Corbin Tourism unveils latest tourist attraction

The world’s only chainsaw carved statue of Colonel Harland Sanders now stands in front of the Corbin Tourism office.

The statue carved by J&K Kingdom Carvers was unveiled on May 5 during a special unveiling ceremony.

The statue was commissioned by the Corbin Tourism Commission, which was present for the unveiling.

“There are so many wonderful and awesome things that make Corbin such an amazing city. We are home to the only moonbow in the world. We house the last remaining steam engine in the world ever to be handcrafted by the L&N, and we are full of hospitality and small-town charm,” said Maggy Kriebel, the director of Corbin Tourism. “Above all else, we are home to Kentucky’s most famous citizen, Colonel Harland Sanders and his original KFC.”

“When the idea for Colonel fest was born, the Tourism Commission thought it would be an excellent idea to add an additional attraction that would bring more people to the welcome center, give them something else to see and do, and to highlight the talent of our local artisans,” said Kriebel. “We approached Kim and Jerry with the challenge to chainsaw carve a life size statue of Colonel Sanders and they readily accepted that challenge. Chainsaw carving is an art that few can master, and to get to the point to actually complete a portrait carving can be the achievement of a lifetime. Like Colonel Sanders, Kim and Jerry gave the best of themselves and we believed in them every step of the way.”

“We were so excited when Maggy called us about the project of the Colonel,” said Jerry Eaton, of J&K Kingdom Carvers. “We are a husband and wife carving team. We just love to carve.”

After the unveiling, Kriebel said, “To be able to work with local artists who portray the culture of southeast Kentucky and have them do a piece like that will be outside our tourist office for millions of people to see, means a great deal just because it’s great to be able to highlight their work while at the same time having an American icon right outside our office.” The chainsaw carved statue of Colonel Sanders is now one of the several photo spots that tourists can visit when they come to Corbin.