For the first time, museums and other history-related organizations in the Bluegrass met Wednesday to chart a more cooperative path forward as they work attract tourist dollars.
Representatives from the Ashland Henry Clay Estate, Explorium, the Blue Grass Aviation Museum, and about twenty other groups assemble in the Lexington Public Library Wednesday to, in some cases, meet each other for the first time. Asked if it’s a “herding cats” situation, LexHistory director Debra Watkins jokes, "A little bit, yes. A little bit of trying to at least get the cats to know what the other cats are doing."
Despite their similar missions, Watkins says too often the organizations view one another as competition rather than as potential partners. It’s that perception she hopes this and future Museum Roundtables can dispel. The goal, after all, is to get Kentucky’s historical attractions on the same footing as some of its more visible industries.
"We're so focused on bourbon and horses only that we sometimes miss out on promoting the rich heritage that we have here," she says. "The history of Kentucky influenced the history of the world and we need to be promoting that more."
LexHistory planners hope to create a community calendar for all local historical events and work with organizations to create more points of contact between them.
