Friday, May 2, 2014

Photo contest celebrates National Historic Preservation Month

KENTUCKY PRESS SERVICE
May is National Historic Preservation Month and the Kentucky Heritage Council wants to know, where is your favorite Old Kentucky Home? Show us by entering KHC’s “This is MY Old Kentucky Home” Facebook photo contest for a chance to win an all-expense paid weekend in Bardstown, site of Federal Hill, the house said to have inspired Stephen Foster to write our state song, “My Old Kentucky Home.”

To enter, participants download the contest sign, found at www.heritage.ky.gov, or make their own; hold it in front of their favorite “Old Kentucky Home” and get a snapshot; “like” KHC’s Facebook page; then click the “Enter to Win” icon and tell us where the photo was taken and why it is special to you.

Contest participants may submit one photo per Facebook account. Whether or not they enter, everyone who “likes” KHC’s page can click on the “Enter to Win” icon to view the gallery of entries and vote once a day for their favorite photos. At the end of the contest period, the five photos with the most votes will go into a drawing to determine the winner.

Entrants are also encouraged to share their photos on social media using the hashtag #myoldkyhome and tweet their photos to @kyshpo.

Home can be any building or place that holds meaning – a house, church, school, neighborhood, Main Street, roadside motel, farmhouse, park, even a remote forested area or natural habitat where Native Americans once called home. The only rule: It must be 50 years old or older.

“We invite people to tell their own story about how historic buildings and places make them feel,” said Craig Potts, KHC executive director and state historic preservation officer. “Historic places matter to Kentuckians, and through this contest we hope to build interest in their reuse and preservation, so that future generations can also call them ‘home.’ ”

The contest began April 23 and runs through 11 p.m. May 23. The winner will be announced during the last week of May.

The grand prize package, courtesy of the Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist & Convention Commission, includes overnight accommodations at one of Bardstown’s historic bed and breakfast inns, a gift card for downtown dining or shopping, and admission for two adults to Federal Hill at My Old Kentucky Home State Park, “The Stephen Foster Story” outdoor musical, and other local attractions.