Arts & Culture

When it’s lunch time at the Smokey Pig barbeque restaurant in Bowling Green, be prepared to wait in line. This place opens at 10:30 a.m., and within an hour on a recent Tuesday, almost every table was taken and every seat claimed. I came to the Smokey Pig today to meet with a man who claims to be afflicted with something he calls H.E.B.D--Hyper Enthusiastic Barbeque Disorder.

Wes Berry, the self-diagnosed victim of H.E.B.D is also a Ph.D-holding Professor of English at WKU. And he has just authored a book—not about fine literature or poetry—but about his true passion: barbeque. And more specifically, the kinds of barbeque one can find in the Bluegrass State.

The Kentucky Barbeque Book is Berry’s love letter to his favorite food and state. The Barren County native says he’s eaten at 168 barbeque restaurants, joints, shacks, festivals, and Catholic church picnics in the commonwealth.

All in the name of good research, of course.

Barbeque: Monroe County Style

The Smokey Pig is the place Wes and I have chosen to talk about Bluegrass State barbeque. I follow Wes’s lead regarding what I order. They say “when in Rome”, and when it comes to barbeque, Wes Berry is Caesar.

Note: Technical problems prevented the originally planned broadcast of this program last week.

Join us Sunday, March 24th at 8pm C.T., as conductor Nicholas Palmer joins Lee Stott to look back at some recent concerts, and to preview what's ahead for the Owensboro Symphony during its "Magical Season."

After 36 years, the curtain is closing on the Kentucky Repertory Theatre in Horse Cave. According to its board of directors, the theatre is no longer able to compete for funding and patrons. Liz Fentress is among those saddened by the announcement. She currently teaches at Actors Theatre of Louisville, but says some of her best times were spent at the theatre in Horse Cave.

"I have memories of being in the audience watching professional performances by other people. I have memories of directing fine actors, Warren Hammack and Pamela White being at the top of the list. "And I have wonderful memories of performing there myself," said Fentress.

In addition to professional acting, the Kentucky Repertory Theatre also served as a training ground for young talent. Since it opened in 1977, the theater staged 230 productions. 

Board of Directors Chairwoman Lyn Taylor Long says economic challenges were just too great to overcome, including a loss of major donors.