Smiley Pete's Best of Lex: Family

For the inaugural Smiley Pete's Best of Lex issue (April 2024), we compiled more than 260,000 votes from our readers in 8 different category groups, to highlight the best local businesses, organizations, artists and more. Click here for links to all categories!

Lexington is consistently ranked as one of the best places in America to raise a family. In this section of Smiley Pete's inaugural Best of Lex issue, we highlight the best parks, schools, summer camps, dentists, pediatricians and other places, organizations and businesses that make this such a special place to raise kids, as voted by our readers.

Best After-School Program

1. YMCA

2. Girls Can Too!

3. Girl Scouts

Best Children's Dentist

1. Steckler Pediatric Dentistry

2. Beaumont Kids Dentistry

3. Pediatric Dentistry of Hamburg

4. Star Kids in Beaumont

Best Daycare Center/Preschool

1. Lexington Hearing & Speech Center

2. Providence Montessori School

3. YMCA Center for Children

Honorable mentions:

• Sts. Peter and Paul School

• Sayre School

Best Doula

1. Tiffany El-Amin

2. Rachel Potts

3. Boundless Grace Birth Services

Best Free Family Activity

1. Lexington Public Libraries

2. The Arboretum

3. Lexington parks

Honorable mentions:

• Raven Run

• McConnell Springs

• Free Friday Flicks

• Events at Moondance Amphitheatre

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Ode to the World’s Largest Ceiling Clock 

~Smiley Pete Staff Salute

In the center of downtown Lexington, in the rotunda of the central branch of the Lexington Public Library,  you will find the World's Largest Ceiling Clock (according to worldrecordacademy.org). Forty feet in diameter, with a Foucault pendulum that dangles from five stories above; the clock was donated and originally unveiled by philanthropist Lucille Caudill Little on New Year's Eve of 2001, and opened to the public the following day. It is based on the Foucault Pendulum design of 1851, which intended to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth without using astronomy. The clock's face is an exquisite mosaic: 55,000 pieces of glass making up the recognizable image of North America, offset so that Lexington is depicted at the center of the clock, marked by a Kentucky state quarter. 

These days, the clock often sits motionless, out of time, broken down — except when a staff member manually starts it swinging with a push. It rocks back and forth for a while, until losing momentum and falling still, once again. According to a library staff member, the company that originally built the clock has long gone out of business; and people with the skills needed to craft new parts are scarce and expensive. While the clock may have seen better days, it still stands as a breathtaking, record-breaking piece of art greeting visitors at the library door. 

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Best Kid's Clothing Store

1. Ladybug Landing

2. Little Classics on Clay

3. J&H Outfitters

4. Little English

Honorable mentions:

• J&H Outfitters

• Little English

Best Local Park

1. Woodland Park

2. Jacobson Park

3. Raven Run

Honorable mentions:

• The Arboretum

• McConnell Springs

• Shillito Park

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Ode to Jacobson Park  

By Helue Shalash, owner of Bak 4 More Salon (voted as a “Best Salon” and “Best Minority Business”)

My family started as two brothers and their wives moving to the United States and finding their home in Lexington, but has since grown to a large extended family that is proud to belong to this community. We have celebrated graduations, engagements, weddings and expectant mothers in venues all across town, but our favorite casual gathering place is Jacobson Park. The shelter that sits adjacent to the lake is our favorite, with the children able to run off after a meal to enjoy the large playground just a few steps away. We’ve set up extensive buffets, sound systems and bouncy houses, and spent hours lounging around or playing volleyball. I am filled with memories any time I drive past the park and look forward to hopefully seeing my own grandchildren run to the playground someday.

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Best Orthodontist

1. White, Greer & Maggard

2. Bluegrass Orthodontics

3. Buchart & Wachs Orthodontics

4. Knight Wahle Chalothorne

Best Pediatric Practice

1. Pediatric Adolescent Associates

2. UK Pediatrics at Maxwell St

3. Poole & Thomas Pediatrics

Honorable mentions:

• Commonwealth Pediatrics

• A Caring Touch Pediatrics

Best Private Elementary School

1. Providence Montessori School

2. Lexington Christian Academy

3. Sayre School

Honorable mentions:

• The Lexington School

• Christ The King

Best Private High School

1. Sayre School

2. Lexington Catholic

3. Lexington Christian Academy

Best Private Middle School

1. Sayre School

2. Lexington Christian Academy

3. Providence Montessori

Best Public Elementary School

1. Glendover

2. Clays Mill

3. Cassidy

Best Public High School

1. Lafayette

2. Henry Clay

3. Paul Laurence Dunbar

Best Public Middle School

1. Morton

2. Jessie M. Clark

3. Beaumont

Best Summer Camp

1. Living Arts and Science Center

2. ARTplay Children’s Studio

3. Bluegrass Christian Camp

Honorable mentions:

• Lexington Children’s Theater

• Pepperhill Day Camp

Best Toy / Collectible Store

1. Joseph-Beth Booksellers

2. Bricks and Minifigs

3. Jimmy’s Kentucky Roadshow

4. Hero’s Realm

Best Youth Baseball Organization

1. South Lexington Babe Ruth

2. Eastern Little League

3. Southeastern Cal Ripken

Best Youth Basketball Organization

1. Glendover Basketball

2. I Am 3rd

3. Parks and Recreation

4. YMCA of Central Kentucky

Best Youth Dance Organization

1. Lexington Dance Factory

2. Bluegrass Youth Ballet

3. Diana Evans School of Dance

Honorable mentions:

• Barbara Ann’s School of Dance

• Blackbird Dance Theatre

• Gotta Dance

Best Youth Martial Arts Organization

1. Crawford Taekwondo

2. Elite Martial Arts

3. AKF Lexington Martial Arts

Best Youth Soccer Organization

1. I Am 3rd Sports

2. LYSA

3. YMCA of Central Kentucky

Click here for the next group of categories (Sports & Recreation!)