A Month of ‘Annie’ Begins at The Spotlight Playhouse
BEREA, Ky. — The Spotlight Playhouse is getting ready for a month filled with red dresses, big dreams, and one of the most beloved family musicals of all time. Annie: The Musical opens May 15 at The Spotlight Playhouse, bringing the classic story of hope, family, and perseverance to Berea. The production will run May…
Berea Farmers Market Moves to Summer Hours
BEREA, Ky. — The Berea Farmers Market has officially moved into its summer schedule, giving residents and visitors more time to shop local each Saturday. The market is now open Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Chestnut Street Pavilion, located at 635 Chestnut St. The expanded summer schedule runs from May through…
SummerFest 2026 at The Pinnacles: A Multi-Activity Kickoff to the Season
BEREA, Ky. — A multi-activity afternoon called SummerFest is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, at The Pinnacles in the Berea College Forest. The event runs from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and is hosted through the Berea College Forestry Outreach Center, located at 2047 Big Hill Road, Berea. SummerFest is designed as an easy, drop-in…
Berea Runners Group Run Offers a Welcoming Saturday Start
BEREA, Ky. — For those looking to start the weekend with fresh air, movement, and a little community, Berea Runners will meet for its Saturday group run on May 9 at 8:00 a.m. The group meets at the Native Bagel Company parking lot, located behind the shop at 436 Chestnut Street. Runners check in before…
Spotlight Acting School’s Creative Arts Camp Returns June 8–12: A Week of ‘New York, New York’
BEREA, Ky. — Summer break can be a challenge for families who want something more meaningful than another week of screens, but still need a structured, full-day environment for their children. Spotlight Acting School’s Creative Arts Camp is designed to fill that gap. Running Monday through Friday, June 8–12, at The Spotlight Playhouse (214 Richmond…
Richmond Drum Circle Debuts as Monthly Community Gathering at Tasty Tuesdays
RICHMOND, Ky. — A new community event is joining Richmond’s Tuesday night routine this season, focusing on rhythm and local inclusion. Richmond Parks and Recreation has introduced the Richmond Drum Circle, a free drop-in gathering scheduled for the first Tuesday of each month from May through September. The circle runs from 5:15 p.m. to 5:50…
The Secret Garden Highlights Local Talent at The Spotlight Playhouse
BEREA, Ky. — The Spotlight Playhouse is closing out a special production this weekend with The Secret Garden, a beautiful and atmospheric adaptation of the classic story by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The play was adapted for the stage by Dana Hendren, who also directs the production. Hendren is an actor, volunteer, proud parent of Spotlight…
Berea College Commencement Set for May 10 With Governor Andy Beshear as Speaker
BEREA, Ky. — Berea College will welcome graduates, families, and visitors to campus on Sunday, May 10, for a full day of commencement events celebrating the Class of 2026. The day begins with the Baccalaureate Ceremony at 10:30 a.m. in Phelps Stokes, followed by the main Commencement Ceremony at 2:00 p.m. in the Main Arena…
The Arts Beat: Final Weekend for Two Spotlight Playhouse Productions
BEREA, Ky. — It is a busy week at The Spotlight Playhouse, with two wildly different productions closing out their runs and another major musical just around the corner. For families looking for something positive to do together, this is one of those weekends where local theater is offering more than just a night out.…
Berea Arts Council Plant Sale Helps Grow Gardens and Community Support
BEREA, Ky. — The Berea Arts Council will host its annual Plant Sale on Saturday, May 9, giving residents a chance to refresh their gardens while supporting local arts programming. The sale is scheduled from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Berea Arts Council, located at 444 Chestnut Street. This year’s theme, “Grow Your…
Studio Space Spring Soiree Brings Evening Pop-Up Market to Berea
BEREA, Ky. — Studio Space Berea will host its Spring Soiree on Friday, May 8, offering an evening pop-up market for shoppers looking to support local creativity and small businesses. The event is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at Studio Space Berea, located at 105 Jackson Street. The Spring Soiree is free to…
CG Bank Sponsorship Helps Bring Pay-What-You-Can Fridays to ‘Annie’ at The Spotlight Playhouse
BEREA, Ky. — When Annie: The Musical opens May 15 at The Spotlight Playhouse, the familiar story of hope and perseverance will come with a local boost from a community partner helping make the show more accessible to families. CG Bank is officially sponsoring the upcoming production, supporting The Bluegrass Players, Spotlight Acting School, and…
A Month of Milestones: Navigating College and High School Graduation Traffic Across Madison County
MADISON COUNTY, Ky. — Madison County is about to get very busy, and the traffic will arrive in two massive waves. From the early-May college ceremonies to the late-May high school send-offs, local roads, restaurants, and shops are gearing up for a full month of graduation crowds. For local residents, a little planning is going…
Spotlight’s Film Acting Camp Offers Families a Summer Option Beyond the Stage
BEREA, Ky. — For Berea-area families trying to map out the final stretch of June, Spotlight Acting School is offering a summer camp that shifts the focus from stage lights to camera lenses. The school’s Film Acting Camp is scheduled for June 29 through July 3, 2026, at The Spotlight Playhouse. Open to rising sixth…
Spotlight’s “Oh, Those Summer Nights” Invites Berea Families to Take the Stage Together
BEREA, Ky. — For families in Berea, summer activities often come with a familiar balancing act: finding something meaningful for the children, manageable for the parents, and flexible enough to fit a packed seasonal calendar. Spotlight Acting School’s new Summer Workshop Intensive, “Oh, Those Summer Nights,” appears built with exactly that challenge in mind. Offering…
🎭 Spotlight Acting School Opens Registration for “New York, New York” Summer Creative Arts Camp
BEREA, Ky. — Families in Berea looking for a summer option that blends creativity, structure, and performance have a new date to circle on the calendar. Registration is officially open for Spotlight Acting School’s Creative Arts Camp, a weeklong program for rising first through ninth graders hosted at The Spotlight Playhouse on Richmond Road. The…
Frankenstein Is Fun Fiction. This Mouse Study Is a Reminder We Are Still Not Ready to Play God
Science has a way of humbling people just when they start feeling clever. A new study out of Japan followed an extraordinary experiment in which scientists repeatedly cloned mice from clones of clones for roughly 20 years, producing 58 generations and making 30,947 cloning attempts before the process finally collapsed. The result was not an…
Why I Use Both ChatGPT and Gemini—and Why Google’s New Import Tool Makes Sense
The AI world absolutely loves a rivalry story. Every new feature gets framed as a cage match, every product update becomes a “winner” or “loser,” and every user is apparently supposed to pick a side. But the truth is a lot less dramatic. I use both ChatGPT and Gemini, and I do not see much…
OpenAI’s Ad Business Takes Off—and Proves the Early Panic Was Overblown
When OpenAI first started talking about putting ads in ChatGPT, the reaction in some corners of the internet was immediate panic. For some users, the very idea sounded like a betrayal of the platform’s original ethos. For others, it felt like a grim inevitability. My own reaction was a lot less dramatic. If ads were…
🎤 Major Concert Event Headed to Richmond as Jason Derulo Comes to EKU
RICHMOND, Ky. — This is not just another stop on the calendar. It is the kind of booking that gets people talking across the entire county. Pop star Jason Derulo is set to perform at the EKU Center for the Arts in Richmond on Friday, April 10 at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Kentucky University is calling…