Sunday January 25, 2026
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It is the time of year as summer winds down to kick back, relax and enjoy the smooth jazz and beautiful music filling the air in Old Louisville when Councilman David James (D-6) once again presents “Jazz in Central Park” on Sunday, August 27th.

“Central Park has had another great summer of fun activities for the people of Old Louisville and now the rest of Metro Louisville can come enjoy this great event. Summer wouldn’t be Summer without Jazz in Central Park,” says James. “This is a great way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon with a wide variety of music and entertainment, and best of all its free and open to any and every one.”

“Jazz in Central Park” is always a free event and open to everyone in Metro Louisville. It will be held from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. This year’s event is hosted by Miss Krystal of WLOU, Spike Davis and Dawne Gee of WAVE TV.

Entertaining this year are the following artists:

  • TRI+ADD Music
  • Delfeayo Marsalis & Jerry Tolson Group
  • Craig Waggner
  • Carly Johnson
  • Charles Walker
  • Maestro J
  • Kiko Sebrian

Local food vendors will also be on hand for the afternoon.

“Central Park is a great venue to bring friends, families or come by yourself to hear some very talented people bring jazz to the Old Louisville area,” says James. “So please, come and join us.”

Joining the Councilman as sponsors of the event this year are Clariant and Genscape.

For more information about “Jazz in Central Park”, contact Councilman James’ office at 574-1106.

Councilman Rick Blackwell (D-12) and President David Yates (D-25) have a special night of fun planned for students and their families to help kick off the new school at the 11th Annual Back to School Bash this Friday, August 25th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm at the Southwest YMCA.

“As an educator, I know the importance of starting the new school year on a positive note,” says Blackwell. “I am excited to again partner with the Southwest YMCA to host this celebration for our students and their families.”

The Back to School Bash will feature swimming, food and fun; and it’s all free. There will be inflatables, group fitness demonstrations and swim time at the Y’s pool. Mad Science will be on hand for kids to make their own slime and cotton candy.

“This is a great family event that helps our children ease into the new school year as the summer winds down,” says Yates. “It is also an opportunity to explore the many programs offered by the Southwest YMCA and how it serves our community year round.”

For Safety reasons the Southwest YMCA has the following rules in place:

Family appropriate swim wear must be worn in the swimming pool. A white t-shirt can be worn on top of suit for women and as a shirt for men if you choose. Cut-offs or shorts will not be permitted as swim wear in the pool.

Minimum of one adult per child in the pool for children 6 and under.
One parent required to stay in pool area (not necessarily in the water) for children 7 and older.
Children 7 and older who want to swim in the deep end will be required to take a swim safety test.
This is a family event—an adult must stay with the children—no drop offs.

Pizza, drinks, and cookies will be provided by Metro Council Districts 12 and 25.

The Southwest YMCA is located at 2800 Fordhaven Road, just off of St. Anthony Church Road.  The event is free and no reservations or YMCA membership are required.

If you would like more information about the Back to School Bash, contact Councilman Blackwell’s office at 574-1112 or President Yates’ office at 574-1125.

WorldFest, one of the region’s largest international festivals, will take place this Labor Day weekend for its 15th year, with four days of international food, music, dance and culture starting Sept. 1 at the downtown Belvedere.

More than 70 local and regional entertainers will offer a variety of music, dance styles and beats, ranging from African drumming to reggae to Indian, Celtic, Arabic, Latin, Caribbean music and more.

Headliner acts will include Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa, Cheili Minucci & the EFK All Stars with Karen Briggs, Billy Goat Strut Revue, Cosa Seria, Afro Physicists, and The British Invasion.

More than 100 vendors will participate, with 30-plus food vendors serving a global sampling of cuisine and culture.

“Louisville is a welcoming community, a community that values the immigrants and refugees who help make us grow as a city in so many ways,” Mayor Greg Fischer said today, in announcing this year’s event. “Our diversity is on proud display during the WorldFest weekend, and I encourage everyone to come out and experience all the world has to offer, right here in our own downtown.”

Admission to WorldFest is free all four days because of Western Kentucky University Confucius Institute and Passport Health Plan’s generous support.

“The Confucius Institute at WKU (CI at WKU) is very excited to partner with the Mayor’s office to support this event,” said the institute’s Terrill Martin.  “Last year was the first year that the CI at WKU participated in the event, and it was phenomenal.  We wanted to be a bigger presence this year, which is why we are a ‘Gold’ sponsor.

