The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival May 24-27

There is no more beautiful weekend of the year then what is happening in Pineville, Ky., this weekend, May 24-27. The Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival is hands down the one event where all the beauties representing the college and universities of Kentucky gather for the Princess Coronation which is a Friday night Crowning Moment, followed by the Queens event which happens through the festival with the announcement shared at the Laurel Cove Amphitheater, Pine Mountain State Park Saturday afternoon at 2:pm. All of the surrounding counties will have representatives from our area high schools and this is a most unique introduction for them and an opportunity to see the city of Pineville and met her residents on a personal level because of the events in homes throughout Bell County. Tea Parties and receptions are just two of the type of events that will be honoring them, along with travels from one event to another that complete an action pack schedule of photo moments and truly life building friendships because of the experience. The Queen Candidates and their escorts have a schedule that is also packed with meets and greets, introductions, presentations, and receptions that allow chances to meet some folks over and over again that building one of the cherishing aspects of the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival. For the Queen Candidates, many of whom live outside of Kentucky and are just attaining their academic degrees at the various colleges and universities, the KMLF is an introduction to the beauty of the mountains of Kentucky, our heritage, and a chance to meet the people of Kentucky where we live, as we live, demonstrating the best of our hospitality. One of the aspects of the KMLF is what is known as the Director’s. These individuals have invested time, money and their resources throughout the year and they serve varying terms in this elected position and many have been Directors for many years giving of themselves and their families resources through connections and raising funds to support all the activities of the festival. The other aspects that sets the festival as a coordinating jewel is the work of volunteers, whom for some, is a year long effort which respect to their committee’s assignment or event. Planning for the housing of queens and escorts, lining up the receptions in homes, the dinners held in honor of the princess and queen candidates not to mention the work of the parade committee, the opening night festivities, and the crowning of the queen. All of these are require hundreds of hours of phone calls, emails, letters and gathering commitments from those who also willing participate by opening their homes, fixing snacks, meals and transporting candidates to events not to mention the time entertaining our visitors from the moment they arrive until they depart the Gem City of the Cumberlands on Sunday afternoon. To all of these I personally want to say thanks for your efforts and to all who will come to one of the events, or 10 of the events thanks for supporting your daughters and sons from their parade participation to standing along the parade route and sitting in the stands as the festival unfolds in green and pink colors everywhere. For those who have never attended the festival, especially those that live here within the drive time of Pineville and Bell County I would encourage you to come and see one the oldest festival in Kentucky outside of the Kentucky Derby, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival. The one tradition of the festival I personally enjoy is the Grand March. For some this may sound like a long line of walking, but it is really a beautiful event of moment forming lines, circles, and following the leader creating a banner of hands making a tunnel of which the KMLF participants travel creating the Grand March. It is a sight to see and it is all about pomp and circumstance, which makes it beautiful and something I have only witness at the Kentucky Mountain Laurel. There is much to behold here in our beloved mountains of Kentucky and The Kentucky Mountain Laurel is as unique as the Cumberland Falls, or the Cumberland Gap. Until then