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Photo: Louisville Metro Council
The holiday season is underway and President David James is once again hosting a special seasonal event for residents of District 6 when the Light up California Holiday Celebration gets underway beginning at 5:00pm on Friday, December 7th.
“It is always a joy to take the time to come together as a community and praise the true spirit of the season,” says James. “A new year is on the horizon and I am confident that good things lie ahead for one of Metro Louisville’s greatest neighborhoods.”
The fun begins in the festive atmosphere of California Leisure Park at 5:00pm. Santa Claus will be on hand to take the wishes and requests of children back to the North Pole.
The evening’s festivities will include live musical entertainment, free snacks, and refreshments will be available to all those who attend. There will be music, hot apple cider, a bike raffle, and Santa will be there to give out toys.
This year several groups and individuals have joined Councilman James to help spread holiday cheer for children and families in the District. Those sponsors include Kosair Charities, Al Schneider Inc., Play, 7NT Engineering, Henderson’s and Ronaldo Designer Jewelry.
“I want to invite everyone to come out and join this community celebration as a way to embrace the holiday season in a neighborhood that enjoys the togetherness this time of year brings,” says James.
California Leisure Park is located at 963 Dixie Highway.
For more information about the Light up California, please contact Councilman James’ office at 574-1106.
Credit: Louisville Metro Police
President David James (D-6) and officers of the LMPD’s Fourth Division are planning a special celebration of the season when they host the Parkhill Holiday Party at the Parkhill Community Center on Thursday, December 6th.
“I look forward to continuing this community tradition when we give needy children throughout the district a Merry Christmas with holiday fun for the family,” says James. “It will be a wonderful time for anyone who lives in the Parkhill area.”
The Parkhill Holiday Party will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Parkhill Community Center, 1703 South Thirteenth Street.
Parents are encouraged to bring their children ages 1-15 to the event.
There will be music, food and fun for all! Santa Claus will also be on hand to hear Christmas wishes and parents and families can take pictures of their child with the Jolly Old Elf. There will be a toys and bicycle give-a-way!
This year several groups and individuals have joined Councilman James to help spread holiday cheer for children and families in the District. Those sponsors include Kosair Charities, Al Schneider Inc., Play, 7NT Engineering, Henderson’s and Ronaldo Designer Jewelry.
“So I want to encourage everyone in the Parkhill area to come out and join us for some fun as we bring in the holiday season,” says James.
For more information about the Parkhill Holiday Party, contact Councilman James’ office at 574-1106.
To kick off the New Year, your Louisville Orchestra brings internationally acclaimed conductor, Leonard Slatkin to The Kentucky Center on Saturday, January 12 at 8PM. Mr. Slatkin will conduct the LO in Edward Elgar’s most famous works, Enigma Variations.
Single tickets start at $27* and are available by calling 502.584.7777 or by visiting LouisvilleOrchestra.org.
Cindy McTee, Mr. Slatkin’s wife, is an accomplished composer and her work, Double Play will open the concert followed by a piece by Leonard Slatkin himself, Kinah (Hebrew for “elegy” or “dirge”), which was written in memory of his parents. The program is rounded out by a rousing work for ballet, The Incredible Flutist by Walter Piston.
The Enigma Variations is the work that put Elgar on the musical map. He had made his living as a musical jack-of-all-trades, playing several instruments, conducting, teaching, and composing. His early works brought him scant recognition; it was not until he composed his Enigma Variations that he came into his own as a composer of quality; one whom Richard Strauss would call “the first English progressivist.”
As the title implies, the work is a theme-and-variations, but with a twist: the theme is never heard—hence the “enigma.” What’s more, each variation is also a portrait of one of his friends. Each was cryptically titled with a set of initials or a name, and it was not until after Elgar’s death that all of the identities became known.
The featured LO musician for this program is LO’s own incredible flutist, Kathy Karr who will talk with 90.5 WUOL’s Daniel Gilliam at the LO Concert Talk at 6:45PM prior to the concert.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Metro Louisville will continue the celebration of the holiday season when Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin invites District 2 residents to Newburg-Petersburg Park for this year’s “Light up Newburg”, on Saturday, December 8th.
“The people of District 2 always enjoy this holiday celebration,” says Shanklin. “We have some fun activities planned but more importantly this event is a reminder of the wonder of the holidays.”
“Light up Newburg” will be held from 6:00pm – 8:00pm. Newburg-Petersburg Park is located at the corner of East Indian Trail and Petersburg Road.
Santa Claus will be on hand to hear children’s holiday wishes for Christmas. There will be holiday music and refreshments.
This year, the Teamsters National Black Caucus of Louisville has joined in the fun by helping bring gifts and holiday cheer to children of the area.
