Meet award-winning sculptor William M. Duffy, a Louisville native, whose work is found in collections throughout the country; experience Lord of the Fork, the world famous, white water kayak competition at Breaks Interstate Park; and a look at Boone County’s integral role in Kentucky’s Underground Railroad reveals stories of heroism and sacrifice.
Sculptor William M. Duffy
Louisville native William M. Duffy began his career as a painter, earning a degree in painting from the Louisville School of Art, but later felt called to the three dimensional art form.
“Why do I create? I guess the simple answer to that is because I must. I just have to,” he said. “It’s almost like trying to hold in a sneeze. You ever try to hold in a sneeze? You’re going to sneeze. And so there’s always something, an image, that wells up in me, and it says, you need to get this out.”
Read more about Duffy’s work and watch the video.
The Lord of the Fork
The white water of the Russell Fork is some of the most difficult and dangerous in the country. Every year on the fourth Saturday in October, kayakers come from around the world to test themselves in the Lord of the Fork competition at Breaks Interstate Park, which straddles Kentucky and Virginia.
Learn more about the Lord of the Fork and watch the video.
Heroes of the Underground Railroad
Enslaved men, women, and children made their way through the northern counties of Kentucky across the Ohio River toward freedom in the North, finding shelter provided by members of a secret society known as the Underground Railroad. In Boone County, research has uncovered stories of heroism and sacrifice.
Read more about the Underground Railroad in Kentucky and Ohio and watch the video.
