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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
Councilwoman Madonna Flood (D-24) is encouraging everyone in the community to take advantage of a special drug toss, medication disposal event coming up this Saturday, December 8th.
“As a community, we continue to deal with many cases of accidental overdoses and sometimes those are caused by medications no longer needed that someone comes across in the home,” says Flood. “This event is a safe way to dispose of prescription drugs that are no longer needed.”
The drug toss event is set for the Central Government Center, 7201 Outer Loop from 9:00am to 1:00pm. It is hosted by the officers of the Louisville Metro Police 7th Division.
It is a safe, fast way to dispose unused medications. These events are designed to prevent unintentional and accidental poisoning and potential fatal overdoses. Just drive up and hand the medication to an officer, then be on your way.
Proper disposal by the LMPD helps protect the environment by keeping medications reside from leaking into waterways and threatening wildlife and drinking water.
“So before you got out to do your holiday shopping this Saturday, grab any outdated or no longer used medications and stop by the Central Government Center,” says Flood. “Your actions could keep a loved one safe.”
For more information about the event, call Councilwoman Flood’s office at 574-1124.
Louisville Metro Government is seeking input for a feasibility study on the need for a new indoor aquatics center and will be hosting two public meetings to gather input during the month of December.
- Tuesday, December 11, 6-8 p.m. – Cyril Allgeier Community Center, 4101 Cadillac Court, 40213
- Saturday, December 15, 1-3 p.m. – Central High School, 130 W. Chestnut Street, 40203
Those who are unable to attend either meeting can also give feedback by e-mailing parks@louisvilleky.gov or by filling out an online form located at bestparksever.com.
The historic Iroquois Amphitheater has changed its ticketing point of sale system from TicketFly to Eventbrite effective immediately. Eventbrite purchased TicketFly in September 2017.
“As a result of this change, the ticket purchasing experience will occur more smoothly,” said Dana Kasler, Interim Director of Louisville Parks and Recreation. “It’s going to be much better for the customer.”
According to Billboard Magazine, the purchase of TicketFly established Eventbrite as the “most dominant player” in ticketing’s middle market of indie promoters, festivals and music venues. With a seating capacity of approximately 2,400, the Amphitheater is a more intimate setting than major venues like the KFC Yum! Center, but still has attracted a full slate of national and internationally-known musical acts over the past several years, including the Black Keys, Alabama Shakes, Old Crow Medicine Show, Govt Mule, Billy Idol, Wilco and Louisville’s own My Morning Jacket.
Amphitheater staff will still maintain the iroquoisamphitheater.com website and its social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter. The website will still contain a link for customers to use when purchasing tickets. Concert goers can also purchase tickets at Eventbrite.com or download the Eventbrite app from the app store on their mobile phones or devices.
Also, the Amphitheater office at 1080 Amphitheater Road in Iroquois Park is open from Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Those who purchase tickets in person at the office are not subject to paying online service feeds.
“The Iroquois Amphitheater is excited to be a part of the Eventbrite family,” said Michael Hallett, manager of the Iroquois Amphitheater. “The increased marketing strength which Eventbrite has will continue to elevate the status of our venue.
Mayor Greg Fischer today announced that Metro Hall is now equipped with beacons tied to a mobile app to help people who are blind or visually impaired navigate indoor public with audio cues.
The mobile app, Nearby Explorer Online, was developed by Louisville’s American Printing House for the Blind and is available for free on Apple and Android devices.
Through this app, people who are blind or visually impaired are able to locate destinations, restrooms, airport security, points of interest and more.
“Nearby Explorer is a perfect example of our compassionate city working and innovating to help improve accessibility,” Mayor Fischer said. “I’m proud that we could partner with American Printing House for the Blind and the James Graham Brown Foundation to install beacons to Metro Hall, and I’m proud of the work our Office of Civic Innovation has done to expand this program. This will be a big help for citizens, and that’s what we’re all about.”
