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Friday January 23, 2026
Local Connection
The North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) returns to the Kentucky Exposition Center. The annual event takes place over 17 days starting on October 30th, at 9 AM with the North American Quarter Horse Show.
The show features 10 species (and countless breeds) of livestock from all over the continent, as well as youth skills competitions and educational programs, and the North American Marketplace. The show also features many other exhibition events, including cowboy mounted shooting, where spectators can watch participants hit targets using a single action revolver while riding a horse through an obstacle course, draft horse shows, and the NAILE Wool Show. A full schedule of events can be found here.
While admission to the market place is free, admission to the rest of the event is $6 per person and does not include parking ($10) at the Kentucky Exhibition Center.
Thousands of hikers, bikers and paddlers will hit the streets and the Ohio River on Labor Day, Sept. 3, for the 28th Subway Fresh Fit Hike, Bike & Paddle at Waterfront Park.
“One of Louisville’s core values is to create a healthier city, and there’s no better time than the annual Hike, Bike & Paddle to come together with residents from all parts of our city for fun and exercise,” Mayor Greg Fischer said.
Subway Restaurants is the title sponsor of Hike, Bike & Paddle, with presenting sponsors Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, Norton Healthcare and Neil Huffman Subaru, and contributing sponsor Academy Sports + Outdoors.
“SUBWAY Restaurants is proud to be the title sponsor of the SUBWAY Fresh Fit Hike, Bike & Paddle events for the 14th year! The events give people an opportunity to be outside in the fresh air and lead healthy, active lifestyles,” said Umang Patel, Louisville SUBWAY Board Chair.
“As Louisville’s local bottler, Coca-Cola Consolidated is pleased to support the Hike, Bike & Paddle again this year,” said Brian Outland, Vice President for Retail Sales at Coke Consolidated. “This event truly exemplifies Louisville’s community spirit by bringing people together to enjoy the Labor Day Holiday and some outdoor fun.”
Starting at 8 a.m., Hike, Bike & Paddle participants can warm up on the Great Lawn with various fitness activities including Yoga, Tai Chi, Zumba, Pickleball and Rock Climbing. From the main stage, 106.9 Play! radio personality Jordan Rivers will kick off the event with announcements and energetic music throughout the morning. Patrons can also walk down to Harbor Lawn and try their hand at stand-up paddle boarding until 1 p.m.
More than 50 vendors and information booths will open at 8:30 a.m. at Waterfront Park. Participants can take home one of the free 3,000 free Subway Fresh Fit Hike, Bike & Paddle T-shirts commemorating the event. These are available while supplies last.
Along with free T-shirts, participants can expect to take home other giveaways as well. The event title sponsor, Subway, will be passing out $2 cash cards at their tent. Neil Huffman Subaru will be giving away a chance to win a free bicycle and kayak, and free reusable water bottles. Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated will offer free Powerade to hikers.
Participants are encouraged to be “green” and bring their own water bottles which they will be able to fill at Waterfront Park, the Iroquois Park Spray Grounds near the Amphitheater, and the base of the Big Four Bridge, as part of Louisville Water’s Pure Tap To Go.
The hiking route features three different routes to accommodate all participants, including those with four legs. Nu Image Fitness will lead the 5K hike along Waterfront Park and over the Big Four Bridge to Jeffersonville, and back to the Great Lawn. Because dogs are not allowed on the bridge, hikers with animals will be directed on a separate path leading to the Louisville Community Boathouse and back to the Great Lawn. For those needing a shortened route, the third option will travel along Waterfront Park and turn around at the Big Four Bridge. It is wheelchair and stroller-accessible. Walkers may bring dogs to participate in the hike, as long as the animal is on a leash and owners pick up waste during the walk, as required by law.
Both the cycling and walking routes will be marked, and there will be water stops at the halfway points to refill water bottles.
For cyclists, a 15.5-mile route will leave Waterfront Park and go west to Shawnee Park and back to Waterfront Park. Bicyclists choosing not to complete the entire route to Iroquois Park can simply turn around to return to Waterfront Park.
