The Center for Rural Development

05/29/2026

05/28/2026

🛼🔥 HOME SEASON OPENER 🔥🛼

Somer City Roller Derby is back and ready to hit the track on May 30, 2026 as we take on Chemical Valley Roller Derby!

📍 Center for Rural Development
🕔 Doors Open at 5 PM
🛼 First Whistle at 6 PM

🎟️ Tickets:
• $12 Pre-Sale
• $15 Day Of
• Kids 12 & Under FREE

Grab your tickets and season passes now at somercity.com and come cheer on your hometown derby team! 💚🔥

05/28/2026

One Incredible Local Talent, Rounder’s Station Bluegrass Band, and One Bluegrass Legend’s Legacy, Nathan Stanley, together for an evening honoring and saluting our Veterans and Active Service Members.

📆Tuesday, June 16th | Doors Open: 6:00 PM - Open Act: 6:30 PM - Main Act: 7:30 PM
🎟Get Tickets: https://centertech.com/.../an-evening-with-nathan-stanley/

05/26/2026

What an incredible night at the Craft Bourbon Series Finale! 🥃🇺🇸

A huge thank you to Horse Soldier Bourbon and Mark Nutsch for sharing the heroic story of the Special Forces team whose courage and sacrifice helped bring down the Taliban regime following 9/11. It was a powerful and unforgettable experience for everyone in attendance.

Special thanks as well to the amazing distilleries and partners who helped make the evening so memorable:

✨ Heaven Hill Distillery
✨ Maker's Mark
✨ Preservation Distillery Bardstown
✨ Wilderness Trail Distillery
✨ Southern Kentucky Distillery
✨ Cave Hill Vineyard & Winery

Thank you to everyone who joined us throughout the series and helped make this finale such a special celebration of bourbon, history, friendship, and community.

05/26/2026

05/25/2026

This Memorial Day, we honor the heroes who gave everything for our freedom. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.

05/20/2026

The Center for Rural Development would like to congratulate the five recipients of this year’s $10,000 FlexE-Grants, funded through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC):

• Rockcastle County Industrial Development Authority – Kentucky Fresh Produce Processing Facility
• Martin County Fiscal Court – Heart of Inez Park & Outdoor Amphitheatre
• Gateway Area Development District – Regional Childcare Data & Dashboard Initiative
• City of Booneville – Backroads Smart Path Initiative
• City of Frenchburg – Downtown Revitalization & Infrastructure Enhancement Planning

We’re proud to connect rural communities and local leaders with these opportunities so they can build stronger futures where they live. These projects are strengthening local economies, expanding tourism, supporting working families, improving infrastructure, and preparing communities for future growth.

05/19/2026

Thanks to 2025 Rogers Scholar Madeline Frye, seven outdoor book-sharing stations located throughout Pulaski County are now well-stocked with reading materials.

Madeline organized a community book drive to replenish supplies at the county’s free lending libraries, which operate on a “take a book, share a book” honor system.

“This project is incredibly close to my heart, as each donated book represents someone in my community who gains access to reading and literature.”

As part of The Center for Rural Development’s Rogers Scholars program, all graduates are required to complete a community service project within one year of finishing the program.

05/15/2026

🎸SAVE THE DATE:
Confederate Railroad is COMING BACK to The Center after 2 LONG YEARS on November 7th, 2026. From "Queen of Memphis" to "Trashy Women" and "Daddy Never Was the Cadillac Kind," get ready to sing along to the songs that defined an era of country music.

05/15/2026

It's your Last Chance to vote for The Center for Rural Development in the 2026 Best of Kentucky Awards - Arts & Entertainment: Theatre Venue category! Help us win by voting at GuideToKentucky.com

We are proud to announce that The Center for Rural Development has been nominated for Best of Kentucky in the Arts & Entertainment: Theatre Venue category! Help us win by voting at GuideToKentucky.com