This story first appeared in the Aug. 18 issue of the Community Voice. For your own subscription, call 270-384-9454.
After a two-year hiatus, the Revisit Knifley Planning Committee is running full steam ahead on its plans for the 2022 event on Sept. 10. The festivities, including most of the events, will take place at or near the old Knifley School. Admission is free.
“If I am not mistaken, the event started in 2014,” said Lisa Greer, committee member. “We have missed the last two years because of Covid. When we started, it was just a committee with an idea. We gathered and wanted to come up with something we could do to include the history of Knifley.”
Though plans have not been finalized yet, the day is expected to begin with a country ham breakfast at 7 a.m. and events and vendors expected to open at 8 a.m. The day will include a tractor show and ride, a car show, musical performances, and a live auction. There will also be a veterans celebration at noon.
“This started as a way to reunite the Knifley community and provide an event that would bring peo- ple back to the com- munity, kind of like a homecoming,” said committee member Debbie Cowan. “It will be a great festival event where people can come out and see their friends, and enjoy an inexpensive night out with their families.”
Cowan said one of the big draws seems to be the Knifley historical display, depicting the town in its earliest days. The community was believed to have begun around the early 1800s thanks to a man named Phillip Knifley and his family.
Greer said there will be numerous kids’ events like face painting, inflatables, a pet- ting zoo and a pedal tractor pull. Later in the day will be a fish fry and a fireworks display.
“We haven’t had the event for two years, so everyone is excited about this year,” she said. “It is expensive when you go to the fair, so we really wanted to make this as inexpensive as we could for the parents, as easy and enjoy- able as possible.”
Vendors of any kind are welcome at the festival and should call Greer at 270-469-0376 to register. She said there could be 1,000 people come through the event.
“We are looking for any kind of vendor – candles, crafts, food,” Greer said. “In the past, we’ve had people come in from all over, including other states. We will have people come back to Knifley to visit where families used to live.”
Cowan said volunteers are desperately needed for the day. More information can be found on the Revisit Knifley Facebook page.
“Knifley was once a thriving town,” Cowan said. “It is the northern community of Adair County, somewhat cut off from the rest of the county because of the flooding of Green River prior to the dam. It has a unique personality.”
