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Yard sellers gear up for Roller Coaster
150-mile event runs Thursday through Sunday
GLASGOW — Thousands of yard sale enthusiasts are expected to visit Barren County this weekend as they follow the 150-mile path of the Roller Coaster Fair through eight counties in south central Kentucky and north central Tennessee.
The event, which is in its 20th year, follows the Cordell Hull Highway from Mammoth Cave National Park on Ky. 70 through Barren, Metcalfe, Cumberland, Clinton and Monroe counties in Kentucky along Ky. 63, Ky. 163 and Ky. 90 and through the Tennessee communities of Byrdstown, Livingston and Celina on Tenn. 52 and Tenn. 111.
Ann Stewart, marketing director for the Glasgow-Barren County Tourist and Convention Commission, traveled the route the fair takes through Barren County the second year it was held.
“It was a little bit overwhelming,” she recalled. “There was a lot of traffic even back then.”
The event was founded in 1986 by Sarah Ann Bowers, a Barren County resident who wanted curves along Cordell Hull Highway straightened organized the fair to prove the road was well-traveled and needed improvements. She named the event the “Roller Coaster Fair” after the curves and hills featured along the highway.
On its 10th anniversary, the number of people to travel the route surpassed attendance to the Kentucky Derby. In 2001, the event attracted 140,000 people and continues to attract large crowds every year.
“We’ve had hundreds of calls since last Wednesday in request of information,” Stewart said.
Besides yard sale items, festival-goers will find multiple food vendors, arts and crafts booths, artisans of every trade and live entertainment along the route.
“If you want to spend the day or days looking for something and not really know what you’re looking for, it’s the place to go because you will find it,” Stewart said.
More information about the Roller Coaster Fair can be found by visiting www.rollercoasterfair.com, or by calling the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce at 651-3161.
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