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Photo: The Kentucky Center
JENNA & BARBARA BUSH: SISTERS FIRST
Wednesday, November 1, 7:30 p.m.
The Kentucky Center, Bomhard Theater
501 W. Main Street, Louisville 40202
Grab your sister (or a friend who is just like one!) and settle in for an evening of personal stories and universal revelations with former first daughters Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush during their Sisters First tour. Celebrate sisterhood and all the complicated, messy, hilarious, life-defining moments that accompany it.
Jenna and Barbara will take the audience on a revealing, funny, and thoughtful tour behind the scenes of their lives, sharing never-before-told stories about their family, their adventures, loves and losses, and the special sisterly bond that ties them together.
Ticket prices start at $50, reserved seating, fees apply. ALL TICKET PURCHASES INCLUDE AN AUTOGRAPHED COPY OF SISTERS FIRST, Jenna and Barbara’s highly-anticipated book of personal essays. The VIP Package ($85) also includes premium seating and a pre-show Meet & Greet and photo opportunity.
Tickets go on sale Friday, August 4, at 10 a.m., through The Kentucky Center Ticket Service online, by phone (502.584.7777), and at the box office (501 W. Main).
Photo: The Kentucky Center
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA with Wynton Marsalis
Tuesday, September 26, 7:30 p.m.
The Kentucky Center
501 W. Main Street, Louisville 40202
The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis (JLCO) comprises 15 of the finest Jazz soloists and ensemble players today. This remarkably versatile orchestra performs a vast repertoire ranging from original compositions and commissioned works, to masterworks by Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie and more.
Wynton Marsalis, an internationally-acclaimed, award-winning trumpeter, composer, teacher, and music educator, also serves as the JLCO Managing & Artistic Director. Marsalis’ core beliefs and foundation for living are based on the principals of Jazz. He promotes individual creativity (improvisation), collective cooperation (swing), gratitude and good manners (sophistication), and faces adversity with persistent optimism (the blues).
Tickets for this exciting live event go on sale through The Kentucky Center Ticket Service Friday, August 4, at 10 a.m., online, by phone (502.584.7777), and at the box office (501 W. Main Street).
Photo: State Treasurer website
Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball announced today that she has promoted her Executive Assistant, Lorran Hart Ferguson, to serve as Communications Director.
“I am confident that Lorran will be an asset as Communications Director,” Treasurer Ball said in a statement. “In her capacity as Executive Assistant, Lorran gained a unique understanding of my vision for the office. Her legal training, including high level analytical skills, qualifies her to communicate some of the more intricate issues coming from the Treasury.”
As Communications Director, Ferguson will direct messaging out of the Treasurer’s Office. “Treasurer Ball has a vision to be a watchdog on spending for the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Ferguson said. “I am honored to serve as her Communications Director and share that vision with Kentuckians.”
Ferguson is a Kentucky native from Monroe County. She holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Kentucky College of Law where she was the Executive Editor of the Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Law. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Lindsey Wilson College, where she was a founder and past president of the Lindsey Wilson College Republicans. Ferguson also interned for Congressman Ed Whitfield in Washington, D.C.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources invites people of all ages to celebrate hunting, fishing and the great outdoors at the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort on Saturday, Aug. 5.
Activities and demonstrations will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time) with free admission into the center during this event. The center features animals in naturalized enclosures, conservation displays and hiking trails through a variety of habitats.
National Hunting and Fishing Day events at Salato will include 3-D archery, archery trap shooting, air rifles, laser shot, casting and fishing. Center staff will provide all equipment, poles and bait. Events will also include a presentation by conservation officers, a tutorial on how to field dressing game and hunting retriever dog demonstration. Western Hills High School FFA will sell food and drinks at the event.
National Hunting and Fishing Day began in the United States more than four decades ago. The Salato Center, which is operated by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, celebrates the event early instead of the traditional date in September.
“By holding our celebration in August, people can begin making preparations for the fall hunting seasons that are just around the corner,” said Salato Conservation Educator. Geoff Roberts. “This is also a great way for beginners to receive a fun, hands-on introduction to fishing and shooting sports.”
Hunting and fishing licenses are available for purchase at the center. Individuals can also complete the range day portion of their hunter education course during the event.
The Salato Center event recognizes the contributions to conservation made by the 713,000 Kentucky hunters and anglers, and the 35,000 jobs that hunting, fishing and outdoor activities support.
For a detailed list of activities and times, contact the center at (502) 564-7863.