“What a great platform for us to share the Chinese culture and language to the communities we serve,” Martin said.

“Passport Health Plan is proud to once again sponsor the WorldFest event in downtown Louisville,” said Jill Bell, its Vice President, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. “This amazing international festival highlights so many of the wonderful and diverse people who make Louisville such a fun and exciting place to live, work and play.”

In addition to music, food and dancing, other highlights include:

  • The Global Village – A kaleidoscope of Louisville’s culture, where you can interact with representatives of more than 20 nations. All nine of Louisville’s Sister Cities will be represented again this year.
  • The WorldFest Children’s Area – Will feature activities from WKU’s Confucius Institute, as well as Home Depot.
  • Parade of Cultures – Will showcase the multicultural diversity of our unique city.
  • Chinese Cultural Experience – Mobile Unit in front of The Kentucky Center.

The festival includes a naturalization ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, where more than 300 immigrants will become full U.S. citizens, and a colorful Parade of Cultures at noon on Saturday.

New this year, the children’s activities have expanded to include more than 20 interactive activities highlighting specific aspects of the Chinese culture like calligraphy lessons, fan painting and Tai Chi demonstrations. In addition, the Confucius Institute will have its Chinese Cultural Experience mobile unit on display in front of the Kentucky Center for the Arts. This 40-foot RV is retrofitted to serve as a Chinese museum on wheels.

Along with the Chinese Cultural Experience, the Global Human Project has registered more than 1,000 middle school and high school students to take part in the Walk-A-Mile in My Shoes Immigration Simulation on Friday, Sept. 1. Students will play the roles of immigrants and will encounter the hardships that are common to refugees.

On Sunday, Sept. 3, WorldFest will offer a Job Expo from 1 to 7 p.m. on the west lawn between The Kentucky Center and the Main Stage. This is a great opportunity for community members to connect with hiring managers from a number of employers in our area.

The International Festival and Events Association has recognized WorldFest as among the best in North America. In 2011, it was named a Top Ten Fall Festival by the Kentucky Travel Industry Association, and in 2015, the International Festival and Event Association named Louisville the Top Festival City in North America.

WorldFest is free to the public because of its generous sponsors. Signature Gold Sponsors: Western Kentucky University Confucius Institute and Passport Health Plan. Silver Sponsors: Kentucky Lottery and ValuMarket. Bronze Sponsors:  The Muhammad Ali Center, Al Dia, Anthem Medicaid, CareSource, Ford/UAW, Stella Artois, and WLKY. Contributing Sponsors: Erie Insurance, El Kentubano, The Galt House Hotel, Global Human Project, The Home Depot, Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau, Louisville Public Media, Outfront Media and UPS.

For more information about WorldFest, visit worldfestlouisville.com. Let us know if you plan to attend, via our Facebook event page. And don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and Instagram @AroundLou!

On Saturday, September 9, the Louisville Orchestra will perform a FREE concert led by Principal Pops Conductor, Bob Bernhardt. The concert will begin at 7PM at the Iroquois Amphitheater and will feature pieces and excerpts from the upcoming Classics, Coffee, and Pops concerts.

The program is as diverse as the The Iroquois Amphitheater is a beautiful venue for this light and casual event.

  •  Ludwig van Beethoven  Symphony No. 7, Mvt. IV (Finale)
  • Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony No. 7, Mvt. II (Funeral March)
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5, Mvt. III (Waltz)
  • Gioachino Rossini “Largo al factotum” The Barber of Seville, Chad Sloan, baritone
  • John Williams “Harry’s Wondrous World” from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
  • Samuel Barber Adagio for Strings
  • Leonard Bernstein Overture to West Side Story
  • (arr. Maurice Peress)
  • John Lennon/Paul McCartney Yesterday
  • Teddy Abrams Unified Field, Mvt. IV
  • Gustav Holst  “Jupiter” from The Planets

This concert is free and open to the public thanks to the generosity of Caldwell Tanks.  Parking is $5.

Single tickets for the Louisville Orchestra’s 80th Season are now on sale!  Call 502.584.7777 or click here for a schedule of concerts.
Multiple subscription options are also still available.  Call the LO Patron Services at 502.587.8681 or visit LouisvilleOrchestra.org.  LO staff will be at the event to fulfill all subscription needs and answer any questions about upcoming concerts.

The Louisville Orchestra will present four concerts at the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center on the campus of Indiana University Southeast (4201 Grant Line Road, New Albany, IN).  The four- concert series includes the entire Louisville Orchestra with concerts conducted by Teddy Abrams, Music Director, or Bob Bernhardt, Principal Pops Conductor.  Ogle Center Neighborhood series subscriptions are $65 for all 4 concerts and available by calling 502.587.8681 or visiting LouisvilleOrchestra.org. Single Tickets are $20 and available by calling 812.941.2525.

Michelle Wintersm the LO’s Marketing Director, says, “The Ogle Center offers such an easy and intimate setting to enjoy the LO s a beautiful venue with great acoustics, assigned seats, and convenient and free parking She These concerts are designed to bring the sound closer to the people in a casual atmosphere thereby increasing accessibility to exceptional music.

MOSTLY MOZART  SAT 30 SEP 2017  ::  7:30PM

  • W.A. MOZART:  Symphony No. 1 in E-flat Major, Mvt. I
  • JOHANN CHRISTIAN BACH:  Symphony No. 4 in D Major
  • W.A. MOZART:  Symphony No. 29 in A Major, Mvt. I
  • FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN:  Symphony No. 94 in G Major
  • LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN:  Symphony No. 1 in C Major, Mvt. I
  • W.A. MOZART:  Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major
    • Bob Bernhardt, conductor

SCHEHERAZADE  SAT 11 NOV 2017:: 7:30PM

  • NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV:  Russian Easter Overture
  • NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV:   Scheherazade
    • Teddy Abrams, conductor

CREATION MASS  SAT 27 JAN  2018 :: 7:30PM

  • FRANZ JOSEPH HAYDN:  Mass No. 13 in B-flat Major
    • Teddy Abrams, conductor

MUSIC FOR STRINGS, PERCUSSION + CELESTE  SAT 14 APR 2018  ::  7:30PM

  • RICHARD STRAUSS:  Suite in B-flat Major  for 13 Wind instruments (select movements)
  • IGOR STRAVINSKY:  Octet
  • BÉLA BARTÓK:  Music for Strings, Percussion + Celeste
    • Teddy Abrams, conductor

Visitors to the 2017 Kentucky State Fair can help children in foster care by donating a new duffle bag or backpack at the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) exhibit. CHFS is collecting the bags at its display in the Health Horizons area of South Wing B at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Children coming into foster care will receive the bags to carry their belongings.

“Often times, when children are removed from their home and placed into state care, all their belongings are literally stuffed into a black garbage bag,” Secretary Vickie Yates Brown Glisson said. “Can you image how that makes them feel? No child deserves to be given a trash bag for their belongings. This effort changes that. Donating a duffle bag or backpack is a small but meaningful way to help foster children and give them the dignity of carrying their possessions in a new bag that is all their own.”

Glisson said she has invited her employees to bring along duffle bags to drop into the donation bin at the CHFS exhibit space. The Secretary has also asked other Executive Cabinet secretaries and leadership of CHFS community partners and their employees to contribute.

Department for Community Based Services Commissioner Adria Johnson said she was touched by the efforts to help children in foster care, a program administered by her staff across the state.

“This luggage collection is tremendous,” she said. “Our staff is so grateful that we can give children a dignified way to carry their belongings. We have been spreading the word to the public that even if you cannot become a foster parent, there is some smaller thing you can do for our children in out of home care. And if people visiting the fair make the time and effort to donate, what a wonderful gift to these youth.”

A number of organizations have sponsored duffle bag and backpack drives over the past few months. Specifically, Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky launched a “Duffle Shuffle” campaign to ensure children entering out-of-home care would not have to use trash bags to carry their belongings. More information is available at http://www.duffleshuffle.org/ or by searching #DuffleShuffle on social media. Duffle Shuffle details will be available at our state fair exhibit area.

Others, including Girl Scout Troops and office groups, have sponsored duffle bag drives. Earlier this summer, the “Foster Care Pack Drive”, coordinated by employees at Disability Determination Services (DDS), which is part of CHFS, raised $4,200 to purchase new bags and collected nearly 900 donated bags. Donating duffle bags and backpacks is just one way to help children in foster care.

For more information about how you can become a foster or adoptive parent, or to get more general information, email: openhearts@ky.gov, go to the state adoption website adopt.ky.gov, which helps families more easily navigate the foster care and adoption process or call 1-800-232-KIDS (5437).

Cabinet for Health and Family Services 2017 State Fair Calendar

Featured Daily (Aug. 17-27)

  • Free Children’s Dental Screenings (10 a.m. -2 p.m. for children enrolling in public school with signed adult consent) and Oral Health Education
  • Kentucky HEALTH Update and Medicaid/Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP) Information
  • Substance Use Disorder Strategies and Services
  • Zika Education and Mosquito Control
  • Foster Care and Adoption – Duffel Bag/Backpack Drive
  • Tobacco Cessation – The Lung Challenge:  Test your lung strength
  • Free Blood Pressure Screenings and Education

Thursday, Aug. 17

  • Focus on Dental Health – Ask the Experts/Media Availability (10 a.m. to noon)

Monday, Aug. 21

  • Healthy Babies, Healthy Children – Prenatal Care, Safe Sleep for Babies, Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention, Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program (KCHIP)

Tuesday, Aug. 22

  • Services for Seniors – Adult Protective Services, Aging and Independent Living/Long-Term Care Ombudsman, Kentucky Prescription Assistance Program

Wednesday, Aug. 23

  • Focus on Foster Care and Adoption – Ask the Experts/Media Availability (10 a.m. to noon)

Thursday, Aug. 24

  • Focus on Zika Education and Mosquito Control – Ask the Experts/Media Availability (10 a.m. to noon)

Friday, Aug. 25

  • Focus on Substance Use Disorder Strategies and Services – Ask the Experts/Media Availability (10 a.m. to noon)

Fair Admission and Hours

Exhibit buildings at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center are open daily at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Advance tickets are $7 for adults, seniors and children; free for children 5 years and under. Parking in advance is $5 per vehicle (car and bus). Advance discount prices are available through 10 p.m., Aug. 16, at Kroger and online at http://www.kystatefair.org/ and on the Kentucky State Fair app.

Admission at the gate is $10 for adults, seniors and children; free for children 5 years and under.

Parking after Aug. 16 and at the gate is $10 per car.

For more information about the fair, visit kystatefair.org.

End of Summer events bring books and music to Locust Grove
Find great reads and enjoy great music this August!

The Summer Used Book Sale
Members-Only Preview: Thursday, August 17,
5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Open to the Public
Friday, August 18, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday,
August 19 & 20, 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

All the nooks and crannies of Locust Grove’s Audubon room will be filled with more than 23,000 books — all waiting for you at our Big August Used Book Sale. The books are sorted into 30-some categories, including history, mysteries, art, architecture, literature, cookbooks, humor, and more, and are displayed for easy shopping. Books, donated by readers from across the region, are $1 and $2 — with special titles $3 and up. All books are great bargains! All proceeds from our book sales support Locust Grove’s continued educational and preservation projects.

Watershed Music Festival at Locust Grove
Saturday, August 26, 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
Barn Dance 8:00 PM with music by The Kentucky Roundups

This all-day festival sponsored by local non-profit organization Luminary will feature nine bands playing traditional Kentucky music — covering those unique genres that define Kentucky’s rich musical heritage while promoting advocacy that addresses Kentucky’s 21st-century challenges.

Line-up, ticket information, and more can be found at http://www.watershedfestky.com/.

Pre-registration Admission Prices:

  • Festival Day Pass $18.00 ($20 at gate)
  • Festival Barn Dance Pass $10.00 ($12 at gate)
  • Festival Day Pass + Barn Dance $25.00 ($30 at gate)
  • Weekend Pass (includes camping) $50.00 ($60 at gate)

Event will be canceled in case of inclement weather. Camping available August 25-August 27, with a special Friday evening concert by The Local Honeys.

Summer Thursday Concert Series: Lance Minnis & Friends
Thursday, August 31,
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
$5/$4 for Locust Grove members

For our final concert of the season, Lance Minnis and Friends will perform a variety of tunes and songs from Kentucky, Appalachia, the Maritime Provinces, and the British Isles. Expect rousing chanteys, wistful lullabies, magical ballads, and fiddle tunes to make your heart race. Enjoy music and camaraderie outdoors in a tranquil, historic setting. Food, beer, and wine will be available for sale beginning at 6 PM. Bring your own blankets and chairs — and let the music speak.

For more information about these events, please contact Hannah Zimmerman, Marketing Coordinator at marketing@locustgrove.org or call 502.897.9845 x108.

Locust Grove is located at 561 Blankenbaker Lane (between Brownsboro Road and River Road), Louisville, KY 40207. For more information call 502.897.9845 or visit http://locustgrove.org/.

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