The Brain Injury Association will distribute 500 helmets to riders who don’t have one.
“Bike doctors” will be in Waterfront Park before the ride and along the route to assist cyclists with equipment problems. Louisville Metro Police will provide traffic assistance at key intersections, and the Louisville Metro EMS bicycle team will patrol the route. All cyclists are asked to remain behind the lead police vehicles. The Louisville Bicycle Club and Scheller’s Fitness and Cycling are providing “bike captains” to help cyclists obey the rules of the road.
For the paddle portion, patrons will have the opportunity to try their hand at stand-up paddle boarding provided by Kentucky Paddleboarding LLC until 1 p.m.
Paddlers will begin their adventurous five-mile course at 10 a.m., taking their canoes and kayaks through the McAlpine Locks and Dam to the Jaycees Boat Ramp in New Albany. Participants will launch their canoes or kayaks at the ramp located at the Harbor Lawn of Waterfront Park. Paddlers can drop their boats off at the “Green” parking lot near River Road and Witherspoon Street from 7:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Paddlers are encouraged to enter from the University of Louisville Rowing Center/ Louisville Community Boathouse off River Road and paddle upstream toward the start at the Harbor Lawn. Parking will be available at the Louisville Community Boat House, and volunteers will be on-site to assist paddlers at both of these locations.
Like on Memorial Day, the Louisville Kayak Company will be offering kayak rental services at the event. You can reserve your kayak at the event or before you go by visiting hikebikeandpaddle.org.
Police and safety boats will be nearby during the paddling activity, and all participants will have assistance if needed in launching their canoe or kayak. Safe paddling instruction and demonstrations will take place in the harbor area of the Great Lawn. Paddle participants must wear a life jacket and carry a noise-making device.
After the event, TARC will offer a shuttle service from New Albany back to Waterfront Park for paddlers to retrieve their vehicles at the launch site.
This is the 14th year for the Hike, Bike & Paddle events, which are held each Memorial Day and Labor Day. The events are part of the city’s Healthy Hometown Movement, created to encourage Louisville residents to be more active and make healthier lifestyle choices. To view interactive route maps and for more information, go to hikebikeandpaddle.org.
Already know you’re coming? RSVP on our Facebook event page. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AroundLou!
Additional support is provided by Academy Sports + Outdoors, Greater Louisville Sports Commission, Kentucky Paddleboarding LLC, Louisville Water Company, Louisville Waterfront Park, River City Paddle Sports, Scheller’s Fitness & Cycling and Yoga East. Media Sponsors include 106.9 Play!, Louisville Public Media, Outfront Media and WLKY.
Find a schedule and more information
If You Go:
Paddlers will put in canoes or kayaks at the Ohio River ramp on the Harbor Lawn of Waterfront Park or at the Louisville Community Boathouse and paddle upstream toward Harbor Lawn.
Booths at Waterfront Park open at 8:30 a.m. offering paddling instruction, safety lessons, cycling information and assistance, yoga, tai chi, Zumba, Pickleball, rock climbing and stand-up paddle board demonstrations with group participation and more.
On-street parking is available near Waterfront Park. All TARC buses are equipped with bicycle racks for cyclists who want to leave the car at home.
The gates of the Kentucky State Fair officially opened for the 2018 season on Thursday, marking the 116th Fair since becoming an official state event. Although the Fair did not earn that distinction until 1902, the event was first organized in 1816, just five years after the United States’ first fair was held in Massachusetts.
Tickets and parking can be purchased at any of the Kentucky Exposition Center’s entrance gates or online. The gates open at 7 AM each day of the Fair, with exhibits opening at 9 AM. Daily schedules can be found here. The event features numerous special days, including:
- Today – 811 Day
- Visit the Marathon Pipe Line Booth for a free T-shirt
- Sunday, August 19 – Military Sunday Salute
- Free admission for active military, veterans and families (up to 4). Discounts for Thrill Ville available. Parking not included.