“We have music and fun planned as a way to offset the hectic hustle and bustle of this time of year,” says Shanklin.
In the event of inclement weather, the holiday fun will move inside the Newburg Community Center.
For more information about “Light up Newburg,” call Councilwoman Shanklin’s office at 574-1102.
Neighborhood Place joins with community partners to host the Park DuValle Holiday Festival on Dec. 1 featuring visits with Santa and a holiday concert, and a Kwanzaa Reception on Dec. 28 at Ujima Neighborhood Place. Several other valuable services and classes will take place in December including a home energy-saving workshop, a Women’s Empowerment Information Session, TARC Smart Card registration and low internet sign-ups. To learn more about these offerings, please refer to the list below.
Dec. 1, Third Annual Park DuValle Holiday Festival, 1 – 6 p.m.
Celebrate the holiday season in the Park DuValle area with a celebration of drums and snowball fight at 1 p.m. at Southwick Community Center; visits with Santa at 2 p.m. at the Dr. William Weathers Senior Building; and Holiday Bingo, the Christmas cookie factory and face painting at Ujima Neighborhood Place 3610 Bohne Ave. at 3:30 p.m. A holiday reception begins at 5 p.m. and at 6 p.m. a holiday concert and tree lighting will take place at the Villages of DuValle club house at 1804 Russell Lee Dr.
Dec. 4, Car Seat Safety Check at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 9 – 11 a.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call Norton Children’s Hospital at 629-7358 to make an appointment. Learn how to install your child’s car seat or booster seat. Find out if it’s time for a change. Car seat-fitting by appointment only.
Dec. 5, WeCare Energy Efficiency Overview at Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Located at 3410 Lees Lane. Call 1-800-356-5467 for more information. Representatives from the WeCare Program at LG&E will be on hand to talk with interested persons about energy efficiency, energy usage and tips to reduce utility bills.WeCare staff can also help determine if households are eligible for a variety of free services including air duct sealing and insulation, attic and wall insulation, programmable thermostats and much more.
Dec. 5, 11, 13 and 20, A Healthy Journey for Two Educational Baby Shower at multiple locations
A Healthy Journey for Two is an educational baby shower open to any expectant mothers. Contact Mendy Mason at 502-341-5400 to register and for more information. The class will include a range of information and resources, as well as free baby items, gift cards, prizes, and snacks. Hosted by Centerstone and KIDSNow. Fathers are welcome but must be registered.
- Dec. 5 at Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 3410 Lees Lane, 1 – 3 p.m.
- Dec. 11 at South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave., 1- 3 p.m.
- Dec 13, at First Neighborhood Place, 1503 Rangeland Rd. 1 – 3 p.m.
- Dec. 20 at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3610 Bohne Ave., 1 – 3 p.m.
Dec 6, 10 and 17, Sodexo Hiring Opportunities at three locations
Sodexo, a food-service agency, will provide on-the-spot interviews for positions with Jewish Hospital, Our Lady of Peace and University of Louisville Hospital. Bring your resume and be prepared for an interview. This is one of Sodexo’s busiest hiring seasons. Stop by if you are looking for employment that can lead to a full-time or part-time position.
- Dec 6, First Neighborhood Place, 1503 Rangeland Road (T.J. Middle School in the W.D. Bruce Building – door #24), 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Call 313-4700 for more information.
- Dec 10, South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave. 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Call 313-4089 for more information.
- Dec. 17, Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 3410 Lees Lane, 9am-1pm. Call 313-4089 for more information.
Dec. 6 and 7, TARC Smart Card Registration at Neighborhood Place at two locations
For more information call 585-1234. TARC Mobile Unit will be on site to register individuals for the new smart card. As of Jan. 7, 2019, paper tickets will no longer be used on a TARC bus. Customers can get a jump start in acquiring a smart card that will be required to ride the bus. Customers will be allowed to put a value on new smart cards and seniors will be able to get smart cards with a photo I.D. verifying age.
- Dec. 6 at South Central Neighborhood Place, 4255 Hazelwood Ave., 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- Dec. 7 at Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 3410 Lees Lane, 11:30 am. – 1:30 p.m.
Mondays through Thursdays, YMCA’s “Caring and Learning with Me” program at Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Located at 1503 Rangeland Rd., side of Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Call Keyonna Humphrey at 974-8457 for more information and to register. This free program provides a wonderful learning environment for children ages 3-5 years old and their caregivers focusing on play and exploration. The adult caregiver is required to attend with the child/ren. Younger children ages newborn to two years old are also welcome. Sponsored by the YMCA with support from First Neighborhood Place.
Dec. 10, Bridges of Hope Women’s Empowerment Group Information Session, 5 – 6 p.m.
