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The Smithsonian Museum is coming to Winchester! Well, part of it is.

The Bluegrass Heritage Museum will host the Smithsonian exhibit Spark! Places of Innovation beginning Saturday, July 29 and running throughout the month of August.

The community is invited to the Grand Opening at 6:00 p.m. on the 29th on the museum’s patio. A representative of the Ale-8-One company will discuss the soft drink’s history and bring a variety of Ale-8 products; music will be offered by The Six Old Seniors. Small groups will then rotate through the Valentine House behind the main museum building, where the exhibit will be set up. Docents will guide visitors on how to explore the exhibit using interactive devices.

For the remainder of its run, Spark! will be open during regular museum hours, Monday through Saturday from noon until 4:00 p.m.  The exhibit is free to the public.

Spark! focuses on how rural communities across the country have adapted to meet a variety of challenges by improving existing approaches or even creating something entirely new. Visitors are encouraged to look at our own community and think about how innovations have impacted local growth throughout the years and where we might go from here.

According to information provided by the Smithsonian, “Spark! Places of Innovation takes visitors on a journey to see places where uniqueness is an asset and to meet people who have stepped outside their comfort zone to solve community problems.  These towns are working not just to survive, but to thrive through innovation.”

One of the areas of local emphasis that the museum is highlighting is the importance of agriculture throughout Clark County’s history. The museum recently received a Bluegrass stripper, a farm machine patented by the McCormick brothers a little over a hundred years ago; this machine helped county farmers harvest bluegrass seed, a very important cash crop of the time.

At 6:30 p.m. on Monday, August 14 Clay Wills and Shane Wiseman will be at the museum to talk about innovations in farming and bring antique farm implements for display.

On Tuesday August 22 there will be a Trolley Tour to Mt. Folly Farm to hear Laura Freeman discuss her organic approach to farming. The trolley will leave the museum at 5:30 p.m. and there will be a box supper included.  This event will require reservations, which can be made by calling 859-745-1358; there will also be a charge to cover the cost of transportation and food.

Bringing Spark! to Winchester is made possible through the Museum on Main Street program, a partnership between the Smithsonian Institution and the Kentucky State Humanities Council.