History steps into the room
Special events at the Parsonage
The Old Parsonage continues its long tradition as a place where people meet, listen, learn and make memories together.
Kentucky Chautauqua®
Meet Kentucky history face to face.
Kentucky Chautauqua® is the living-history program of Kentucky Humanities. A trained performer appears in costume and speaks in the first person as a notable Kentuckian. After the presentation, audiences can ask questions first of the historical character and then of the performer. It is history with a pulse .... personal, immediate and wonderfully suited to an eighteenth-century gathering place.
Upcoming events
Reserve ahead for these 2026 programs.
October 30 · 6:00 and 8:00 p.m.Ghostly Tales with L. Michael Breeze
Settle in for an autumn evening of Kentucky storytelling, classic Gothic tales and vivid theatrical voices inside the historic log parsonage. Choose either performance. $15 per seat.
Details and reserve now →
November 8 · 2–3 p.m.Mary Settles
Meet the last Shaker at Pleasant Hill through the performance of Janet Scott, and hear a personal story of faith, work and community in nineteenth-century Kentucky.
Details and reserve now →December 13 · 2–3 p.m.Loretta Lynn
Lisa Woods brings the Coal Miner’s Daughter to life in a program shaped by Loretta Lynn’s Kentucky roots, music and remarkable rise from Butcher Hollow.
Details and reserve now →Past events
These programs have already taken place and remain here as part of the Parsonage’s event history.
July 12 · 2–3 p.m.Jemima Boone
Betsy B. Smith portrayed Daniel Boone’s daughter, opening a frontier-era view of family life, survival and settlement in early Kentucky.
Past event details → Past eventAugust 9 · 2–3 p.m.William Wells Brown
Virgil Covington Jr. explored the life and voice of abolitionist, author and lecturer William Wells Brown in this portrait of a remarkable Kentuckian.
Past event details → Past eventSeptember 13 · 2–3 p.m.Mary Todd Lincoln
Catherine Gaffney presented Mrs. President: A Nation Divided, bringing Mary Todd Lincoln’s Kentucky roots and Civil War years into focus.
Past event details → Past eventOctober 11 · 2–3 p.m.Adolph Rupp
Edward B. Smith shared the story of the legendary University of Kentucky coach, his demanding style and the basketball tradition he helped build.
Past event details →Celebrate America 250 · October 30
When autumn evenings grow darker, the stories get wonderfully stranger.
Ghostly Tales with L. Michael Breeze
Join Kentucky-born actor and master storyteller L. Michael Breeze for two performances at the Old Parsonage on Friday, October 30, at 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. Presented with Kentucky Humanities Chautauqua as part of the Parsonage’s July–December Celebrate America 250 program.
Event details and reservations →
For this special evening, Breeze brings decades of theatrical experience and a repertoire that includes Poe, Frankenstein and Dracula to the intimate rooms of the 1794 parsonage. Explore the Ghostly Tales tradition →
Reserve a seat
Choose the 6:00 or 8:00 p.m. performance on the event page, or call 859-358-8427. Email reservations: oldparsonage1794@gmail.com.