COVINGTON, Ky. - The study of bourbon (and many bourbon tastings). Music stages galore. A movie in a cemetery. A dog wedding. A symposium on modern photography. A litter cleanup with a few beverage stops. A roller derby match with a Halloween theme.

 

This weekend in #LoveTheCov is about fun with a capital “F.”

 

Did you know that there are almost two barrels of bourbon aging in warehouses for every person who lives in Kentucky? And that Kentucky distilleries were visited by 1.4 MILLION bourbon tourists in 2018?

 

Small wonder that the Kentucky’s Edge Bourbon Conference & Festival expects to attract some 10,000 people a day to Covington and Newport this Friday and Saturday.

 

Check out the Kentucky Edge website HERE for information related to the conference, free music festivals, an artisan market and bourbon tastings.

 

And duck inside almost any restaurant and/or bar in the Roebling Point and MainStrasse Village districts, because most of them are having separate bourbon festival-related tastings and events. For fear of leaving some out, we’re not listing them all, but here’s some amber liquid cred: Covington has SEVEN establishments on The B-Line, Northern Kentucky’s version of the bourbon trail.

 

And now that it’s fall, and October (the month of the All Saints and All Souls days), it’s time for Cinema in the Cemetery, where you can watch a movie Friday in the spooky confines of fenced-in tombstones with thousands of your long-dead friends.

 

This year, the Historic Linden Grove Cemetery & Arboretum is featuring the movie “Hocus Pocus.” And you can show up early for a family friendly tour.

 

But a couple of rules: Clean up after yourselves (bring food or get it there). No dogs. And you need a free ticket, available HERE.

 

Or show up Sunday for a separate tour of Linden Grove sponsored by the Northern Kentucky Heritage League, HERE.

 

And if your interest is more intellectual and visual this weekend, there’s the “AutoUpdate: Photography in the Electronic Age” symposium.

 

The all-day symposium Saturday at The Carnegie will feature lectures and panel discussions from international artists, curators, journalists, and educators, who will look at “digital technology’s impact on photography and its disruption of art making and news cycles in a media-obsessed world.”

 

In some ways, this is a study of photography in the “fake news” world, and soul-searching for modern image takers.

 

It’s hosted by FotoFocus. Info,HERE. And there’s a reception and performance on Friday,HERE.

 

This one combines all kinds of fun: Roller Derby. Halloween. Christmas. Animation. Costumes.

 

Saturday is the Black-N-Bluegrass Rollergirls’ “Nightmare Before Christmas” bout against the West Ky. Rockin’ Rollers. The catch? You’re encouraged to dress up like your favorite character in the Tim Burton animated film.

 

(Or ... you can dress up in any of your “favorite Halloween, Christmas or combo costumes and just have fun with it!”)

 

Info, HERE.

 

We can’t see the word “marriage” without thinking of the Impressive Clergyman (You know, “Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dream...”).

 

In this case, however, you best add some barks and growls to the nuptials because Old Red and Reba are tying the knot (the “collar”?) at Braxton Brewing Co. this Sunday. It’s a fund-raiser for the Furgotten Dog Rescue organization.

 

(Hint: Reba and Red are dogs.)

Info and tickets, HERE.

 

Here’s another interesting combination: Street hockey, volunteering, litter and beer.

 

The Covington Street Hockey League is teaming with Keep Covington Beautiful and Golden Road Brewing for the Pub Crawl Cleanup on Saturday afternoon. It’s just what it sounds like: Walk Covington’s streets, pick up litter, and stop in for a beverage at a few places along the way.

 

We love these guys.

 

Registration starts at 2 p.m. at Gypsy’s. Info, HERE.

 

What can you get at the Covington Farmers Market?

 

“Meats and eggs, soaps and natural body products, sugar scrubs, fresh bread and baked goods, cold-pressed juices, unique spice blends and rubs, seasonal produce, prepared foods like soup, hummus, salads and Buddha bowls, plant starts, flowers, farm crafts, and more.”

 

Special programming on the first Saturday of the month features a “farm to bar” theme, with a winery and brewery.

 

Check it all out - plus live music and Covington Farmers Market swag - 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Third Street. Info, HERE.

 

And then there’s ... the “We Choose What’s Next” music and poetry event on Sunday at Lil’s Bagels, HERE ... the 2018 Dark Charge Tap Takeover on Friday at Braxton Brewing Co., HERE ... the Kundalini Workshop and Gong Relaxation on Saturday at Covington Yoga, HERE ... Bourbon Trivia on Saturday afternoon at Braxton Brewing Co., HERE ... and a Wire Wrapping Workshop on Saturday at Purple Paisley, Local Artisan Shop, HERE.

 

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