Beginnings at the Park

Barn Lot Theater's story is as grassroots as they come. In 1980, Edmonton residents shared a bold vision: to bring live performing arts to rural Metcalfe County. Lacking funding, a physical building, actors, costumes, and props, the founders got creative and recruited local friends and family to join the effort.

Within weeks, volunteers transformed a barn and feedlot at the local community park into a rustic outdoor venue. When they staged their first production, Barefoot in the Park, Edmonton’s first community theater was born—inspiring the name Barn Lot Theater.

The vision and hard work of our early founders and volunteers—including Father George Bowling, Doris Rush, Dora Rowe, the Richard and Jeanette Duncan family, Tim and Carolyn Best, and the Harold and Susan Chambers family—cemented Barn Lot Theater as a permanent fixture in Edmonton.

Following that first three-play season in 1980, production numbers grew each year. In 1986, Barn Lot Theater received permission to utilize the new gymnasium at Bowling Park. Having an indoor venue allowed the theater to expand its scope for the 1987 season.

In 1991, with assistance from a Kentucky Bicentennial Commission grant, the theater achieved a major milestone by purchasing the historic former Ford garage in downtown Edmonton. Renovations were fully funded by local community donations during a successful pledge drive. Two years later, Barn Lot opened the doors to its new home with a performance of Good Morning, Miss Dove.

Following years of steady growth, the Board of Directors hired professional staff in 1999, paving the way for the 2000 season—Barn Lot Theater’s first pre-scheduled, year-round program of plays and concerts.