Located at 1411 Algonquin Parkway. Call 634-6050 for more information. This one-hour information session will give prospective participants a synopsis of an upcoming Women’s Empowerment Group and its format. Learn more about this 10-week program designed to develop the skills and confidence necessary to help uplift, empower, build support, and establish healthy relationships. The topics of focus are relationships, parenting, mental and physical health, employment, education, and self-care.
Dec. 10, 12, 17, Passport Health Care Community Engagement at two locations
Call (502) 212-6677 for more information and to RSVP. Passport Members are invited to join with representatives from Passport Health Care for one-on-one consultations to discuss plan benefits and options. This is a great opportunity as Passport aims to raise awareness and educate the community about the Passport Health Plan mission. Passport members will receive a $10 retail gift card for attending.
- Dec 10 and 17 at First Neighborhood Place, 1503 Rangeland Rd (door #16) side of Thomas Jefferson Middle School, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Dec. 12 at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3610 Bohne Ave., 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Dec. 11, Project Warm Energy Management Workshop at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call 313-4635 to register. Learn how to make your home warmer and more comfortable this winter. Project Warm’s energy management workshop will show you how to hang clear, interior window covers and more. Receive free supplies after attending the workshop. Supplies are available to all registered participants
Dec. 11, Foster Parent Recruitment Meeting at First Neighborhood Place, 6 – 8 p.m.
Located at 1503 Rangeland Rd., side of Thomas Jefferson Middle School. Call 595-5437 (KIDS) for more information. Detailed information will be provided on the requirements and process of how to become a foster or adoptive parent. Information such as an explanation of foster care, special needs adoption, and information on foster parent training classes will be provided. Sponsored by Kentucky Foster Care and the Special Needs Adoption Program.
Dec. 12, 17 and 20, Low Cost Internet Registration at three locations
Learn about and receive help signing up for low-cost internet plans in our community for qualifying households. Sponsored by Louisville Metro’s Digital Inclusion team.
- Dec. 12, Cane Run Neighborhood Place, 2- 4 p.m.
- Dec. 17, South Central Neighborhood Place, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Dec. 20 at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3610 Bohne Ave., 3 – 5 p.m. Call 313-4635 for more info.
Dec. 20, Free Blood Pressure Screenings at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 3 – 5 p.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call 313-4635 for more information. Louisville Metro Health and Wellness health educators will provide free blood pressure screenings and health information.
Dec. 28, Kwanzaa Reception at Ujima Neighborhood Place, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Located at 3610 Bohne Ave. Call 313-4635 for more information. In honor of Ujima, the third principle of Kwanzaa meaning collective work and responsibility, community members are invited to gather for networking opportunities and to explore ideas for community collaborations.
By Charlotte Stephens
Before he became a bestselling author, David Sedaris survived by working odd jobs. He picked apples in Oregon. He reinforced the edges of window screens with a stapler (to keep squirrels from invading attics) in Chicago. He cleaned apartments in new York City. And, broke and jobless after first moving to the Big Apple, he got a gig playing an elf at Macy’s “SantaLand,” which would inspire his beloved and hilariously biting personal essay, “Santaland Diaries.”
Sedaris is now a literary celebrity. he’s one of the few writers who can fill Carnegie Hall with his adoring fans and who’s been considered funny enough to appear regularly on The Late Show with David Letterman. During his days as Crumpet the Elf, however, he never thought he’d see his dream of being a published author come true. “I’m wearing a green velvet costume; it doesn’t get any worse than this,” Sedaris-as-Crumpet quips darkly. But his career would profit immensely from this time spent faking holiday cheer and herding frazzled families for their photo with Santa. It was “Santaland Diaries” that introduced Sedaris’s signature deadpan humor to a national audience, catapulting him to fame in the early 1990s.
Since 1977, Sedaris had kept a diary, often carrying a notebook with him to record experiences both bizarre and mundane. (He’s known for his ability to highlight the weirdness of everyday life, zeroing in on personal quirks or strange encounters that are often highly relateable, but that we might never think to document in such comic detail.) As with many of his other early writings, the pithy observations in “Santaland Diaries” originally came from these journal entries. According to Sedaris, “‘Santaland’ was just stuff in my diary. All I did was take things from my diary and arrange them.”
One night, he was reading exceprts from his diary onstage at a small New York club. He later recounted in an NPR interview:
“[Radio host] Ira Glass was in the audience. He introduced himself…Later, he called, asking if I had anything Christmassy for a show that he was doing at the time called…So I recorded the Santa story for that, and he put it on [the daily NPR program] Morning Edition.”
Sedaris could never have predicted the rush of popularity that followed. “My life just changed completely,” he has said, “like someone waved a magic wand.”
