Memorial Day Weekend Events in Hardin County (May 22–26, 2026)

Key Takeaways

• The Gold Star Tribute Wall Traveling Memorial opens Friday May 22 at 4 PM and runs through Monday May 26 at 11 AM at the Elizabethtown Nature and Veterans Park. Free public event hosted by Cameron Ponder VFW Post 12237. Honors families of service members killed in the line of duty.
• Friday is stacked: Shakespeare in the Parks performing The Tempest at Freeman Lake (free), Ben Palmer comedy at Fort Knox Saber & Quill, The Reckless Strings at Social Food Hall, Josh Brown piano at The Straight and Narrow, and Gracie Yates with Brock Burton at Cosmic Golf — all the same night, all different vibes.
• Super Saturday at the F.A.B. Lab in Mulberry Square anchors Saturday morning (8 AM – 12 PM, all-ages, food trucks, classes, door prizes), with the Biker Bluegrass Bash at American Legion Post 113 and Fort Knox Water Park opening day rounding out the daytime.
• Monday's anchor: Memorial Day ceremony at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff at 11:30 AM (21-gun salute, wreath laying, Taps). The Tribute Wall closes at 11. Landon Bagley's Flywheel hot dog throwdown runs noon to 6.
• Midweek programming includes Bean Cove's first-ever Trivia Night (Wednesday in Radcliff), a vermicomposting workshop at the Hardin County Public Library (Thursday at noon), and a Lilo & Stitch family movie at Barr Memorial Library on Fort Knox (Wednesday — Real ID required for base access).

Summary

If you needed proof that summer arrived in Hardin County, this week's events calendar is it. Jon O'Brien walked Rachel Brantingham through a Memorial Day weekend slate anchored by the Gold Star Tribute Wall Traveling Memorial at the Elizabethtown Nature and Veterans Park — a four-day free public event honoring Gold Star families — with Friday turning into a five-different-vibes night (Shakespeare, comedy, bluegrass, piano, country) and Saturday loaded with the F.A.B. Lab's Super Saturday, the Biker Bluegrass Bash, and Fort Knox Water Park's opening day.

Monday brings the formal Memorial Day ceremony at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff, and then — in the closest thing Hardin County has to an annual unofficial finale — Landon Bagley, who Jon called "the glizzy guru," fires up the grill at Flywheel for his annual hot dog throwdown.

If your Memorial Day usually means "open the pool, fire the grill," this is a year to add a stop. The Tribute Wall is the one to put on the calendar.

Watch this segment: https://youtube.com/watch?v=hz65hYTkM-M Full episode: https://youtube.com/watch?v=bLUZL3xv0A8

Full Article

The headline event of the weekend is the Gold Star Tribute Wall Traveling Memorial, hosted by Cameron Ponder VFW Post 12237 at the Elizabethtown Nature and Veterans Park from Friday at 4 PM through Monday at 11 AM. It's free, it's open to the public, and Rachel set the tone before turning it over to Jon: "If you've never been to one of these traveling walls, they're not crowded, they're not loud, and they hit differently. I would highly recommend you go pay your respects. It's a quiet hour of your weekend that it just hits differently."

Then Jon went event by event.

Friday — five different vibes, one night. Kentucky Shakespeare is touring through with The Tempest at Freeman Lake Park — 80 minutes, no intermission, free, no tickets required, with a rain backup at the Historic State Theater. Ben Palmer, a comedy writer and internet satirist, headlines the Fort Knox Saber & Quill's Center Stage Live Comedy Series — doors 6:30, show 7:30, $10 advance and $15 at the door (Real ID required for base access). The Reckless Strings play Social Food Hall at 6 PM. Josh Brown is on solo piano at The Straight and Narrow ("he's up front, so make sure you get your reservation in"). And Gracie Yates is at Cosmic Golf at 8 PM with Brock Burton — Jon has seen her "multiple times at the Tavern in the Garden — outstanding." Pick one. The town's small enough that nobody will judge if you bounce between two.

Saturday's daytime anchor is Super Saturday at the F.A.B. Lab in Mulberry Square — 8 AM to noon, all-ages, food trucks, demos, classes, giveaways, door prizes. Zumba, Pilates, body aerobics, and strength demonstrations are on the schedule. Firefly Nutrition will be on site with beverages. The Biker Bluegrass Bash rides into American Legion Post 113 starting at 10 AM with a bike show, prizes for best in show, vendors, food, and drinks — all ages welcome. (Rachel is judging at the bike show, in case you want to compare notes on chaps.) Fort Knox Water Park opens for the season from 11 to 5 — Real ID required.

Saturday night, The Reckless String Band plays live at Social Food Hall at 6 PM, and Bitter Sweet takes the stage at the Bourbon Barrel Tavern from 8 PM to midnight ("they haven't been here for a little while, but they're coming back").

Monday is Memorial Day. The formal ceremony is at Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Central in Radcliff at 11:30 AM — visitations are open from 8 AM to 3 PM, free to the public, with a 21-gun salute, a wreath laying, and Taps. The Tribute Wall closes at 11. And then Jon added a piece Rachel didn't have on her sheet: Landon Bagley, the man Jon dubbed "the glizzy guru," runs his annual hot dog throwdown at Flywheel from noon to 6. "He's got the grill out. You guys have got to — I will be there before I have got to work. I have got to get a dog. And that is what we are going to do." Jon noted: "If it is not a corn dog. It is going to be a hot dog."

Midweek runs deep this week, too. Tuesday night kicks off with Peddling Points at Flaherty's Bar and Grill — tour stop number 49, 6:30 PM, with a Southpaw Challenge at 7:30 — benefiting the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, with a 50/50 raffle and a Peddling Points shirt for the highest score. Community Garden Volunteer Night at the United Way garden downtown runs 5 to 6 PM ("garden bed prep and cleanup — if you like to get your hands dirty, come help out"). And Boombox Bingo does its Rock Night at Cosmic Golf at 6:30 — free to play.

Wednesday brings free morning yoga at the Hardin County Farmers Market at 9 AM (repeating Saturday), Bean Cove's first-ever Trivia Night in Radcliff at 7 PM (half-price drinks, prizes for top three), Paint & Sip: Butterflies at Waters Edge from 6:30 to 8:30 ($35, full canvas + supplies + instruction), and a free family movie — Lilo & Stitch at Barr Memorial Library on Fort Knox at 4 PM (Real ID required).

Thursday features a vermicomposting workshop at the Hardin County Public Library at noon. "You don't know what that is?" Jon asked. "It's all about worms. I've got a buddy who used to have a worm farm in Upton, and that was a wild thing down in his basement." Plus another Trivia Night at Sam Adams Brewhouse on Fort Knox from 6:30 to 8 (Real ID).

Jon's own pick for the can't-miss? "That Shakespeare in the park sounds like a fun time. I really — and to get a little bit of that, that does not necessarily get seen a lot. Some Shakespeare, be really cool."

For families with kids wrapping up the school year — and a lot of Hardin County kids are out as of Friday — this is also the unofficial summer kickoff weekend. Rachel sent a particular shoutout to her nanny Gabby and to her daughter Georgia, who walks the stage Friday night.