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Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Councilman Brandon Coan (D-8), the Civic Data Alliance and Bellarmine University announce the rescheduled Hack the Highlands event, the CDA’s first neighborhood-specific hackathon, this Saturday February 24th at Bellarmine University. Originally scheduled to occur in January, inclement weather forced the hackathon to be move to this coming Saturday.
The Civic Data Alliance is Louisville’s Code for America Brigade focused on being a force for open data, coding education, and civic engagement. A hackathon is an event at which coders and other stakeholders focus on using data to create software to solve problems.
“I’m excited and appreciative to partner with the Civic Data Alliance and Bellarmine University to produce Hack the Highlands,” said Coan. “The event is part of my plan to build interest in civic engagement and make city business more accessible, interesting and participatory. I hope a number of students, neighborhood coders and urbanists will come out and join us.”
Since 2014, the CDA has hosted nearly a dozen hackathons around Louisville and produced innovative solutions to local needs, including creating tools for those who are visually impaired and supporting The New Dixie Highway project.
“The Civic Data Alliance is excited to work with Councilman Coan and Bellarmine University to host this hackathon,” said CDA event organizer Robert Kahne. “We hope that the work done on this day brings this corner of the city closer together and helps the Highlands as it faces unique challenges and embraces its unique advantages. CDA is always open and willing to work with any elected officials regardless of political party or office who wishes to support open data and technology for the public good. We commend Councilman Coan for reaching out to us and helping put this event together.”
Hack the Highlands will focus on using the city’s open data to solve problems specific to the Highlands, including reorganizing the area’s litter baskets to make the streets cleaner, tracking streetlight outages to make neighborhoods safer and analyzing the results of Councilman Coan’s 2017 “I Can Get You a Tow” campaign, designed to curb illegal rush hour street parking on Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue.
The event will be held Saturday, February 24th from 9am-5pm at Bellarmine, in classroom CNMH 081 on the ground level of Centro’s McGowan Hall. It is free and open to the public, and parking is available in Bellarmine lots.
“We’re proud to call the Highlands and District 8 Bellarmine’s home, so we’re delighted to host this data-driven session that will make our neighborhood an even better place to live, learn and work,” said Dr. Susan M. Donovan, Bellarmine’s president.
For more information and to RSVP, visit:
https://tinyurl.com/HackTheHighlands2-24
http://www.tinyurl.com/cmcoand8
The Kentucky Flea Market February Spring Fling includes more than 600 booths featuring one-of-a-kind items, collectibles, food and more.
Doors open: Friday, February 23, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday, February 24, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sunday, February 25, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. at Kentucky Exposition Center, South Wing A
Admission is free and open to the public. Parking is $8 per vehicle, $20 for a bus – $4 cash back with any purchase.
Photo: KFC Yum! Center
GRAMMY® Award-winning, acclaimed alternative rock pioneers The Smashing Pumpkins today announced the Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour, their first tour in nearly 20 years to feature founding members Billy Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin, and James Iha. Produced by Live Nation, the 36-city tour will kick off in Glendale, AZ on July 12, 2018 and visit North American arenas throughout the summer. Tickets for the Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour will go on sale to the general public starting next Friday, February 23 at 10:00am local time and be available at www.smashingpumpkins.com, LiveNation.com, and via the Live Nation App.
“Some 30 years ago, as The Smashing Pumpkins, James Iha and I began a musical journey in the cramped rear bedroom of my Father’s house. And so it’s magic to me that we’re able to coalesce once more around the incredible Jimmy Chamberlin, to celebrate those songs we’ve made together,” shared Corgan.
The band broke news of the tour this morning with a dramatic video featuring original Siamese Dream album cover stars Ali Laenger and LySandra Roberts.
The monumental Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour, which coincides with the 30th anniversary of the band’s formation, will highlight music from the group’s inception through 2000, and will exclusively feature material from their groundbreaking debut Gish through Siamese Dream, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Adore, and Machina. Longtime Smashing Pumpkins guitarist Jeff Schroeder will also take part, as the band moves to a three guitar lineup to better emulate the signature tones and textures of their albums.
“This show and staging will be unlike any we’ve ever done, and will feature a set unlike any we’ve ever played. For if this is a chance at a new beginning, we plan on ushering it in with a real bang,” added Corgan.
Formed in Chicago, IL in 1988, The Smashing Pumpkins released their heralded debut album Gish in 1991 and found mainstream success with 1993’s 4x multi-platinum Siamese Dream and 1995’s 10x multi-platinum Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. With nine studio albums and over 30 million albums sold to date, the GRAMMY®, MTV VMA, and American Music Award winning band remains an influential force in alternative rock.
