Bill Robinson
BEREA — First Lady Jane Beshear, along other state officials, came to the Kentucky Artisan Center on Monday to promote the state’s “Give a Gift Made in Kentucky” campaign.
She read a proclamation by Gov. Steve Beshear that praised Kentucky products from “homemade blackberry jam to beautiful works of art.”
The state “is known around the world for its artisans and the quality crafts and arts they create — and buying Kentucky made products contributes significantly to quality of life in Kentucky,” the proclamation states.
Issuing the proclamation in Berea — officially designated the Folk Arts & Crafts Capitol of Kentucky — was appropriate, the first lady said.
“Here you can find a wide variety of craftsmen’s studios, galleries, shops and the Kentucky Artisan Center, all offering wonderful Kentucky-made choices for holiday shopping,” she said.
The artisan center, located off Exit 77 of Interstate 75 in Berea, is one of at least eight locations across the state that sell only Kentucky products. The center sells the works of more than 650 Kentucky artisans, according to Gwen Heffner, the center’s spokesperson.
Local gallery owners, craftspeople and tourism staff joined Ken Gastineau, chairman of the Berea Tourism Commission, and Victoria Faoro, executive director of the artisan center, to welcome the first lady and accompanying state officials. They included: Marcheta Sparrow Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet secretary; Lindy Casebier, deputy secretary of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet; Lori Meadows, executive director of the Kentucky Arts Council, and Todd Lowe, chairman of the Kentucky Arts Council.
“The Kentucky Unbridled Spirit Gift Card is another way to purchase Kentucky-made gifts for that hard-to-buy person,” Heffner said.
Gift cards purchased at the artisan center can be used there, at all Kentucky State Parks and Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet agencies such as the Kentucky Historical Society in Frankfort. The card can be used for golf, dining or an overnight stay at a state park.
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
