This is a guest post by Van Meter Pettit, President of Town Branch Trail, Inc.
Town Branch Trail, Inc., a homegrown private non-profit founded in 2001, would like to welcome you to a community party at Town Branch Trail in the McConnell’s Trace neighborhood on Sunday, August 15th from 1-5pm. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy the 1.8 miles of completed trail and learn a little bit about the environment and the history of this beautiful corridor.
Since we began envisioning this now fast-developing project, our goals have been clear: A) Connect downtown Lexington with its world-famous equine landscape via area neighborhoods, parks and historic sites along the westward course of Town Branch, the middle fork of Elkhorn Creek and B) Get people out from behind their windshields and give them a way to get exercise and to connect with their fellow Lexingtonians. We are very grateful for the progress achieved thus far. The mayors, councils and city staff over the years have been ALL-IMPORTANT in making our dreams a reality for Lexington.
Please join us in giving thanks to LFUCG for its commitment to this project and let your elected leadership know that this is the kind of investment in our future that you support. Together we can make Lexington the exceptional city it promises to be.
We also want you to think about what happens next. With the Legacy Trail and Town Branch Trail substantially developed and on a course to be fully-realized, what does the community want to do going forward? Do we need to look at a region-wide consortium to promote longer trails that connect towns, farmland and waterways? Please take a good look at the work of the UK Landscape Architecture Program called, “Beyond the Legacy.” It is very impressive. This is a time we need to assess how much of a commitment we are willing to make to invest in our world-famous landscape and make it totally integral to our community life. Please let us know what you think.
Trailapalooza is intended to give thanks to Lexington for supporting the Town Branch Trail and to give folks of all walks a chance to have some fun and fresh air at no cost. The day’s activities will include:
- Live music by the Big Maracas
- A performance by the March Madness Marching Band
- An appearance by PRESTO! the people-powered piano bike
- 16 local exhibitors along the trail
- FREE food from Good Foods Market & Cafe and Whole Foods Market
- FREE bottles of Dasani water, donated by Coca-Cola
- A scavenger hunt, with prizes that include…
- A $200 gift card to Pedal Power bike shop
- A $100 gift card to Phillip Gall’s Outdoor & Ski
- A 6-month & 12-month membership to Urban Active
- Gift cards to Morris Book Shop, Third Street Stuff, Doodles & the Lexington Children’s Theatre
- Town Branch Trail t-shirts, reusable bags, pedometers and DVDs
We would also like to thank W. Rogers Company, UK Healthcare, Lowell’s Independent Automotive, Lexington Distillery District & Columbia Gas of Kentucky for their generous support of this event.