- Tuesday, August 21 – Senior Day
- All seniors age 55 or older receive free admission. Parking not included.
- Kentucky Farm Bureau and Carload Day
- $20 per vehicle and $100 for vehicles with 12+ passengers. Parking included.
The Texas Roadhouse concert series that has usually been held at the old Cardinal’s Stadium has been moved to the new Bluegrass Village, near the entrance to Kentucky Kingdom. The concerts held here in the evening are included with paid fair admission. Tonight, fair visitors will be able to enjoy the music from Great White. Upcoming shows will feature:
- 8/19 – The Oak Ridge Boys
- 8/20 – Casting Crowns
- 8/21 – Happy Together Tour
- 8/22 – Chris Janson
- 8/23 – Chevelle
- 8/24 – Josh Turner
- 8/25 – The Commodores
- 8/26 – Mercyme
Visitors to the fair will also see that the exhibit hall has been arranged a bit differently. Instead of being in the West Hall, the 4H and FFA exhibits have been moved to the main exhibit hall area, in AgLand. The Discovery Farm has also been relocated into this area and features several stations to learn about livestock and a dairy cow demonstration.
Starting tonight, visitors will be able to attend to the World’s Championship Horse Show . Tickets are sold separately. Tonight, starting at 6 PM, is the last night for the Miniature Horse Show. If you have never attended this event, it is very entertaining. Many of the competitions highlight the ability of the miniature horse to be a service animal and it’s a great way for young people to get experience in a competition setting.
Whether you are there for the crazy fair food, like a funnel cake fries burger, the livestock, the music or the market area, there is something for everyone at the Kentucky State Fair.
Mayor Greg Fischer announced that Louisville Metro Government has been awarded a $10,550 AARP Community Challenge grant to begin making tactical improvements on Ninth Street, specifically at Muhammad Ali Boulevard.
The grant is part of the AARP Livable Communities Initiative, which supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and rural areas to be livable and safe places for residents of all ages. The grant funds quick action projects that build momentum for change in communities to improve livability.
Announcement of the grant comes on the same day as a march for equity and justice designed to acknowledge the impact that racial segregation in the past has had on communities all over the nation. The march, which runs from downtown to Ninth Street, is planned as part of the Presbyterian Women’s triennial national gathering in Louisville.
Mayor Fischer, who is speaking at the march, welcomed the AARP grant.
“My administration is committed to breaking down the 9th Street divide by bringing more city and private sector investment than west Louisville has seen in decades,” he said. “This grant is a wonderful boost to our plan to make Ninth Street safer, more accessible and more attractive for residents on both sides of Ninth Street to travel and cross. I am very excited to receive this grant and get started on implementation.”
Louisville Metro Government will use the grant to improve the intersection of Ninth Street & Muhammad Ali Boulevard in three ways:
- Improving crosswalks—Crosswalks will be upgraded from current conditions to crosswalks with greater visibility. According to the Federal Highway Administration, these types of crosswalks can reduce vehicle-pedestrian collisions by nearly 50%.
- Adding street furniture—Plaza space and benches will be added to the median in front of an existing public art piece. The “Reimagine 9th Street” plan calls for places for residents to sit along Ninth Street.
- Enhancing Public Art—A plaque will be added to accompany the public art piece for telling its story and brining a historical perspective.
All grant funded projects will be completed by December 2018.
In addition to this grant, a “Reimagine 9th Street” plan, to permanently transform Ninth Street from River Road to Broadway, is underway. Mayor Fischer’s FY19 budget includes $180,000 for its formal design. For more information on “Reimagine 9th Street,” please visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/reimagine-9th-street
This weekend, Locust Grove will be celebrating 200 years of Jane Austen’s Persuasion during the 10th Annual Jane Austen Festival. The festival starts Friday, July 13th at 6:00 PM with twilight shopping and a special presentation of Persuasion. The festival continues all weekend, opening at 10 AM on both Saturday and Sunday.
