Frankfort, Ky. · Updated Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026
A free, independent guide to Frankfort: where to go, what opened, what closed, and the odd bit of history you can bring up at dinner. Written by a neighbor, not a committee.
A few picks for the week of Oct. 19, pulled from the people running them. The full list, weekend by weekend through Thanksgiving, is on the Things to Do page.
Thu., Oct. 22 · 3–6 p.m.
East Frankfort Park, 315 Hickory Dr.
Free. Kids can climb into fire trucks, snowplows and garbage trucks and meet the people who drive them. A sensory hour runs 3–4 p.m.
City of Frankfort Podcast, Ep. 41 → Visit Frankfort →Fri., Oct. 23 · 7 p.m.
Starts and finishes on the Old Capitol lawn, 300 W. Broadway
A costume-friendly 3K through downtown. Registration is $40 this close to race day, and there’s packet pickup on Broadway from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
YMCA of Central Kentucky →Fri., Oct. 23 & Fri., Oct. 30 · 7–8:30 p.m.
Old State Capitol, 300 W. Broadway
A low-light Kentucky Historical Society tour of feuds, the John Fallis gang and two deaths on the Senate floor. $15, or $10 for members. Register by 5 p.m. the day before. Not for small children.
Kentucky Historical Society →Sat., Oct. 24 · 5–8 p.m.
Downtown, St. Clair St. and Broadway
Kids trick-or-treat at downtown businesses along Broadway from 5 to 6:30, with face painting and spooky music. The Thriller Parade heads down St. Clair and Broadway around 6:45. Practice the arm moves.
Downtown Frankfort, Inc. →Who’s new, who’s gone, and what’s going up on U.S. 127 these days. Facts only. We’ll leave the review stars to you.
The fast-casual burger and chicken-tender spot from Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor opens Monday, Oct. 19, with 101 people already hired. Hours: 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Sunday. Plan your Monday lunch accordingly.
The State Journal, Oct. 15 →Opened Oct. 12. The first 100 people in line got a free tea every week for a year, which is the most Kentucky giveaway we’ve ever heard of. Open daily, 10:30 a.m.–9 p.m.
Herald-Leader, updated Oct. 13 → The State Journal, Oct. 7 →The Ashbrook hotel has relaunched its restaurant as Field Note, with seasonal menus built around Kentucky farms and Chef Mikey Miller in the kitchen. It’s open to the public Wednesday through Sunday, inside Col. E.H. Taylor Jr.’s old house.
The Lane Report, Oct. 5 →Looks closed for good. Thai Smile shared the news online, maps list it as permanently closed, and nobody picked up the phone. We’ll miss the biscuits.
Herald-Leader, Sept. 29 →Local lore says that in 1913, a young Franklin County woman was found dead at home a few weeks after losing her baby. When her mother cleared out the house, she found what she took for signs of witchcraft inside her daughter’s pillow.
The family and their neighbors went looking for whoever had cursed them. Nobody was ever named, and the witch, if there was one, didn’t strike again. The Capital City Museum turned the story up in a 1913 State Journal article. These days one lucky Witches Night Out guest gets crowned the Leestown Witch, which is a friendlier ending than the original.
Hear the whole thing:
Frankfort Then
You’ll hear it called a compromise between Lexington and Louisville. The historical marker near the Capitol tells it plainer: Frankfort put in the best offer.
In 1792, brand-new Kentucky named five commissioners to pick a permanent seat of government. According to early histories, Andrew Holmes offered his log house as the capitol for seven years, plus town lots, £50 worth of locks and hinges, 10 boxes of glass, 1,500 pounds of nails and $3,000 in gold. The commissioners recommended Frankfort on Dec. 5, 1792.
The moral: never underestimate a town that shows up with nails.
Sources: KHS Marker #1774 · ExploreKYHistory
The rest of the story, plus the Singing Bridge and Daniel Boone’s grave →