The Smashing Pumpkins are represented by Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Dr. George C. Wright is coming to Louisville to discuss his book on the history of race relations and black life in Kentucky as a guest of Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5) for a Black History month community event on Friday, February 23rd.
“This is a great opportunity to hear from a native Kentuckian who has chronicled the history of blacks in Kentucky covering progress and violence since 1865 forward,” said Hamilton. “It is an important meeting for those who want to understand black history in our commonwealth as we celebrate Black History Month.”
Dr. Wright is a native of Lexington, Kentucky and has served in many faculty and administrative positions at American universities since 1977.
He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in History from the University of Kentucky and his Doctorate in History from Duke University. He is a past President of Prairie View A&M University, the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas. He is currently a full professor of history at Texas A&M University in College Station.
He is the author of “Life Behind a Veil: Blacks in Louisville, KY from 1865 to 1930”. Dr. Wright has also authored “A History of Blacks in Kentucky: In Pursuit of Equality, 1890—1980, Volume II” and “Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865- 1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and “Legal Lynchings”.
The community meeting is set for the Portland Memorial Baptist Church, 3802 West Market Street beginning at 1:00pm.
“In order to move forward, it is always important for everyone young and old, black or white, to understand our history in Louisville and Kentucky. Dr. Wright knows that history and is able to put it in perspective for the 21st Century. I encourage everyone to come out and share this experience,” says Hamilton.
For more information about this event, contact Councilwoman Hamilton’s office at 574-1105.
For fans who want to catch the high-horsepower action of the National Tractor Pull Championship, today is their last opportunity for the 2018 edition of the event, which is celebrating its 50th year in Freedom Hall this year. The finals will feature a variety of tractor sizes and stocks as well as 2-wheel drive Super Modified Trucks.
Visitors will be on the edge of their seats as they watch drivers use their trucks and tractors to drag the massive weighted sled down a dirt track. The sled (Bauer Built’s Iron Man) weight varies from class to class, but some of these vehicles are hauling more than 20 tons down the short 250 foot track.
Qualifying heats have been running since Wednesday for the finals tonight, which will feature such previous winners such Steve Bunnage from Golden Gate, IL as he tries to beat his Wednesday night result of 232.062 feet. The 2-wheel modified trucks will feature three lady drivers, including Bethany Nelson from Altamont, IL who won the heat last night by going 223.952 feet.
The Championship starts tonight at 7:00 PM with an early showing at noon and tickets are still available. As always with the Exposition Center, there’s a $8 per vehicle charge for parking. If you arrive early to get a good parking spot, the National Farm Machinery Show is open until 6:00 PM and admission is free.
Photo; Kentucky Derby Museum
Tickets are now on sale for the much-anticipated Big Brims and Fancy Trims Annual Hat Sample Sale, presented by CaloSpa and CaloAesthetics with support from Kendall-Jackson, Luc Belair and Tito’s Handmade Vodka. Find your perfect Oaks and Derby hats or fascinators at the Kentucky Derby Museum on Wednesday, April 5th.
Over 400 hats samples will be on sale, with no sample hat priced over $75 and some hats as low as $18. The Museum’s 2018 Hat Collection will also be available for the first time this season.
This year men are encouraged to attend and find their official Derby looks in the dedicated men’s shopping area, complete with signature bourbon tastings and cocktails. Purchase an early bird ticket for $20 to gain exclusive entry in the hat sample area from 4:30 – 5:30 pm, an hour before all shoppers are allowed in. General admission tickets are $10. Museum Members general admission tickets are just $5. The doors officially open to all attendees at 5:30 pm.
All ticket holders will enjoy complimentary cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, live music, local vendor pop-up shops and giveaways! Guests are encouraged to bring their Derby ensembles for styling tips and more.
The Museum’s Official Milliner, Jenny Pfanenstiel of Formé Millinery will have her couture hats on display and will also offer hat styling tips.
Learn more about the event and purchase tickets at DerbyMuseum.org.
Photo: The Kentucky Center
Jackson Browne has written and performed some of the most literate and moving songs in popular music and has defined a genre of songwriting charged with honesty, emotion and personal politics. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
His most recent studio album, Standing In The Breach, is a collection of ten songs, at turns deeply personal and political, exploring love, hope, and defiance in the face of the advancing uncertainties of modern life.
Jackson Browne performs at The Kentucky Center June 12. Tickets start at $46, reserved seating, fees apply.