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Festival season is upon  Jessamine County, as a cool breeze ends summer days, and a car show and arts and crafts fair at the historic Bryan House will welcome in the fall season.

The event will be on Saturday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 1, from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. It will be packed with remarkable vehicles, arts and crafts vendors, food trucks, ice cream, activities for children, wine from 1922 Winery and beer from the West Sixth Brewery.

For any car enthusiasts, co-owner of the Bryan House, Jeb Rand, said they will have classics, antiques, hot rods, and high-performance newer vehicles at the show.

Rand encourages anyone who owns cars that fit the list above to pre-register at the show at www.thebryanhouseky.com.

There are only 125 car show spots, so sign up as soon as possible. Everyone who pre-registers will receive a dash plaque with the show’s name. Twenty sponsor awards are also available- ten awards will be given out each day and will be chosen by the event’s sponsors.

Car show participants will enter through the main entrance at 9235 Harrodsburg Road. Everyone arriving in the show vehicles has free admission to the show and fair.

General admission folks must enter through the McCauley Road Entrance, just off Harrodsburg Road. General admission is $5 per person per vehicle. Children under 12 are free.

The event still has space for arts and crafts vendors, as well. So head to the Bryan House Website to apply as soon as possible. Although the vendors will be primarily arts and crafts based, Rand encourages other businesses to sign up, especially if it is a local family business. Even if you think your business does not qualify, Rand said to contact the Bryan House at (859) 300-1110.

The sponsors for this event are West Sixth Brewing, 1922 House Vineyard & Winery, 100% Chiropractic, Visit Jessamine, Kentucky Farm Bureau, Kensington and KY CBD FARMACY.

“They’re wonderful; without them, I would lose a fortune,” Rand said, adding that Visit Jessamine has been accommodating and supportive from the beginning, starting with the Bryan House’s special events business. “I love Lexington, but it’s always nice to bring some of that money to us in Jessamine County. I’ve helped bring revenue dollars and tax dollars to the county as opposed to us all going to spend our money in Fayette County.”

Jeb and his wife, Jessica, have an interesting background.

The couple were U.S. Figure Skating national team members, Radio City Music Hall Rockettes, and were part of Ice Capades and Disney on Ice.

Now, Jeb is a writer and producer for entertainment around the world. He’s worked with MGM and Dolly Parton, among many other big-name companies and celebrities.

While performing at Rupp Arena in Lexington through their Ice Capades tour, the Rand couple fell in love with Lexington and Kentucky. After spending so much time traveling and performing, the couple was ready to find a place to settle down and one day retire from the traveling aspect of their careers- the two would still write and produce ice shows and Broadway-style shows, but they wanted to stay in one place finally.

Jeb began looking for historical properties around Kentucky as a vintage car and avid historian.

Out of six estates they looked at, the couple found The Bryan House, built in 1836 and home to the Boone Bryan Family. The property is the cousin to the Bryan property known as the Waveland Historical Site.

Before the couple bought the 12-acre property in 2019, the house was just a week away from being torn down and developed into eight homes.

“It would have been a crying shame for this place to be torn down. So we’re happy to borrow it for a generation and let people come and see where the Boone Bryan family lived,” Rand said.

When the Rands bought the home, COVID was just around the corner. Jeb calls this a blessing and a curse.

“It was a curse because it wasn’t a great time to buy a business,” he said, but it was a blessing because the couple could do five years’ worth of restorations in a year and a half.

Their business started with families renting the Bryan House to be able to get vaccinated and get together during the holidays.

But once COVID restrictions started loosening, the couple began getting bookings for baby showers, bridal showers, weddings, and more large events.

Although the couple’s primary business is their unique event venue at the Bryan House, Rand decided one day that the family had enough land to spare space for a car show. Jessica loved the idea but asked Jeb, “What about me?” so the two came up with an arts and crafts fair to go alongside the car show.

Besides, the couple has two daughters, and it only made sense to create an event for the entire family- especially since the family of four already found it so difficult to find things to do that appealed to all of them.

This month’s event will be their second-ever car show and arts and crafts fair. They do the event biannually, and their first one in the spring of this year was uber-successful.

Jeb said there’s a little bit of everything for everyone here and is excited to keep on providing good times for the community and tax revenue for his family’s new home in Jessamine County.