The center is located off U.S. 60, approximately 1½ miles west of the U.S. 127 intersection. Look for the bronze deer statue at the entrance of the main Kentucky Fish and Wildlife campus.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Salato is closed on Sunday, Monday and state holidays.
Except for select events, admission is $5 for adults and $3 for youth 5 to 18. Children under five are admitted free. The center also offers annual memberships for individuals and families.
Credit: KY State Parks
The 2017 Natural Bridge Artisan Festival is set for Aug. 18-20 at beautiful Natural Bridge State Resort Park in Slade, Kentucky.
There will be handmade jewelry, wood and metal crafts, local Appalachian paintings and photography for sale. Booths open at 11 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and close at 6 p.m. On Sunday, the booths are open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
There will be music on Saturday and Sunday as well as square dancing, hiking, kayaking and swimming at the park. A quilt show is scheduled for Sunday in the lobby of Hemlock Lodge where guests can enjoy looking at some beautiful quilts while you wait to have lunch.
For more information about the festival, visit www.facebook.com/NaturalBridgeArtisanFestival
Natural Bridge State Resort Park is home to one of the larger natural arches in the state and is surrounded by the Daniel Boone National Forest. Natural Bridge offers lodging, cottages, a restaurant and campground. Hiking trails and other recreational opportunities are available. For more information about the park call 1-800-325-1710 or visit www.parks.ky.gov/findparks/resortparks/nb
Natural Bridge State Resort Park is 52 miles southeast of Lexington and 2 miles off the Mountain Parkway at Slade, exit 33.
Photo: Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation
A portion of the Beargrass Creek Greenway trail will be closed beginning Aug. 7 for approximately 2.5 years as the Metropolitan Sewer District constructs the I-64 and Grinstead CSO Basin in the vicinity.
A map of the closure can be found here. The closure stretch is approximately 0.2 miles.
Cyclists and hikers will not be able to travel west on the Greenway trail from the access point at Lexington Road and Grinstead Drive.
To access the open portion of the trail, users will have to use the western access point near Payne Street. From that point, approximately 0.6 miles of the trail will be open, but users will be forced to turn around near the construction area near Lexington Road and Grinstead Drive for the duration of the project.
Louisville has experienced a 4 percent drop in crime overall for the first half of 2017, with declines in all eight LMPD divisions and in every category except homicides, Mayor Greg Fischer and Chief Steve Conrad announced today.
(See Louisville crime data for 2017.)
LMPD data from the first six months of 2017 compared to the same six months of 2016 show:
Violent crime overall is down 5 percent.
- Homicides are up 20 percent
- Rape is down 15 percent
- Robbery is down 14 percent
- Aggravated Assaults are down 0.5 percent
Property Crime is down 3.7 percent
- Burglary is down 1.9 percent
- Larceny is down 4.8 percent
- Motor vehicle theft is down 1.4 percent
“This data is clear – with the exception of homicides, we are headed in the right direction for every category of crime,” Fischer said.
The Mayor said the data shows there were 658 fewer crimes in Louisville for the first half of the year, an overall 4 percent reduction. “That is 658 fewer citizens who were victims in Louisville,” he said.
And the declines are being seen across all eight LMPD patrol divisions:
- First Division (Downtown area, Portland, Russell and Phoenix Hill neighborhoods): Down 10.3 percent.
- Second Division (Shawnee, Chickasaw and Park DuValle neighborhoods): Down 5.5 percent.
- Third Division (Iroquois Park, Pleasure Ridge Park, Valley Station and Fairdale): Down 2.7 percent.
- Fourth Division ( Smoketown, Churchill Downs, the Fairgrounds, South Louisville and Old Louisville): Down 4.2 percent.
- Fifth Division (Highlands, Clifton and Cherokee and Seneca Park areas): Down 7 percent.
- Sixth Division (Audubon Park, Newburg, Norfolk, the airport and GE): Down 2.3 percent.
- Seventh Division (Okolona, Fern Creek, Ford plant and the Jefferson Mall): Down 0.13 percent.
- Eighth Division (Middletown, Lyndon, Oxmoor and the Ford Truck Plant): Down 0.07 percent.
Chief Conrad credited the entire LMPD team, from the command staff to the patrol officers, for work that is making a difference in the city.
“The entire force at LMPD is here to protect and serve the citizens, and I’m proud that we are having an impact,” Conrad said. “We will continue to work our plan, with a key focus on reducing homicides and getting the crime-fighting resources to the neighborhoods that need them most.”
Fischer and Conrad both cautioned that, although the six months of data shows positive signs, there is still tremendous work ahead to make Louisville one of America’s safest large cities. “But we are committed to making that happen,” Fischer said.