Corbin Tourism Commission planning holiday festivities

With the Christmas season approaching, the Corbin Tourism Commission is taking steps to turn its downtown lot into a Christmas wonderland.

At a recent special called meeting, Tourism Director Maggy Kriebel announced that the ice-skating rink that proved to be so popular in 2019, will return the week of Dec. 5 through Dec. 12

The tentative hours of operation will be 11 a.m. until 8 or 9 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 6, 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Dec. 7 through Dec. 10, 4 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Dec. 11, and 11 a.m. until 8 or 9 p.m. on Dec. 12.

“The kids will be in school,” Kriebel said when asked about the shorter hours through the week.

In addition to the ice skating, Kriebel told the commissioners that wood carvings will be on display to help bring out the holiday mood.

A plan is in place to add lighting to the lot.

Kriebel said an electric pole on Cumberland Falls Highway that was previously used to hold tourism Christmas decorations is no longer needed after the decorations were relocated to be near the, “Welcome to Corbin” sign off of Exit 25.

The pole would be moved to the downtown lot and used to install a street light, and also electric outlets to provide service to the lot.

“Right now, we don’t have enough light to light up the lot,” Kriebel said noting the two options are a street light or temporary lighting.

In addition, the lot would have electric service for future events and the pavilion that is planned to be constructed on the lot.

Commissioner Kristen Smith asked Kriebel about the possibility of adding music to the area that week.

Kriebel said installing the electric would make that possible.

“If we have electric outlets, the tourism commission owns a bomb sound system that you could plug your phone into and play Christmas tunes,” Kriebel said.

The annual Corbin Christmas Parade will be held on Dec. 5.

Because of the COVID–19 pandemic, Kriebel announced earlier that the parade will be a reverse parade format where the parade entries would be lined up in one lane along Main Street, while the public travels along the other lane to see it.

The deadline to register to participate in the parade is Nov. 27.

Entry is free.

Kriebel said the registration form and guidelines may be found online at www.corbinkytourism.com

With Christmas Open House on Nov 22., Kriebel said downtown will have community activities for three consecutive weekends.

“It is keeping people in the downtown area longer for shopping and festivities,” Kriebel said.