APH is excited to partner with the City of Louisville to make a more accessible world. “It’s liberating to know what’s around you and to know what direction to go,” said Larry Skutchan, Director of Technology Product Research at APH. “With Nearby Explorer you have options that you don’t have if you’re always dependent on somebody else to take you places.”
Beacons have been installed in public spaces across Louisville through support from the James Graham Brown Foundation and Louisville Metro’s Office of Civic Innovation. Beacons are installed at:
- Louisville International Airport
- KFC Yum! Center
- The Hyatt Regency Hotel
- Frazier History Museum
- Kentucky Science Center
- 21c Museum Hotel
- Muhammad Ali Center
- Kentucky Center for the Arts
- Actors Theatre
- Walgreens store on Frankfort Avenue
- Crescent Hill Public Library
- Visually Impaired Preschool Services (VIPS)
- The McDowell Center
American Printing House is in the process of mapping buildings and installing more beacons across Louisville. The end goal is to make every public building in the world a place that can easily be navigated independently. Nearby Explorer not only helps people who are blind or visually impaired, but can also help people who are sighted work their way through complex indoor spaces.
The Muhammad Ali Center is proud to announce its upcoming Daughters of Greatness speaker, Doris Kearns Goodwin. Goodwin, a world-renowned presidential historian, public speaker and Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times #1 Best-Selling author, will speak at the Center on Friday, December 7th. The event will begin with a hot breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and the program will follow from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Throughout the year, the Daughters of Greatness breakfast series invites prominent women engaged in social philanthropy, activism, and pursuits of justice to share their stories with the Louisville community. The Daughters of Greatness series provides a place for dialogue and discussion on current issues of justice, community engagement, and social movements within the Louisville area and beyond.
Ms. Goodwin will also appear at the Kentucky Author Forum on Thursday, December 6th at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts at 6pm and will be interviewed by Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of five bestselling biographies.
Goodwin is known for her highly regarded studies of American presidents. Her career as a presidential historian and author was inspired when as a 24-year-old graduate student at Harvard she was selected to join the White House Fellows, one of America’s most prestigious programs for leadership and public service.
A meeting with Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 resulted in Goodwin’s first book, Lyndon Johnson and the American Dream, which will be re-released in spring 2019. Her second book, The Fitzgeralds and the Kennedys, was a best-seller. Following the release of No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II, Goodwin published a memoir detailing her youth in Brooklyn. She returned to presidential literature thereafter, releasing Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln in 2005. In 2013, she wrote the critically acclaimed and The New York Times bestselling The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism (November 2013).
In her seventh book, Leadership in Turbulent Times (published on September 18, 2018 by Simon & Schuster), is the culmination of her five-decade career of studying the American presidents. Goodwin draws upon four of the presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they first recognized leadership qualities within themselves, and were recognized by others as leaders.
Well known for her appearances and commentary on television, Goodwin is seen frequently on all the major television and cable networks and shows including Meet the Press and The Late Show with Colbert Report. Most recently she played herself as a teacher to Lisa Simpson on The Simpsons and a historian on American Horror Story.
Goodwin graduated magna cum laude from Colby College. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Government from Harvard University, where she taught Government, including a course on the American Presidency.
Among her many honors and awards, Goodwin was awarded the Charles Frankel Prize, given by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sarah Josepha Hale Medal, the New England Book Award, as well as the Carl Sandburg Literary Award.
Goodwin lives in Concord, Massachusetts. She was the first woman to enter the Boston Red Sox locker room, and is a devoted fan of the World Series-winning team.
Seating is limited. Tickets are $20 for Ali Center members, $25 for non-members, $15 for students. Tables of 8 and 10 are also available.
Reservations must be made in advance by clicking here or by contacting Erin Herbert at eherbert@alicenter.org.
For more information or to purchase tickets for the Kentucky Author Forum, please visit https://kentuckyauthorforum.com/event/doris-kearns-goodwin/
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.
