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Press Releases / Photography / Video /
Fast Facts / Press Kit
March 25, 2010
Cave area prepares for tourist season
By GINA KINSLOW Glasgow Daily Times
CAVE CITY — The laughing call of Perudi, a
Kookaburra, drew a lot of attention Wednesday to
Kentucky Down Under’s booth during the Cave Area
Celebration at the Cave City Convention Center.
The bird perched on Price’s hand while he shared
information about the park.
Perudi is one of the many animals native to
Australia that can be seen at Kentucky Down Under in
Horse Cave.
The park was one of several attractions with booths
at the Cave Area Celebration.
The event takes place each year before the start of
the tourist season to allow representatives from
Cave Region tourist attractions become better
informed about what each has to offer.
“One of the main things we want to do is to let
everybody know the wonderful things you can do in
the Cave Region,” said Peggy Nims, education
director for the American Cave Museum and Hidden
River in Horse Cave. “It’s also kind of a job fest
for people who may be looking for summer employment
and [wish] to orient folks who are the front line
telling visitors what we have to offer.”
The American Cave Museum and Hidden River Cave booth
was just a few feet away from the Kentucky Down
Under booth so it was easy to hear Perudi and his
unusual laughing call.
While Price shared information about Kentucky Down
Under, Nims talked about Hidden River Cave.
“Some people say they don’t like caves, or they’ve
never been in a cave, so that’s a good first cave
visit, particularly with small children because it’s
only about an hour tour. It also includes the museum
and getting to see a blind fish, which we think is
very cool,” she said.
Mammoth Cave National Park, Jellystone Park Camp
Resort and Kentucky Action Park also had booths, as
did others.
Ann Stewart, marketing director for the
Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce, said the
Cave Area Celebration is “just good public
relations.”
“We go to the travel shows and the boat shows and
set up all these fancy displays for people from out
of town. We don’t do it for people at home, so this
is a way to do it for people at home,” she said.
The Cave Region’s 2010 tourist season has been good
so far.
“We’re up more than we’ve ever been in all the years
we’ve had a tourist commission in Glasgow and Barren
County, and that is surprising because we really
thought the economy would hit us hard,” she said.
A statewide promotion encouraging people to explore
their local area helped increase the number of
visitors to the Cave Region, she said.
A few who turned out for the Cave Area Celebration
were local residents like Wilbur Poole, of Cave
City.
He attended the event, he said, because “curiosity
got the best of me.”
“I live about 2 1/2 miles from here and there are
things going on around here that I didn’t even know
existed,” he said. “I am fascinated with everything
they’ve got in here today. It makes a person like
myself, I don’t generally go anywhere, but now it
makes me want to get out and see what they have to
offer in our own general area.”
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