• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
See Somerset the Spirit of Southern Kentucky

Somerset

The Spirit of Southern Kentucky

  • Home
  • Events
  • Culture
  • Lake
  • Outdoors
  • Blog
  • #seemyset
    • Story Series
    • Downtown Trails
  • Our Story
  • Contact

Introducing #seemyset Art Market: An art fair that builds tourism at home

March 8, 2021 | julie | News

First event of the year will highlight artists, downtown eateries and boutiques at Pulaski County farm

In their first event of 2021, the City of Somerset and the Somerset Tourist & Convention Commission are taking downtown out into Pulaski County.

The event, an open-air market from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, March 27 at Suits-Us Farm, is an effort to build tourism at home by showcasing all downtown has to offer to local residents.

“We’ve always known our best ambassadors are our residents,” said Leslie Ikerd, City of Somerset tourism director. “But what we have learned in the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic is how important it is to support businesses, artists and musicians right here at home that fuel our local economy. With this event we’re uniquely focused on taking downtown outside of the city limits and promoting all we have to offer so that our residents will not only visit downtown but encourage others outside the county to do so as well.”

The #seemyset Art Market will feature a variety of vendors — including local and regional artists who will sell their work, plus several downtown boutiques and eateries. Food trucks will be available on site and local musicians will perform acoustic sets throughout the day.

The highlight will be an auction to benefit art initiatives within the city. Bourbon barrel lids painted by local artists during the city’s Moonlight Festival in October will be auctioned during the event, with all money raised going to a new #seemyset Art Fund. That fund will be available to support future art projects within the city, Ikerd said.

The Somerset Tourism and Healthy Somerset will also unveil a downtown Mural Walk during the market. Residents and visitors will be able to visit Somerset Tourism’s website, seesomerset.com, to view an interactive map directing them to each of the murals downtown sponsored by the city and learn more about the artists who created them — an initiative that not only promotes the city’s growing arts presence, Ikerd said, but encourages healthy behavior.

The market is presented by Applied Behavioral Advancements. Owner Chris George, who also serves as the president of the Downtown Somerset Development Corporation, said the market will offer a unique setting to build excitement about what’s happening in downtown Somerset and showcase the community’s talented artists.

“We have so many incredibly talented artists in Somerset,” George said. “Certainly we can see the murals around, certainly we all know a lot of them. But it’s not very often we get an opportunity to come to one location and see all of the diversity of their artwork.”

Ikerd participates annually in travel shows in metro areas like Cincinnati, Louisville and Lexington to spread the word about what people can experience when they visit Somerset. Because these shows were canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic, she said she embraced the opportunity to create something that focuses on growing tourism at home while continuing to promote the arts.

The #seemyset Art Market will be the same weekend as the No Boat Show Boat Show, an initiative of Lake Cumberland Tourism to showcase boat dealers, marinas and outdoor adventure businesses.

“We are always focused on ways to bring people downtown, but we also want to take opportunities to bring downtown to other parts of the county and promote the things people can find when they visit,” Ikerd said. “We are excited to partner with Lake Cumberland Tourism to do an event the same weekend as the No Boat Show Boat Show, as a way to promote our entire county.”

Suits-Us Farm is located at 4291 Ky. 80 in Somerset. Admission is free. To learn more and see a complete list of vendors and artists participating in the #seemyset Art Market, visit See Somerset on Facebook or our events calendar.

  • Lid painting 2 IMG 5508 2000
  • Lid painting IMG 5506 2000
  • SET Brooks lids
  • Justice lids

Footer

  • Home
  • Events
  • Culture
  • Lake
  • Outdoors
  • Blog
  • #seemyset
    • Story Series
    • Downtown Trails
  • Our Story
  • Contact
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
kentucky unbridled spirit

Copyright © 2023, The City of Somerset, Kentucky. Site Map. Accessibility.

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT