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The Kentucky Derby Festival is heading to Southern Indiana for one of its newest events – Horseshoe Foundation FamFest. The Festival is partnering with the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County to bring the family friendly event to New Albany on Wednesday, April 11. Showcasing a special preview of the 2018 Festival and offering fun for the whole family, the event will take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Downtown New Albany next to the YMCA located at 47 Pearl Street.
“We’re fortunate to have Festival fans on both sides of the river,” said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “We’re all ready for spring and this event will help get everyone in the spirit of Festival season. Plus, we’ll have activities and fun for kids of all ages.”
Highlights of the event include autographs with the 2018 Royal Court, a hot air balloon, inflatables, mini golf, a miniature bed racing course, a Belle of Louisville Steamboat replica, face painting and more. Plus, the first 1,000 attendees will also receive a custom Pegasus Pin.
Other participants at the event include:
- Baptist Health & Fitness Activity Center
- Louisville Mega Cavern
- Louisville City FC
- Mighty Titans Adventure
- US Marine Corps
- New Albany Fire Department
- Samtec MakerMobile
- And many more!
Guests will also have the opportunity to purchase Kentucky Derby Festival Official Merchandise as they gear up for the Festival season. Concessions will also be available from Mark’s Feed Store and Papa John’s.
Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County is title sponsor of the event with Media Sponsors 102.3 Jack FM and Extol Magazine.
The Derby Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. It entertains more than 1.5 million people annually. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
The Kentucky Derby Festival’s bourbon tasting event – King Southern Bank BourbonVille – returns next week. Celebrating Kentucky’s home-grown spirit, the event is set for Thursday, April 12th at 6 p.m. at the Louisville Palace.
“BourbonVille helps showcase two of Kentucky’s favorite things – bourbon and the Derby Festival celebration,” said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “Whether you like your bourbon neat or prefer a bourbon cocktail, it’s an event you don’t want to miss.”
BourbonVille will feature signature cocktails from several Kentucky Bourbon Distilleries. Participants include Evan Williams, Jim Beam, Four Roses, Flat Boat, Bulleit Bourbon and Jeptha Creed, to name a few. New for 2018, Angel’s Envy will host the VIP area. The different brands will present the spirit straight, of course, but also in specialty drinks, food and other variations. There will also be opportunities to mix and mingle with the Master Distillers and Brand Ambassadors.
Guests will be able to enjoy a wide-selection of Bourbon-inspired cuisine. The menu includes bourbon BBQ pork sliders; chicken’n waffles with bourbon syrup; smokey bourbon BBQ meatballs; gourmet cheese boards with bleu cheese, bourbon poached pears, cheddar, and smoked gouda; and more. For a full menu, visit KDF.org.
Each of the distilleries will build custom bars for the event inside the Louisville Palace. There will be a silent auction featuring bourbon inspired packages with everything from bourbon cocktail mixes and apparel to barrel heads and collectibles. Liquor Barn is also hosting a special Desserts Lounge.
Tickets for the event are still available. General Admission Tickets are $50. Each ticket includes bourbon and food tasting, as well as a swag bag with commemorative mason jar, BourbonVille event Pin, and other bourbon themed items. Tickets can be purchased online at KDF.org.
BourbonVille is sponsored by King Southern Bank, with Contributing Sponsors Liquor Barn/Party Mart, and RunSwitch PR. Media Sponsor is 107.7 The Eagle.
The Derby Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. It entertains more than 1.5 million people annually. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association National Tournament returns to the Kentucky Exposition Center April 12-15, bringing 96 junior and adult division teams together to battle it out on the courts. The competition is estimated to generate $2.8 million in economic impact for the Louisville area.
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) athletes wheel into action on 12 courts located throughout South Wings B and C. Tournament hours are:
- Thursday, April 12 9:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m.
- Friday, April 13 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
- Saturday, April 14 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.
- Sunday, April 15 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
The National Wheelchair Basketball Association was founded in 1948, with teams of veterans competing against one another. Today there are more than 200 NWBA teams and eight divisions of play exist: Junior Prep; Junior Varsity; Division I-III; Intercollegiate Men’s; Intercollegiate Women’s; and Women’s.
TICKETS Pre-sale through April 4/At the door:
- $26, adults all sessions/$32, adults all sessions
- $15, adults single session/$19, adults single session
- $10, children (age 11-18) all sessions/$12, children (age 11-18) all sessions
- $7, children single session/$10, children single session
Children 10 and under are free. To purchase tickets in advance, visit the website below. Parking at the Kentucky Exposition Center is $8 per vehicle and $20 per bus.
For more information and a tournament schedule, visit www.nwba.org/2018nwbt.
The Kentucky Arts Council’s celebration of Kentucky Writers’ Day April 24 at Louisville’s Spalding University will cap off a week of literary events around the state that recognize the Commonwealth’s literary tradition.
The Kentucky General Assembly established Kentucky Writers’ Day in 1990 to honor Kentucky’s strong literary tradition and to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Kentucky native Robert Penn Warren, the first poet laureate of the United States and winner of three Pulitzer Prizes.
Current Kentucky Poet Laureate Frederick Smock will be among the readers and panelists at the Kentucky Arts Council’s Kentucky Writers’ Day celebration, beginning 6 p.m. in Spalding University Library’s Kentucky Room, 853 Library Lane in Louisville.
Following poetry readings by Smock and former poets laureate Maureen Morehead (2011-2012) and Joe Survant (2003-2004), poet Lynnell Edwards, Spalding’s associate program director for the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program, will moderate a discussion about Kentucky’s literary tradition.
As Kentucky’s literary ambassador, Smock urges all Kentuckians to celebrate Writers’ Day, no matter where they are.
“On Kentucky Writers Day, turn off the phone. Log off the computer. Do not turn on the television. For a few minutes, just read a poem. Let it sink in,” Smock said. “Follow where your mind goes with it, for you are the only authority on what the poem means to you.
“As with love, the feeling of having read a good poem can induce a certain inner radiance. The poem sinks in and transforms itself from words on a page to a deep interior shift. After all, we go to poetry not to find out about the poet’s life, but to find out about our own.”
In addition to the main event at Spalding, several organizations around Kentucky have organized their own Kentucky Writers’ Day celebrations leading up to the main event on April 24.
In Frankfort, Paul Sawyier Public Library will host a Kentucky Writers’ Day celebration featuring former Kentucky Poet Laureate Richard Taylor on Wednesday, April 18. Taylor will be joined by award-winning writers Leatha Kendrick and Jeff Worley beginning at 6:30 p.m. EDT. Local poets are invited to share their original poems at an open mic beginning at 6 p.m. Contact Diane Dehoney at diane.dehoney@pspl.org or at 502-352-2665.
The Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning will host Lexington’s celebration of Kentucky Writers’ Day with readings by three former Kentucky poets laureate – Gurney Norman, Frank X Walker and George Ella Lyon – at 6 p.m. EDT on April 23. Also invited to read are some of Kentucky’s newest writers from the University of Kentucky’s MFA in Creative Writing Program. For more information, contact the Carnegie Center at 859-254-4175.
Observance of Kentucky Writers’ Day in Murray is scheduled for April 23, at 6 p.m. CDT, in the Calloway County Public Library meeting room. The event is designed as a community gathering to honor Kentucky writers, celebrate National Poetry Month and observe William Shakespeare’s 402nd birthday. Families are invited to select favorite poems to read aloud. The festivities will also feature poems by Kentucky’s Robert Penn Warren, and current Kentucky Poet Laureate Frederick Smock. Contact Sandy Linn at sandy.linn@callowaycountylibrary.org or at 270-753-2288 for more information.
Kentucky Humanities will present “Paint the Town Red,” another celebration of Warren’s birthday. During the event, Kentucky Humanities will announce an upcoming statewide literacy initiative featuring Warren’s work. “Paint the Town Red” will start at 11 a.m. CDT April 24 at the Robert Penn Warren Birthplace Museum in Guthrie. For more information, contact Brooke Raby at brooke.raby@uky.edu or at 859-257-4317.
“‘Kentucky is a writerly state,’ Jim Wayne Miller used to say, and right he was,” Smock said. “Kentucky Writers’ Day is being celebrated across the state, from Frankfort to Murray, from Lexington to Guthrie. And in Louisville, in the Kentucky Room of Spalding University where I will be joined by recent poets laureate Maureen Morehead and Joe Survant.”
For more information about Kentucky Writers’ Day and the April 24 event at Spalding, contact Tamara Coffey, arts council individual artist director, at 502-892-3121 or tamara.coffey@ky.gov.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
President David James (D-6) is looking for a few volunteers with time on their hands this Saturday who are willing to take part in two different cleanups and show their community pride.
“I want to invite everyone to come out and join us this Saturday. Anytime we make any part of District 6 a better place for the people who live here, it benefits everyone in the district,” says President James. “We are fortunate to always have a great turn out of volunteers for these events and I am hopeful everyone will help us out.”
Volunteers need to show up at 12:00pm for the cleanup which is scheduled to last through 3:00pm.
There are two areas set for a cleanup this Saturday. One is Dumesnil between 17th and 18th Streets and then the second is at West Ormsby between the 1500 and 1800 blocks. Volunteers should meet at the corner of 18th and Dumesnil and then the cleanups will begin.
There will be a limited number of shovels, rakes and brooms, gloves and bags. If any volunteers have their own yard equipment please bring it them with you.
“So if you have the time, come join us and have some fun and help us make a different in our community,” says President James.
In the event of inclement weather, the cleanups will be moved forward to Saturday, April 14th.
For more information about the cleanups, contact President James Office at 502-574-1106.
Through a special second chance promotion sponsored by the Kentucky Lottery, Louisville resident Bob Paxton won the opportunity to be this year’s Festival Fanatic for the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival. As part of his big win, Paxton will serve as the Thundernator for the Derby Festival Opening Ceremonies: Thunder Over Louisville on Saturday, April 21.
At age 62, this will be Paxton’s first ever Thunder experience. He will have the opportunity to provide the Thunder countdown and “zero” ignition to activate the launch system sequence in the Command Center at the Galt House Hotel. Additionally, Bob receives nine other Festival VIP experiences. This includes a ride down Broadway in the Republic Bank Pegasus Parade, a hot air balloon ride, seats on Millionaires Row during Celebrity Day at the Downs, and $500 in spending money!
This is a special win for Paxton, “I was standing in line at Cane’s Chicken getting lunch when my phone rang and the call was from the Kentucky Lottery. I got so excited when I found out I was going to be the Festival Fanatic – everyone in the restaurant knew I’d won! I loved the idea of being the Festival Fanatic, and really wanted to win last year because the experience sounded so terrific.”
Over 5,000 fans entered the promotion which kicked off on February 5th. Players signed in or registered for a Fun Club Rewards account at www.kylottery.com. Once logged in, they were able to submit an eligible non-winning KENO ticket worth $5 or more for a chance to be named the 2018 Festival Fanatic.
Paxton will also be in town on Friday, April 20th. He will visit the Command Center for the first time at 10 a.m. that morning. Media is invited to the Command Center to meet him in person on April 20th.
Paxton won a VIP Experience package that includes: an invitation to the Festival’s annual They’re Off! Luncheon on Friday, April 20; a Second Street Bridge and Command Center Tour also on Friday, April 20; Overnight accommodations for a family of 4 at the Galt House Thunder weekend; and a front row seat in the Command Center on Saturday, April 21, to flip the switch.
Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies – is one of nearly 70 events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The 2018 Thunder Over Louisville, themed “A Disco Thunder,” is set for Saturday, April 21, and will be the 29th annual production. The show is sponsored by Horseshoe Southern Indiana, LG&E, Meijer, UPS, and Valero.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
To passersby, 1436 South Shelby Street may look like just another building in the Fort Hill/Meriwether Neighborhood. What they may not realize is the building’s important Louisville history.
A history that will be honored and remembered on Tuesday April 10th, when Kentucky’s newest historical maker will be dedicated in front of the structure that was once known as the Red Cross Hospital (RCH).
“There was a time when the Red Cross Hospital was the only facility where African Americans in Louisville could seek health care and treatment,” says Councilwoman Cheri Bryant Hamilton (D-5). “It was the only hospital in Kentucky offering training programs for black nurses and the only institution where black physicians could treat and operate on their patients.”
The Councilwoman and Dr. Wayne Tuckson, of the Greater Louisville Medical Society, Linda Hart Lewis and Brunhilda Williams Curington whose father and mother, respectively, were on staff at the hospital before it closed in 1975 will officially dedicate and unveil the historical marker at a special ceremony beginning at 11:00am.
Mayor Greg Fischer, Jennifer Hancock of the Volunteers of America, and members of the RHC Committee will participate in the dedication. Councilwoman Barbara Sexton Smith (D-4) will also speak at the ceremony.
The RCH was founded in 1899 when African-American doctors, W.T. Merchant, Ellis Whedbee, R.B. Scott were part of a small group of doctors who opened the hospital in a four-room private residence at Sixth and Walnut Streets (now Muhammad Ali Blvd.).
Six years later, it moved to 1436 South Shelby Street and the facility expanded. In 1912 the first brick facility was constructed, and over the course of the next fifty years, the hospital grew in both size and importance in the community.
The Red Cross Hospital opened its own School for Nurses. Mary E. Merritt was the hospital superintendent and head of the on-site nursing program until she retired in 1945.
It offered three major services; medicine, surgery and obstetrics. It was the only hospital in the state where black nurses could be trained at their Nurse Training Department.
It was the largest black hospital in the state and treated blacks from throughout Kentucky, not just Louisville.
The hospital remained segregated up until 1953 when integration first occurred within the Jefferson County Medical Society. It allowed black physicians staffing privileges at local hospitals, the first being Jewish Hospital.
However, increased costs and continued desegregation in Louisville throughout the 1960’s saw the hospital force to close its doors in 1975 after 76 years of service to the community.
Today, the building still stands. It houses the Shelby Men’s Recovery Center of Louisville operated by Volunteers of America. Representatives of VOA will be on hand for the dedication.
“This is why it is important to remember the impact the Red Cross Hospital for generations of Black health care professionals in our city. The dedication of a small dedicated group of men with vision to provide health care at a time when the patients they sought to help had no other hospital to turn to,” said Hamilton.
There will be a reception following the unveiling and an opportunity for former patients and employees to reminisce and tour the old hospital building and current VOA facility.
For more information about the Red Cross Hospital Historical Maker Dedication, contact Councilwoman Hamilton’s office at 574-1105.
