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Save the date and ready your appetite: after three successful years, LOUDER THAN LIFE returns to Champions Park in Louisville.
On Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1, 2017, the rock and metal mega festival returns for its 4th year of rock ‘n’ roll, Gourmet Man Food, local craft beer, onsite experiences, and the mind-blowing Bourbon World.
Last year’s line-up featured huge world-wide acts including Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Slayer, Slipknot, Disturbed, Anthrax, Clutch, The Cult, and many, many more.
More details will be announced in May with details about the musical lineup, vendors, experiences, and ticket information.
Produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, America’s premier production company for rock music festivals, Louisville’s LOUDER THAN LIFE features a selection of award-winning bourbons, whiskey, spirits, craft beer, and Gourmet Man Food curated personally by festival creator Danny Wimmer, along with a powerful music lineup of rock legends and breaking talent.
The LOUDER THAN LIFE festival celebrates the bourbon culture and culinary heritage of this unique American city, and you won’t want to miss out on experiencing it for yourself.
In 2016, LOUDER THAN LIFE topped 50,000 in attendance for the second year in a row, with Slipknot and Avenged Sevenfold headlining together for the first time ever.
For more information, be sure to visit louderthanlifefestival.com.
Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing will celebrate the return of spring with its annual Plant and Herb Sale on April 14-15, and an Easter egg hunt will be also be held on the grounds on Saturday, April 15 for more family-friendly fun.
“We decided to add the Easter egg hunt this year to bring a dimension to the sale that would attract more families to the beautiful grounds at Riverside,” said Seve Ghose, Director of Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation. “Throughout 2017, it’s part of our plan to increase our recreation footprint with a slew of special events at Riverside, that will include movie nights, concerts, a kite festival and more. Stay tuned!”
The Riverside Garden Club will offer a variety of herbs, perennials, annuals, vegetables, Kentucky native species, heirloom tomatoes, gardening items and good gardening advice.
The sale will take place on Friday, April 14 from 2-7 p.m. and from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 15. All proceeds of the sale support the historic gardening program at Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing and its mission to interpret historic farm life on the Ohio River.
Riverside’s Garden Club maintains a kitchen garden near the Farnsley-Moremen House where volunteers grow heirloom vegetables, herbs and flowers.
Interpretive programs and events about historic gardening are part of Riverside’s offerings at various times throughout the year.
In conjunction with the sale on Saturday, Metro Parks and Recreation will hold Easter egg hunts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hunts for children ages 1-5 (11-11:30 a.m.); 6-8 (11:30-noon); 9-11 (noon-12:30 p.m.) and 12-14 (12:30-1 p.m.).
Admission to the hunts is $2 per child. If there is rain, the hunts will take place on Sunday, April 16 from 1-5 p.m. Food vendors, music, arts and crafts will also be available for the kids.
For more information: 502/935-6809 or email info@riverside-landing.org
Regular Hours of Operation:
Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing is open for guided tours Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Riverside is closed every Monday.) Admission for tours of the historic Farnsley-Moremen House: $6/Adults; $5/Seniors; $3/Children (ages 6-12); Children 5 and under are free.
Directions to Riverside, the Farnsley-Moremen Landing from Downtown Louisville:
Take I-65 to the Gene Snyder Freeway West. Go approximately 9 miles on the Gene Snyder. After crossing over Dixie Highway, take a left at the stop light onto Lower River Road. The entrance to Riverside will be on your right after about 1/8 mile.
One of the largest school archery tournaments in the country will kick off March 31 at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville.
More than 6,200 archers from schools around Kentucky will compete for state championships at the 2017 National Archery in the Schools (NASP) tournament March 31-April 1. Tournament participants include archers in the fourth through 12th grade.
NASP, which originated in Kentucky, had its first tournament in 2002. Kentucky now hosts the largest state NASP tournament in the United States, only exceeded in size by the organization’s national tournament. The organization’s national tournament is set for May 11-13 in Louisville.
The Kentucky state tournament, held in the North Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center, includes hourly flights of teams beginning at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern) each morning. Daily admission is $5 per person for spectators, with $8 charged for parking. The center is located at 937 Phillips Lane.
Spectators and archers also can take advantage of their down time to meet their range day requirements for Kentucky’s hunter education certification. The certification can be met by using an air rifle. Employees of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resource will set up an air rifle range in the Expo Center to help people meet these requirements.
