Throwback Thursday: Remembering Duncan Hines Festivals Of Years Past

One of the most famous names associated with Bowling Green would have been
celebrating a birthday this week if they were still alive. And given the Eats & Beats
Music Fest concert lineup was announced last week and is related to the new
weeklong event featuring this character, we thought it would be fun to remember
the Duncan Hines Festivals of years past in this week’s Throwback Thursday.

Duncan Hines was born on March 26, 1880, and passed away on March 15, 1959. Just
over a century after his birth, in 1986, Bowling Green celebrated the 50th
anniversary of his first travel guidebook, Adventures in Good Eating, being
published. The Duncan Hines Festival initially began nearly 30 years ago, in 1997.

This event was dedicated mostly to the food that Duncan Hines loved to eat and
recommend so much, and was held over the years at several Bowling Green venues.
From Fountain Square in Downtown Bowling Green to the Kentucky Museum on
Western Kentucky University’s campus to the Russell Sims Aquatic Center to
Chaney’s Dairy Barn’s Ice Cream & a Movie, the Duncan Hines Festival saw fun
activities impacting places all over Bowling Green and Warren County.

There were brownie baking contests, recipe bake-offs, eating contests, children’s
carnival-style games and Uncle Duncan’s duck derby, pairing ice cream and movie
viewing dates with all things cake mix, and more. Families all over Bowling Green
spent several years enjoying different versions of the Duncan Hines Festival hosted
by the Junior Women’s Club, up until the year leading into the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the spirit of reviving the nostalgic, good memories of the original Duncan Hines
Festival that was once embraced by the whole community, the City, County, SoKY
Marketplace, several local attractions, and other organizations are resurrecting
this year as Duncan Hines Days with a few new twists.

Coming June 5-11, celebrate Bowling Green Restaurant Week, topped off with a free Community Ice
Cream Social and Walk ‘n Wheels Parade, along with the Duncan Hines Duck Paddle
canoe and kayak float, the free Eats & Beats Music Fest, and more.

Visit the Duncan Hines Days website to find the roadmap of events and follow along with the Duncan
Hines Days’ social media to keep up with the latest news.

That’s it for Throwback Thursday brought to you by Hart County Tourism and the
Kentucky Museum. In Bowling Green, because local matters, Telia Butler, WNKY
News 40.