remembering how it felt to be in Burnside— welcomed, connected, and part of something meaningful," said Mills.
The area ' s tourism minds also got clever. Local businesses were invited to come up with creative ways to recognize the 250 milestone— like selling a burger for $ 2.50, offering a $ 2.50 discount, giving away 250 items, or something along those lines. They could then submit their event or promotion to the celebration ' s online hub, lakecumberland250. com, and the local tourism planners could market it across the website and social media channels at no cost.
A Celebration on Wheels
Few things say America quite like classic cars, so getting Somernites Cruise involved was a must. Somerset ' s own show dedicated to everything nostalgic on wheels moved its schedule around this year to accommodate the festivities, deciding to hold the " Somernites Cruise Truckin ' Nationals " showcase in June this year— specifically, the weekend of June 27— instead of July to help celebrate by essentially kicking off the week leading up to July 4.
" We felt that nothing is more ' American ' than classic pickup trucks," said Floyd. "... We are fortunate that our community has embraced this as well over the years and SNC is proud to have had a part in making this happen. Of course, when you think of classic small town America, the picture of a classic pickup truck driving though a small town or down a dirt road in front of a barn comes to mind often. That fits SNC to a ' T ' and that ' s why we moved our truck month to June this year. God bless America and our great country!"
The Cruise is also involved with the " Soap Box Derby " event, scheduled for the June show, working together with the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, the Urban Stillhouse restaurant, and Readers to Leaders, the organization responsible for filling Pulaski County ' s parks with storybook trails to encourage literacy among young people.
The traditional Soap Box Derby sees participants build their own small homemade gravity-based cars, and on Saturday, June 27, locals will be taking theirs down Somerset ' s historic Harvey ' s Hill on North Main Street. There are racing age groups for 6-12 years old, 13-20 years old, and adults 21 and up, and the teensto-20 group will have a chance to win a college scholarship. There will also be prizes for first through third place and the chance to win for the most patriotically decorated car in each group. Entry fee is $ 25 and includes a free t-shirt.
" We want all different kinds of car entries," said Jessica Carlton of Readers to Leaders and SPEDA. "( Participants) do not have to build the traditional derby cars."
Visit https:// www. readerstoleaders. org / events for more on the Soap Box Derby, including rules, times, and participation information.
" This is something we as a team have discussed several times over the past 25 years but never felt like we could pull it off but with the Readers to Leaders organization and the Chamber taking the lead on this event we feel like it ' s going to be a great addition to our June show," said Floyd.
Somernites is taking the steering wheel firmly when it comes to driving the Lake Cumberland 250 theme, with the celebration ' s logo on the Cruise ' s poster and event t-shirt produced annually.
" This year ' s t-shirt design is very patriotic and our shirt colors are red, white and blue, and it features a red, white and
June 2026 SEKY- Southeast Kentucky Life • 9