Range day participants must complete the online course at www.fw.ky.gov (search under the keywords “hunter education”) and bring a copy of their course completion voucher to the Expo Center. Participants must preregister for range day at www.register-ed.com/programs/kentucky/121.
Range work will take 30-45 minutes. Range hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 31, and 9 a.m. until noon April 1.
2017’s first CycLOUvia, the popular event showcasing alternative transportation, is returning to Three Points—Germantown, Schnitzelburg, and Shelby Park—on Saturday, May 13, Mayor Fischer announced last week.
The upcoming installment of CycLOUvia will move in a circular route through the Germantown, Schnitzelburg and Shelby Park neighborhoods, also known as Three Points, via Goss Avenue, Logan Street and Shelby Street.
“I am very happy to start another year of CycLOUvia,” Fischer said. “This unique event closes the streets to cars but opens them for fellowship and fun. I encourage young and old to ride and walk down our neighborhood streets and enjoy the small businesses that line them.”
Goss Avenue as well as Mary, Logan and Shelby Streets will be closed to vehicular traffic from 2-6 p.m. Many businesses along the corridor will be open and engaging participants, creating an atmosphere that is uniquely Louisville. More details on business involvement will follow closer to the event date.
This edition of CycLOUvia will take place during Better Blocks, a temporary intervention at Oak and Logan Streets that will create walkable destinations and stronger street design. Pop-up shops, vendors, public space, art, and programming are utilized to reinvigorate the neighborhood corridor.
“Center For Neighborhoods is excited to be partnering with Louisville Forward as Cyclouvia returns to Three Points,” Tom Stephens, Executive Director of Center for Neighborhoods, said. “Designed with Shelby Park residents, Better Block Shelby Park will activate Logan and Oak Streets with temporary streetscape improvements, public spaces, community entertainment, and activities – including CycLOUvia – to highlight the current and future possibilities for the residents and businesses in Shelby Park.”
CycLOUvia is designed to encourage more communities to close streets to cars and open them to people. This new route marks the tenth CycLOUvia event, with previous events held on Bardstown Road, West Broadway and Frankfort Avenue.
CycLOUvia is Louisville’s opportunity to experience transportation in a unique atmosphere, by walking, cycling, skateboarding, or dancing in the street. Streets account for a massive amount of public land in all cities. CycLOUvia repurposes these public spaces by temporarily replacing traditional vehicular traffic with pedestrian traffic.
During CycLOUvia, streets become paved parks where people of all ages, abilities, and socio-economic backgrounds can come to improve their mental, physical, and emotional health.
Since 2012, CycLOUvia events have attracted tens of thousands of people to neighborhoods across the city. CycLOUvia is a part of the Mayor’s Healthy Hometown Movement and promotes healthy lifestyles, alternative transportation, safety and economic development.
For more information, visit https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/cyclouvia
Race Expo Temporarily Moves to Kentucky Exposition Center
The Kentucky Derby Festival is re-routing a small portion of the 2017 Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon/miniMarathon presented by Walmart and Humana due to the renovation of the Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC). The races are set for Saturday, April 29. The courses for both the miniMarathon and Marathon will be diverted one block to Second Street. This will affect the half marathon between mile 12 and 13; and the full marathon at mile 25. Marathon runners will also notice small changes between mile 13 and 14, to make up some additional distance. Overall, the changes affect less than one mile of the entire race.
“All downtown traffic is being rerouted to avoid the construction and the Kentucky Derby Festival is no exception,” said Matt Gibson, Senior Vice President of Events for the Kentucky Derby Festival. “Fortunately these are minor changes and will have minimal impact on the runners’ experience.”
The Festival is working with Louisville Metro Police to ensure the route is safe for the runners and still accessible to traffic. As they do along the entire race route, LMPD will assist with vehicle cross traffic at intersections, to ensure residents and businesses can still reach their destination when breaks in the race permit.
Along with changes to the course, the Race Expo will also temporarily move to the West Wing of the Kentucky Exposition Center (KEC) on April 27 and 28, 2017. The Expo is traditionally held at KICC, but will relocate to KEC for both 2017 and 2018, until the renovations are complete. Complimentary shuttles will be provided to transport runners from Downtown to the Kentucky Exposition Center. Parking fees will also be waived for runners picking up their race packets at the Expo. Runners will receive all the details in their confirmation packets and can also find it online at DerbyFestivalMarathon.com.
