will be a designated route down to the river, to ECHS, then back to the square. This also counts as a point race to cater to those who run in multiple tournaments throughout the year. This is sponsored by Edmonson County Tourism and Commission. Those who sign up before the deadline will receive a free t-shirt.

Also Saturday morning, the Arts, Craft, and Vendor Fair will begin at 8 am and go until 2 pm. There will be a variety of things such as boutique items, jewelry, clothing, and even homemade treats. This will be in the community center. While that event takes place, there will Big Bash Car Show on the square, sponsored by Rafferty's. Doyle said last year's car show brought out the largest crowd and he hopes to see an even larger crowd this year. Also during this time, will be the return of the Big Bash Canoe and Kayak Challenge, sponsored by Alford’s Pharmacy. This will be at Houchins Ferry. This year there will be a business division in the challenge to compete in as well.

Saturday afternoon there will be a two-man corn hole tournament with cash prizes. It has a $30 sign up fee per team. The prize money will be 100% payback and additionally, the Chamber is throwing in an extra $200 to first place, and an extra $100 to second place. This event is sponsored by A Plus Family Health Care.

Saturday night will be the Big Bash Firework show, brought to you by all seven sponsors of the Brownsville Bash. The fireworks will once again be shot from the practice football field at ECHS. Doyle says this free event will be able to be seen from anywhere in Brownsville.

"We heard from people who watched the fireworks from not only the high school, but also from Dairy Queen, from downtown, we heard from all over the place and we received nothing but compliments," said Doyle.

Doyle also noted that there will not be a carnival this year, and more parking will be available because of this.

"We aren't having a carnival this year because we feel that we just don't have the space to hold a larger carnival," Doyle said. "We were glad we were able to have a carnival last year, but this year we felt that it would be more beneficial to have more inflatables and games for the kids that will be free, rather than paying for a carnival ticket. The cost of everything has gone up so we wanted to provide a way for a family to come out and literally not spend a single dollar at the Bash if they don't want to. There will be plenty to do."

The inflatables and games will also be downtown on Saturday.

Doyle added that the Chamber realizes that is is a little bit "unconventional" for a Chamber of Commerce to put on a festival as one of their main priorities.

'We hear people say 'Why don't you guys host events like Bowling Green or Glasgow?' Doyle said. "Well, what works for those other towns may not work the best for our community. We feel, as a Chamber, that our priority is to provide opportunities for our members. What better way to do that, than to do everything we can to bring people in our town, get people out of the house, and go to these events? We feel like this is a way for people to get excited about our town and community again."

Doyle said people often complain that there's nothing to do here, "Well, here it is,"  he said. "We hope we are providing fun opportunities for families and we hope that spills over into helping our business community."

Doyle also noted that the Chamber has invested in billboards in Brownsville, Bowling Green, and Glasgow that will be displayed soon, in hopes of drawing other people to Edmonson County.

In addition to all the events, the Chamber is also hosting "Food Truck Alley" on Saturday, with Pelican's Snoballs, The Edmonson County Cattlemen's Association hamburgers and beef hot dog grill, Big Al's Hot Chicken, Ladybugs Fritters & Fries, and local favorite Walden's Barbecue. More food trucks are likely to be added before the event, Doyle said. There will also be an online photo contest where anyone can submit a local photo to the Chamber Facebook Page.

The Edmonson Voice is also proud to be the media sponsor for the event. They are providing all the ad, flyer, and promotional designs, as well as a complete advertising package at no cost.

Doyle added that QR codes appear on all the flyers so that one can be directed to the Chamber website or other sites pertaining to specific events.

For all registration and other specific information regarding these events, you can click here to visit the Chamber website.