Williamsburg Turkey Trot 5-K returning Thanksgiving Day

The Williamsburg Turkey Trot 5-K is returning on Thanksgiving Day morning following a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

A record 287 people signed up to participate in the 13th Annual Williamsburg Turkey Trot 5-K in 2019. The event was canceled last year due to the pandemic, but is returning on Thanksgiving Day 2021.

“We are going to have it. We are planning a Turkey Trot,” Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison said during a recent Williamsburg City Council meeting in response to a question by Councilwoman Laurel West.

Harrison said that organizers will likely require participants to wear a mask at the starting line, which they can remove once the race starts.

Turkey Trot is traditionally held on Thanksgiving morning near Bill Woods Park, and is a major fundraiser for the Williamsburg Police Department’s Shop with a Cop program, which takes less fortunate children on $100 shopping sprees at Christmas time.

The 2019 Turkey Trot, which was the 13^th race, had a record 287 participants and raised $12,000 for Shop with a Cop.

Neither the Turkey Trot nor Shop with a Cop took place in 2020 due to COVID-19, and not being able to fundraise for the event because of the pandemic.

Tax-deductible donations can be made to the Shop with a Cop program.

Make checks payable to Williamsburg Shop with a Cop and send them to Williamsburg City Hall, Attention: Gina Hamblin, P.O. Box 119, Williamsburg, KY 40769. Those needing a receipt should include a self-addressed stamped envelope.