“We’re partnering with the Kentucky Exposition Center and the Convention & Visitors Bureau to make sure this move is seamless for the runners and our vendors,” said Shanna Ward, Race Director.
Operations, parking and other amenities at the start, finish and along the course remain unchanged. Both races will still start at 7:30 a.m. on Main Street in downtown Louisville and finish at Preston and Witherspoon Streets. The runners will also run through the main gate at Churchill Downs for their lap through the infield.
The Marathon and miniMarathon marks the largest annual day of road racing in Kentucky. Registration is still available online at www.derbyfestivalmarathon.com. Current registration is $85 for the mini and $95 for the Marathon.
The University of Louisville’s Brandeis School of Law is marking the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s visit to the school with a free, public celebration today.
The noon – 1:30 p.m. event in Room 275 at the law school will feature a speaker panel including Stephen Porter, a 1968 law school graduate who invited King to speak at UofL in 1967. Porter, a local attorney, will share his memories of the event and discuss King’s legacy. Other panelists will be professors Ricky Jones, Pan-African studies, and Cedric Powell, law.
“He loved to speak at colleges,” said Porter in a 2014 UofL video about King’s visit. “As a matter of fact, the ‘I Have A Dream’ speech, he gave that dozens of times before he gave it in Washington and he gave it mostly to college groups.”
According to researchers in the law school, King came to Louisville many times during the 1960s but March 30, 1967, was the only time he visited UofL.
In 2014 the university unveiled never-before-seen photos of King’s law school stopover. The photo negatives were found among some old files and records. Those photos were reprinted and are now part of a permanent exhibit in the foyer of the school’s Allen Court Room.
“This was not a very big room, so there were people outside, people literally hanging from the windows,” said Porter, recounting the overwhelming student interest in the event.
Another university MLK-focused 50th anniversary celebration will be hosted April 4 by the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research. That event marks the anniversary of the civil rights leader’s notable anti-war speech. The 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. event will feature a reading of the speech; an open house will follow from 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Mayor Greg Fischer reminded parents today that there are many free or low-cost options for keeping students active and engaged during Spring Break, which starts Friday (March 31) for Jefferson County Public Schools and runs through next week (April 3-7) for JCPS and most private and Catholic schools.
“From Spring Break camps, to family picnics in our parks, to library and recreation center activities like an African Drum and Dance Workshop, there’s no reason for kids to be idle next week,” the Mayor said. “There are lots of options for the kind of experiences that stimulate their brains, get their bodies moving and keep them occupied and engaged.”
JCPS “Literacy &” camps
Families with third- through fifth-graders in Jefferson County Public Schools still have an opportunity to sign their children up for JCPS’ “Literacy &” camps at five locations. The free camps combine reading with character-building activities such as chess, karate, hip-hop, photography and robotics.
Registration is underway, and space is available for up to 30 students at each of the five elementary school locations: Crums Lane, Engelhard, Rangeland, Maupin and Wheatley. The camps will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 3-7. To register a child, families may call (502) 485-3631.
Metro Parks and Recreation
From Monday to Friday, April 3-7, many Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation community centers are offering Spring Break camps, which generally run 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. There are fees, ranging from $20 to $80 a week, which cover field trips, as well as organized games and activities. Find more details at www.bestparksever.com.
In addition, the Parkhill Community Center, 1703 South 13th St., is hosting an African Drum and Dance Workshop from 10 a.m. to noon each day next week. A $30 fee covers the workshop and performance. Call 637-3044 for more information. And the South Louisville Community Center, 2911 Taylor Boulevard, is hosting a free Robby Valentine Spring Break Sports Camp Tuesday and Wednesday, April 4-5, from 1-3 p.m. for ages 8-16. Call 574-3206 for information.
Other Spring Break activities sponsored by the community centers include:
- Family Night Out Parkhill Community Center, 1703 South Thirteenth Street; 637-3044 Friday, April 7, 6-8 p.m. Free kickball, games and movies.
- International Movie Night, Beechmont Community Center, 205 West Wellington Avenue; 361-5484. Friday, April 7, 6:30–8:30 p.m. Fee: $5, includes popcorn, cotton candy and snow cones.
- Fun at the Park, Newburg Park; 456-8122. Wednesday, April 5, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. Free activities and cookout; ages 6-18.
