Bringing Bourbon & Belonging to Paducah // Intercultural Microgrant Guest Blog
The following guest blog is from 2024 Intercultural Microgrant recipients Bricolage Art Collective, with funding from our partner Kentucky Foundation for Women. Learn more about this project at kyrux.org/microgrants/2024, and connect with the team at bricolageartcollective.com.
In response to the need in our community to be part of a new statewide initiative forged by Queer Kentucky called Bourbon & Belonging, myself and a small committee worked to curate several partnerships within our community and beyond.
Paducah can seem so far away from the meccas that are Louisville and Lexington. However, we feel connected to those larger cities and their vibe! And we don’t want the western part of the state to be forgotten when it comes to celebrating diversity and inclusion.
To that end, even though we had a limited amount of time to pull some events together, we knew it was important. With my small business, located in the heart of our historic downtown and celebrating its 10-year anniversary, I wanted to piggyback with events I already wanted to host. We have monthly merchants meetings open to anyone with a business or interest in the downtown corridor, so during one of those meetings, I did a short presentation inviting anyone to participate in the inaugural event. We had the following sign on:
The Pour Room - themed candle pouring event
Bricolage - queer KY author reading & block party w/ drag show/live music
Curiosities - bourbon ball buffet
The Rock Shop - discounted items
Barrel & Bond - hosting Writer’s Kitchen songwriting circle Yeiser Art Center - Maritime Pride Bourbon Tasting
Craving the Curls - themed mixers
Etcetera Coffeehouse - queer icon-themed drinks
We really were impressed by the buy-in we had in our community given the few months we had to pull it together. On top of your generous grant, we were able to secure local sponsorships to make the event free to the public!!
Working with Queer Kentucky, our local Paducah Convention & Visitors Bureau, LGBTQ+ Friends and Advocates, and the Paducah Diversity Advocacy Board, we were tasked with creating inclusive events within Paducah to partner with the statewide push by Queer Kentucky. Beyond our local downtown business, we were also pleased to host Planned Parenthood for educational purposes, West KY NOW to encourage people to register to vote. LivWell was also onsite to offer free testing, support services, education, and advocacy related to HIV/AIDS, and sexually transmitted diseases.
Celebrating the need for inclusion and diversity will never be a stale concept and something I hope to always strive for in my business and community. This event was about celebrating those among us who are often marginalized and our goal, in Paducah, is to make sure ALL know they are welcome in our community.
We have several queer owned businesses in our downtown and a block away from some you will an organization with non-inclusive signage in their window that can make visitors and tourists to our community think twice. Our downtown and what we stand for is generally apolitical as a whole; however, hosting events that share love and joy and inclusion as opposed to divisive rhetoric are the key to growing in this climate. And Paducah wants to be a part of that movement.
Given that this was a statewide initiative, it was so exciting for the committee since it felt like a movement in the right direction. The cities hosting events were Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky, Paducah, Bardstown, Bullitt County, Winchester, and Frankfort.
The team we have working on this in Paducah worked with Queer Kentucky and many local leaders. The main directors were two people who have extensive experience in curating festivals, events, fundraisers, and pride events. It allowed the cross-pollination of several community organizations that have never had the opportunity to collaborate before. Each person/organization brought expertise, love of community, and the desire to see a more unified Kentucky.
The love of this state as a whole can sometimes be diluted to the part of the state in which you reside. So, the opportunity to put Paducah in front of people is always a treasure, and being able to be part of making my community look good is my joy. And that was the theme of the day in every event and through every performance and every creative energy exerted.
A HUGE thank you to our sponsors along with the RUX grant!
Flower+Furbish = $500
PDAB = $500
LGBTQ+ Friends = $500
CSI = $500
Marquette = $500
Anonymous = $500
Maritime Pride = $500
Bryant Law Center = $250
Putting Paducah on the map as part of a project such as Bourbon & Belonging benefits the overall vision of our community. It aligns with why people seek out Paducah as an inclusive and creative place. As one of a handful of communities designated as a UNESCO Creative City, we are uniquely qualified to grow our brand and make sure people know Paducah is part of the mission laid out by Queer Kentucky and this event. All the artists involved benefited, our downtown merchants benefited and, most of all, Paducah, as a whole, benefited from being part of such an inclusive and important brand.
The hope is to continue this mission via partnerships with Queer Kentucky and make sure no segment of our population feels marginalized or othered in any way. We are filled with such pride and so thankful to have been part of making this event come to fruition, and we can’t wait for October 2025!
Included below are photos from several events throughout the day, some of the promo materials along with a layout of the day.
—Bricolage Art Collective
The Kentucky Intercultural Microgrant Program is a seed grant to support two or more individuals or organizations collaborating across distance, difference, or sector on projects that celebrate and connect Kentucky's people and places.
Launched with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Kentucky Waterways Alliance, Fund for the Arts, the Monument Workshop at UK, the Josh May Memorial Fund, and individual donors, the 2024 Microgrant Program invests in a series of seed grants (awards from $250-2000) to support short-term projects that foster dialogue, connection, or collaboration among Kentuckians from disparate backgrounds, identities, or experiences. Projects that involve diverse partners and invite the public to participate are preferred.