The event will feature presentations and workshops about the time period. Everything from cosmetics of the time to making your own herbal tea to how to make your own bound book will be covered over the course of the event. Most workshops cost extra to cover supplies, but if you ever wanted to make your own Evening Kentucky Rose, it will be worth the cost. Patrons of the event will also have the opportunity to attend a Grand Ball on Saturday at the Pendennis Club (tickets sold separately).
Tickets to the event can be purchased online ahead of time or at the admission gate. Festival admission does not sell out, but the workshops and Grand Ball have limited seating and usually sell out. Ticket prices are:
- Friday – $6 per person
- Saturday and Sunday – $15 per person per day, or $25 for both days
- Children under 12 are admitted free with a paid adult.
More information about the event can be found on the website.
Photo: Louisville Metro Public Health And Wellness
An employee at the Applebee’s restaurant located at 4717 Dixie Highway has been diagnosed with acute hepatitis A. As a result, customers who ate at the restaurant from March 23 to April 12, 2018 may have been exposed to the hepatitis A virus.
Symptoms of hepatitis A are fatigue, decreased appetite, stomach pain, nausea, darkened urine, pale stools and jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes). People can become ill 15 to 50 days after being exposed to the virus. Anyone experiencing symptoms should seek medical attention.
Hepatitis A is usually transmitted by putting something in your mouth such as an object, food or drink, which has been in contact with the feces of an infected person. In November, the Kentucky Department for Public Health declared a statewide hepatitis A outbreak. Since the outbreak began there have been 226 cases diagnosed in Louisville and more than 11,000 vaccinated.
“The best ways to prevent hepatitis A infection are to get vaccinated and to practice good handwashing,” said Dr. Lori Caloia, medical director. “Washing your hands thoroughly and often with warm water and soap, especially before preparing meals or eating, after using the bathroom or changing a diaper is a proven way to prevent the spread of diseases. Hand sanitizer is not as effective as hand washing against hepatitis A.”
The Department of Public Health and Wellness recommends anyone working in the hospitality industry, particularly those who serve or prepare food and beverages, protect themselves and others by getting the hepatitis A vaccine. The independent business owners of the Applebee’s restaurants in the state of Kentucky as well as surrounding markets in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Tennessee will provide free Hepatitis A vaccinations to their employees.
The department and the University of Louisville Global Health Center have partnered to offer below-cost vaccinations to all hospitality workers. The cost of the hepatitis A vaccine has been reduced from $65 to $25. Businesses with more than 20 employees can have a nurse come to their site to provide the immunizations. Businesses with fewer than 20 employees may designate vaccine for their employees to be immunized at U of L’s walk-in clinic. To arrange these employee immunizations, contact Dr. Ruth Carrico at 502-852-1324.
To date more than 50 local food service establishments have chosen to provide their employees the hepatitis A vaccine through this effort.
For more information about hepatitis A visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/health-wellness/hepatitis or call 211.
The 2018 USCCA Concealed Carry Expo opens today at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The Expo is open to the public and free for USCCA members and children under the age of 18 to attend (admission for non-members can be purchased at the door). Memberships can be purchased on-site. The event is scheduled for the entire weekend and will feature everything needed for one to safely and comfortably conceal carry a weapon in any situation.
Attendees will be able to walk the exhibit floor that will feature everything from ammunition to concealed carry shape wear for women, as well as the opportunity to test fire the latest handguns at the live-fire range. In addition to the exhibits, there will be a variety of demonstrations and seminars that will discuss everything from revolver techniques to tourniquet application and many legal aspects of concealed carry. New this year is a separate area that will focus on the products and seminar discussions that have been designed specifically for women shooters.
The show opened with seminars only this morning and the exhibit hall opens later this afternoon at 3:00 PM. The show continues all weekend with doors opening at 9:00 AM on Saturday and 10:00 AM on Sunday. Parking at the Expositions Center is $8 for cars and is not included in the price of admission. If you are currently licensed or looking for more information about concealed carry, this is the show to find everything that is needed.
