Fraley Festival

The next Kentucky Life examines the history of the husband-and-wife musical team of J.P. and Annadeene Fraley; bird-watches at The Arboretum in Lexington; and meets Woodrow Carpenter, the 90-something founder of Thompson Enamel. The program, hosted by Dave Shuffett, airs Saturday, June 21 at 8/7 p.m. CT on KET1; Sunday, June 22 at 4:30/3:30 p.m. CT on KET1; and Sunday, June 22 at 7/6 p.m. CT on KET2.

First, Kentucky Life visits the J.P. Fraley Mountain Music Gatherin’ at Carter Caves State Park near Olive Hill. The festival, held every September, was started by musical duo J.P. and Annadeene Fraley. Annadeene died in 1996, and poor health prevents J.P. from playing, but the unique musical gathering they founded is still going strong, reflecting their — and many others’ — love of traditional music and desire to keep the sounds of the mountains alive.

Next, the program visits The Arboretum in Lexington, an impressive and colorful botanical garden, spanning more than 100 acres. The area was created as a joint effort between the University of Kentucky and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. The Arboretum is home to the annual birdhouse project, in which Fayette County artists decorate birdhouses to raise money for the planned Children’s Garden.

Finally, Kentucky Life heads to Campbell County to meet Woodrow Carpenter, who founded Thompson Enamel, the only company in the Western Hemisphere that produces glass enamel used in jewelry, industry and art pieces. Now more than 90 years old, Carpenter continues to work on the factory floor, and he has developed new types of glass enamel to meet artistic demands.

Kentucky Life is a KET production, produced by Joy Flynn. Segment producers are Tom Bickel, John Schroering and Tom Thurman. Some Kentucky Life programs are available for on-demand videostream viewing at www.ket.org/kentuckylife.