John James Audubon State Park & Museum will present a Kentucky Chautauqua performance of “Daniel Boone: Coming into Kentucky” at the park museum at 2 p.m. on Saturday Jan. 30, 2010. The performance is in conjunction with the park’s celebration of the 2010 Audubon Bicentennial in Henderson.

Although Audubon wrote two stories concerning Daniel Boone, both published in the Ornithological Biographies, scholars question whether these two historical icons actually met.  In one story titled “Kentucky Sports,” Audubon claims to have learned the hunting method of “Barking off Squirrels” from Colonel Boone.

“We’re getting people into the 1800’s spirit to kick off the 2010 Audubon Bicentennial in Henderson since it was 200 years ago that Audubon came to Kentucky,” said Park Naturalist Julie McDonald.  “We are having a year full of Audubon activities.” (For more information about the Audubon bicentennial celebration, visit www.audubon2010.com/foa.php.)

Neither a backwoods bumpkin nor an epic slayer of Indians, Boone was an intrepid explorer and natural leader whose actual exploits amply justify his larger-than-life reputation. He played a crucial role in the exploration and settlement of Kentucky and the American west.  Scott New does an exceptional job in bringing Boone to life.  New also portrays Daniel Boone at Fort Boonesborough and has appeared in films and paintings.

“Coming into Kentucky” is the exciting story of Boone’s early days of Kentucky settlement when in 1769 he first explored the region as a market hunter, and in 1775, he led the expedition that founded Fort Boonesborough in today’s Madison County.

Audubon State Park is located at 3100 U.S. Hwy. 41 in Henderson. The park boasts the world’s largest collection of John James Audubon’s art and also features exhibits about the painter’s life in Henderson, where he came with his family to operate a small mercantile business and devote himself to exploring the surrounding wilderness and sketching the wild birds he found there.

The park offers overnight accommodations in six cottages and a campground and hiking, fishing golf, tennis and other outdoor activities.

The Kentucky State Park System is composed of 52 state parks plus an interstate park shared with Virginia. The Department of Parks, an agency of the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, operates 17 resort parks with lodges — more than any other state. For more information on Kentucky parks, visit our Web site at http://www.parks.ky.gov.