The rest is history. Thanks to the wild success of “Santaland Diaries,” Sedaris, in his words, “went from having 50 listeners to 50 million listeners.” Soon after, he landed the book contract that led to his first published collection of essays and short fiction, the critically acclaimed Barrel Fever (in which “Santaland Diaries” also appears). Today, there are more than 10 million copies of Sedaris’s books in print, and his work has been translated into 25 languages. Meanwhile, his recording of “Santaland Diaries” has aired on Morning Edition during the Christmas season every year since 2004, and is one of the show’s most requested features. Not too shabby for a man who’d often joked that he was only qualified for “jobs that needed no skills.”
Tickets are available online here.
The USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships will be held Dec. 11-16, 2018, at Joe Creason Park, the first time the event has been held in Louisville. The national championships will feature nearly 2,000 top professional and amateur riders competing over the course of the week from 45 states.
Forty-two national titles are on the line; male and female national champions will be crowned in the Junior, Senior, Collegiate, U23, Masters and Elite categories. Athletes range in age from 10 to 85 years old.
The event will be held on a cyclocross course at Joe Creason Park that made its debut at the 2017 Derby City Cup and Pan-American Cyclocross Championships. The challenging course includes elevation changes, a flyover, obstacles and off-camber ground that force riders off their bikes.
Cyclocross racing is a hybrid between road cycling and mountain biking that is athletically demanding, and fan and family-friendly. The experience for fans is interactive, with viewing areas within a few feet of the course, and cheering, jeering and crazy costumes that help energize the riders. Competitors race around an off-road circuit on bicycles that look very similar to road bikes, but have been built to take on the demands of rougher off-road racing. Circuits are typically 1.5 to 2 miles long, and feature obstacles that may force riders to dismount their bicycle. Multiple laps showcase these elite riders’ phenomenal skills and amazing speed, invoking the nickname “an hour of pain.”
Beer will be sold by Against the Grain Brewery; food will be provided by Black Rock Grille, POLLO, Moe-Licious BBQ and Blackbeard Expresso food trucks. Wristband admission is $20 per person including tax, which is good for the entire event week. Food and beverage are priced separately. Free vehicle parking will be available at the Louisville Zoo. There will be no warm up zone or tents allowed in the Zoo parking lot. For information on event expo and warm-up tents, please contact Ben Leto at bleto@louisvillesports.org.
Competition begins Tues., Dec. 11 with a full day of non-championship races. The contests to determine national champions – winners of the coveted Stars-and-Stripes jerseys – begin Wed., Dec. 12. Masters and Collegiate championship events for men and women will be held Dec. 12-14.; championship events for Juniors will be held on Saturday. The championships culminate on Sunday with the Junior Men 17-18 and the U23 and elite competitions for men and women.
Among the athletes who will be on hand to defend their titles are Stephen Hyde (Easthampton,Mass./Cannondale presented by CyclocrossWorld), defending U.S. Cyclocross National Champion; Jeremy Powers (Southampton, Mass./Pactimo / Fuji / SRAM), four-time U.S. Cyclocross National Champion ; Curtis White (Delanson, N.Y./Cannondale presented by CyclocrossWorld), no. 1-ranked U.S. male pro cyclocross rider; Ellen Noble (Kennebunkport, Maine/Trek Factory Racing CX), three-time Cyclocross National Champion (U23 and Junior); Katie Clouse (Park City, Utah/Alpha Bicycle – Groove Subaru), 25-time National Champion in Cyclocross, Road and mountain bike; and Katie Compton (Colorado Springs, Colo./KFC Racing), 14-time Cyclocross National Champion.
“Louisville has a long-history of hosting national and international cycling championships – including the 2013 UCA Cyclocross Elite World Championships,” said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. “We encourage everyone to come to Joe Creason Park to enjoy some fantastic cycling competition. Cyclocross is an amazing experience for fans – expect an eclectic mix of lively spectators and high-energy action on the course.”
The national championships are estimated to generate more than $2.6 million in economic impact to the local economy and will result in national media coverage for Louisville. Live streaming will be available Sun., Dec. 16 beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET on USA Cycling’s YouTube channel and on participating cycling media websites.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to host a nationally sanctioned championship with elite athletes, officials and spectators converging on Louisville from across the U.S.,” said Louisville Sports Commission President and CEO Karl F. Schmitt, Jr. “This event provides an excellent opportunity to showcase our community and will generate significant economic impact through inbound sports travel, especially welcome during the winter months.”
Louisville has become a mecca for championship-level cyclocross competitions, having successfully hosted the 2013 UCI Elite World Championships, the 2012 and 2013 UCI Masters World Championships, the annual Derby City Cup at Eva Bandman Park and the 2017 Pan-American Cyclocross Championships.