It has become a yearly Christmas tradition in our family. We eat dinner at a local restaurant, go to the Festival of Trees and Trains at the Paramount Arts Center, and finish the night by driving around Central Park to see Winter Wonderland of Lights while listening to our favorite holiday music––usually “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby or the “Home Alone Soundtrack.”
Food trucks/trailers are no longer just a common sight at summer events as they can now be found at locations around the area year-round. Four of those trucks are Hillbilly Hibachi from Louisa, Kentucky; Fat Boy Q from Ironton, Ohio; The Pig’s Blanket/Spirit of America from Catlettsburg, Kentucky; and Spriggs Steak and Rib Shack from South Portsmouth, Kentucky. While each of these trucks serve different flavors, they all share one common ingredient—an owner with a passion for cooking.
For area native Belinda Hunt, opening Float 606 located at 3401Winchester Avenue, seemed like a no-brainer. After first hearing about float therapy, she and her daughter went to a nearby float location to give it a try. Her first experience occurred sometime around March of 2021, and she remembers being highly anxious at first.
Located at 12533 Virginia Blvd. Ashland, KY 41102, is Oasis Point RV Resort-Adventure Lake. This 28-acre campground boasts a four-acre lake fed by an underground spring, 46 full-hook-up campsites with city water, sewer, and 20/30/50 amps at every site. The property opened in January of 2021 shortly after owners Diamond and Lisa Lewis, Brandee Lewis, David Wooten, and Chris and Christy Schuler purchased the property.
Chelsea Potter hopes one thing, above all else, happens when people enter her painting studio in Russell––that they smile.
Prohibition may have ended in 1933, but in the heart of downtown Ashland, the era of bootlegging and gangsters is still very much alive and well.
Located just minutes off the Industrial Parkway sits AW Meat House––a local business owned and operated by area native Tyler Wells.
In a world newly released from the clutches of a pandemic, Dr. Sarah Ivers knew one thing to be true in 2022–she wanted to travel. And, as a professor of mammology and animal behavior at Shawnee State University, she also knew she wanted to go where she could observe some of nature’s most magnificent creatures.
Best friends since their youth, Haley Layman and Christina Wamsley did the college/job thing, got married, became moms, embarked on other adventures, and last year reunited to open a South Ashland boutique called Local Mercantile. It all sounds like an ideal setting for a heartwarming tale on hometown roots and friendship, and that’s exactly what it is.
The craze sweeping across the country has found a home in the Tri State.
Introduction to our very first family tree is usually when mother shows us the baby book resplendent with a tiny lock of hair. The family tree appears on page two, following the birth announcement our parents thought so clever.
The Tri-State area is home to many pet grooming businesses offering a wide array of services. Listed here are a few of the most unique grooming services that will be sure to have you and your pet coming back for more.
Restaurant and business partners Brian Listerman and Timothy Wolfe knew they wanted to be a part of the steady growth in Ironton.
Dr. Amy Heim’s approach to dentistry extends far beyond the teeth and gums. Creating picture perfect smiles is one of the Portsmouth dentist’s goals, of course, but Heim also uses her ever-growing knowledge and skills to help patients achieve overall health and wellness.
For Bernice Henry and her nephew Darrell Smith, opening a black history museum in Ashland, Kentucky, is more than just a dream––it’s a mission. That mission will be accomplished this spring when the C.B. Nuckolls Community Center and Black History Museum opens to the public.
Perfectly Mismatched
When you take a trip to the Portsmouth area, you’ll find established businesses and some new ones that hone in on the market and demand. Whatever you are looking for, you can find it in Portsmouth.
You don’t have to ask the Winter Wonderland of Lights committee a second time. That is a sentiment they have been taking seriously since 1989 when the first display of lights was erected at Central Park in Ashland.
If something seems different in downtown Ashland these days, that’s because it is. There are more events, more businesses and a whole bunch more people wandering around, carrying a cup of coffee or a smoothie purchased from one of those aforementioned businesses.
With a permanent home in the woods and weekly hikes in the hills, I’m not one to get too excited about visiting other mountain retreats, but after hearing from savvy travelers that Blackberry Farm was a must, it was time to see it first-hand. Never that simple, I discovered the Blackberry brand was now two as the farm had expanded with a sister property that encompassed an entire mountain, appropriately called Blackberry Mountain. “Which one should I visit?” I asked my new travel agent whom I call when I’m stumped. “Why not visit them both?” she suggested. They are only 30 minutes apart near Walland, Tennessee, outside of Knoxville and on the neighboring mountain to the Smokey Mountain National Park.
Evan White had his eyes on an early retirement plan so he could enjoy doing what he loves. But today, he’s living out his dream while still holding down a full-time job.