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The Louisville Tattoo Arts Convention draws world-class tattoo artists, enthusiasts and television personalities to the Kentucky Exposition Center for body art, seminars, contests and entertainment. More than 200 tattoo artists will attend the show to display their body art. Artists accept walk-up clients or schedule ahead by contacting the artists directly.

Show is located in the Kentucky Exposition Center’s East Hall. Show hours are:

  • April 13 – 2:00 PM until 12:00 AM
  • April 14 – 11:00 AM until 12:00 AM
  • April 15 – 11:00 AM until 8:00 PM

Parking for the Exposition Center is $8 per vehicle or $20 for a bus. Show tickets can be purchased on site only:

  • $20 for a single day pass
  • $40 for all three days
  • Children 12 and under are free

Visit villainarts.com/tattoo-conventions-villain-arts/louisville-tattoo-arts-convention for more information.
 

Louisville Parks and Recreation is hosting a three-day family-friendly street festival and viewing party during the semifinals and finals of the World Cup soccer tournament on July 10-11 and July 15 in front of Metro Hall.

Clariant is a globally leading specialty chemicals company, based in Muttenz near Basel, Switzerland. Its North American headquarters are in Charlotte, North Carolina. Clariant employs several hundred people in Louisville, and last fall announced a partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools to provide funding for a STEM camp at the California Community Center.

“We are very appreciative of Clariant’s contributions to our city. They have been active, engaged corporate partners that show concern for Louisville and want to make the city a better place,” said Seve Ghose, Director of Parks and Recreation.

Louisville Parks and Recreation has secured a 17’ x 10’ HD screen to show the games in July in partnership with the local Fox affiliate, WDRB. Other sponsors include Al Dia newspaper, Aztec Flooring and WFPL Public Radio.

While the games are on, attendees will be able to enjoy fare from food trucks and vendors within the Fan Zone; a small-sided soccer field set up for youth games; a radar gun to gauge ball speeds, a juggling competition. As the event is meant to be family-friendly, no alcohol will be available at the event.

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.

Photo: Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness

New billboards featuring area residents and students from Meyzeek Middle School will run in Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood from April through June.  The What’s your WHY? Campaign is the brainchild of IDEAS xLab and the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness. The campaign is designed to counter the negative imagery and advertising for unhealthy products often found in urban neighborhoods and encourages residents to manage their diabetes and to quit smoking.

“Our 2017 Health Equity Report highlights that root causes such as the built environment and neighborhood development deeply impact how healthy you will be and how long you will live,” said Dr. Sarah Moyer, director of the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness.  “We are happy to be working with IDEAS xLab on this campaign.  The campaign focuses on what local people have done to accomplish personal goals and improve their health. Neighborhood residents and students are using positive advertising to take ownership of their own health and begin to change the conversation in their community.”

Josh Miller, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of IDEAS xLAB served as the campaign photographer. “We’ve seen from the literature that just as lead puts an environmental toxin into the environment, negative, concentrated outdoor advertising can put a social toxin into the environment based on the content is promotes,” he said. “As our third campaign, we continue to lift up an intergenerational set of faces and voices who represent the positive aspects of our neighborhood and remind people that ‘Smoketown is worthy!”

The Justice League, a group of students from Meyzeek Middle School, appears in some of the advertising.  Hannah Duke of IDEAS xLab who helped organize the group said, “The Justice League students from Meyzeek Middle School are such a bright representation of the future.  That future means that everyone should have the opportunity to live a healthy life – mind, body and soul. I’m proud that these students are vocal and ready to create change and challenge others to do the same.”

To learn more about the What’s your WHY? campaign, attend the launch of the Year of Arts, Healing, and Action on April 13, when artist Hannah Drake will present the new campaign and ideas behind its creation.

Learn more visit: http://www.ideasxlab.com/aha  Visit QuitSmokingLou.com for help quitting smoking or call 502-574-6333 for more information on Diabetes Resources in Louisville.

Mayor Greg Fischer unveiled eleven new propane powered mowers that have replaced worn out gasoline mowers. The propane mowers will run cleaner, cheaper and quieter than gasoline mowers.

That will help achieve goals set in the mayor’s Sustain Louisville plan to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality. Propane-powered mowers put out approximately 20 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline mowers. They also put out about 45 percent fewer carbon monoxide emissions, as well as fewer volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which contribute to summertime ozone.

Five city departments responsible for mowing will receive the new propane mowers. That includes the Louisville Zoo, the Vacant Lots Division of Codes & Regulations, Metro Parks, Public Works, and the Metro Facilities Division. These departments manage grass growth on all city owned property as well as vacant and abandoned private properties.

The propane mowers, at $9,500 each, cost less than 3 percent more than gasoline mowers but will cost about 25 percent less to run based on March 2018 per gallon fuel prices of $2.39 for gasoline and $1.76 for propane. They were purchased and will be maintained by the Metro Fleet Division.

“The new mowers will quickly pay for themselves in terms of reduced fuel cost,” Mayor Fischer said. “And they’re not just better for the bottom line. They’re also better for our environment.”

Because the propane mowers run so much cleaner, city crews will be able to mow even on Air Quality Alert days, when people are asked not to use their gasoline mowers. Since city crews follow the same restriction, they have had to stop mowing multiple times per season during the air alerts. Now they’ll be able to keep cutting without unduly adding to the pollution problem.

Metro Fleet bought 11 propane mowers this year. That still leaves 68 gasoline-powered mowers in the city fleet. Plans call for buying more propane mowers in the future to replace gasoline mowers as they wear out.

“That will allow us to continue to make improvements in sustainability while also keeping our city looking good,” Mayor Fischer said.

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