- Skating and Gattiland Field Trip, Newburg Community Center , 4810 Exeter Avenue; 456-8122 For ages 10-18. Runs 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; $10 fee.
- Cornhole Tournament and Brunch Newburg Community Center , 4810 Exeter Avenue; 456-8122. Free for all ages; 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Louisville Free Public Library
The library kicks off Spring Break week with its “Super Silly Saturday” on April 1 at the Southwest Regional Library.
Join special guests Elephant and Piggie for an afternoon of fun activities, learning stations, and all kinds of silliness! The event also features special performances by musical guest Jim Gill and StageOne Family Theatre, and each child attending will receive a free book. This program is funded by the Jefferson County Community Early Childhood Council and Junior League of Louisville, and is suggested for preschool-age children and their families.
Here are some other library events for Spring Break week, planned in addition to regular story times at each of the library’s branches:
Saturday, April 01, 2017
- 10:15 a.m. STEM Saturday Iroquois
- 10:30 a.m. Lego Build Challenge Jeffersontown
- 11 a.m. Preschool Party: Earth Day! Newburg
- 3:30 p.m. Super-Silly Saturday! Southwest
Monday, April 03, 2017
- 2 p.m. Milo and Otis Main Library
- 2 p.m. Everyone Loves Cupcakes Storytime Southwest
- 2 p.m. Money as You Grow Book Club Western
- 2 p.m. Teddy Bear’s Picnic Jeffersontown
- 2:30 p.m. Tween Art Workshop St. Matthews
- 3 p.m. Robotics Throwdown Crescent Hill
- 6 p.m. Family Movie Night Shawnee
- 6:30 p.m. Girls’ STEAM Club Portland
Tuesday, April 04, 217
- 10 a.m. Game Day Middletown
- 2 p.m. Family Movie Time Main Library
- 2 p.m. Movie: The Princess & the Frog Southwest
- 2 p.m. Afternoon Movie: The LEGO Movie Jeffersontown
- 3 p.m. Digital Literacy Event Fern Creek
- 3 p.m. Western Writing Workshop Western
- 3:30 p.m. Guess Who: Book Edition Shawnee
Wednesday, April 05, 217
- 12:30 p.m. Lunch & Learn Fern Creek
- 1 p.m. Nature Camp/ Jeff Memorial Forest Shively
- 2 p.m. Doc McStuffins Dramatic Play Southwest
- 2 p.m. Lego Squad Main Library
- 2:30 p.m. Spy Lab Crescent Hill
- 3:30 PM Robotics Throwdown Shawnee
- 6 p.m. Perler Beads: Pokemon-Style Southwest
Thursday, April 06, 217
- 10:15 a.m. Brightside Kids Crescent Hill
- 10:30 a.m. Puzzle & Lego Day! Middletown
- 11 a.m. Minecraft Middletown
- 2 p.m. Fun in the Spring Day Sun Main Library
- 2 p.m. Money as You Grow Book Club Western
- 6 p.m. Family Fort Night Southwest
- 6 p.m. Thursday Night Theater: Freaky Friday Main Library
Friday, April 07, 217
- 10:30 a.m. Friday Dance Party: Silly Dance! St. Matthews
- 11 a.m. Brown Bag Storytime Main Library
- 11 a.m. Come Play Yoga Crescent Hill
- 1 p.m. Brightside Kids Newburg
- 2 p.m. Stories with Snakes Main Library
- 2:30 p.m. Dogs vs. Cats Family Storytime Crescent Hill
Saturday, April 08, 217
- 10 a.m. Bunnies, Bunnies, Bunnies Family Storytime Southwest
- 10 a.m. English Conversation Club Bon Air
- 10 a.m. Preschool Party Main Library
- 11 a.m. Tell a Story with the Magic Tree House Shawnee
- 1 p.m. Lego Lab & Movie Portland
- 2 p.m. Brightside Kids Main Library
- 2 p.m. Dia! Celebrate Diversity Okolona
The Louisville Zoo
The Louisville Zoo’s spring break camps are full, but families should keep in mind that the Zoo is a living classroom and a perfect place to keep young minds active, while parents get in a little exercise. The best way to visit for families is a membership, and the Zoo has many different packages, including a dual membership with the Kentucky Science Center. Learn more at https://louisvillezoo.org/member-benefits/
