Wilderness Trace hosts third successful Barn Bash
Heat and threats of storms didn’t keep about 100 people from coming out to Woodwind Farm in Junction City on June 13th for the third annual Wilderness Trace KFTC Barn Bash. The weather behaved just right for people to enjoy a great afternoon of good music, delicious food, beautiful surroundings, lake swimming, and friendly silent auction bidding, all to benefit KFTC.
Thanks to event sponsor, Stuart Powell Ford Lincoln Mazda, the chapter was able to highlight locally sourced foods for the second year in a row. Folks who came hungry were delighted to enjoy sausages from Sunwatch Homestead, hot dogs from St. Catharine Farm, and burgers from Rising Sons Beef. KFTC members filled out the rest of the meal with wonderful side dishes and plenty of desserts.
While folks chowed down on food, they got to hear a little bit from member, Jim Porter, about why he is proud to be a KFTC member.
“Back in 2007, when we returned to Kentucky after 18 years in Chicago, we were looking for a strong progressive environmentally focused organization to affiliate with. We discovered what we were looking for when Lee Ann Paynter helped start the Wilderness Trace Chapter of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth,” said Jim. “We quickly found that KFTC is on the right side of the issues that mean so much to us.”
Jim then told the crowd a little about one of those issues: proposed natural gas liquids pipelines, including the Bluegrass pipeline and Kinder Morgan’s proposed re-purposing of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline.
“Through the efforts of KFTC, the Kentucky Resources Council, and the Sisters of Loretto, the construction of that pipeline has been turned back,” said Jim, about the Bluegrass Pipeline.
Last fall, local KFTC members learned that Kinder-Morgan had plans to repurpose a 70 year old, 1000 mile pipeline from carrying natural gas to transporting natural gas liquids through 18 Kentucky counties. 
Since learning about Kinder-Morgan’s proposed re-purposing, “a group has been formed, meetings have been held, the Danville City Commission and Boyle County Fiscal Court have passed resolutions against this ill-fated project, and over 500 letters and emails have been sent to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the vast majority speaking against this project,” shared Jim.
“We have not defeated the pipeline just yet, but they know that they are in a fight, and it may just be that they have bitten off more than they can chew.”
Jim shared that KFTC was one of the first organizations to take a stand against both the Bluegrass Pipeline and the Kinder Morgan re-purposing project, and that was just one of many reasons he is glad to support KFTC.
“I am proud to be a sustaining member of KFTC, and I hope that each of you will consider becoming a member!” said Jim.
Great music filled the barn over the course of the evening as the Danville Dulcimers played music to welcome people, and then, when Lexington trio, The Jarflies, took the stage and played a mix of bluegrass and folk music. While taking in the sounds, people spent time perusing and bidding on items in the silent auction, which included a wide range of items. From restaurant certificates to large artwork to everything in-between, the silent auction was accessible to everyone and provided a fun way for people to contribute.
In the end, the Barn Bash proved to be a great success in its third year as it brought in several new and renewing KFTC members and raised more than $2,000 to support KFTC's work. Beyond raising money, it was also a great event for people to enjoy time with old and new friends alike and to talk about what they are excited to work on together.
To see more great pictures of the Barn Bash, check out this album on flickr.
To learn more about how you can get involved in this work, please contact KFTC Organizer Sasha Zaring at 859-358-9713 or [email protected].