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Credit: KY State Parks
John James Audubon State Park will host a Ladies Spring Tea party and a Kentucky Chautauqua performance on May 12.
The tea party will feature delicious hors d’oeuvres and fine music at the John James Audubon State Park Museum at 11 a.m. Music will be provided by Henderson’s talented Keith Vincent. Jennifer Spence, the Audubon curator, will also give a brief talk about Lucy Audubon, John James Audubon’s wife.
The admission fee is $15, and registration is required. Call the museum to register and pay by phone at 270- 827-1893.
Following the tea, ladies will be invited to attend the Kentucky Chautauqua performance of “Aunt Molly Jackson, a Pistol Packin’ Woman” (1880-1960), portrayed by Anne Shelby.
Feisty, funny, and completely fearless, Aunt Molly Jackson lived for nearly 50 years in the coal camps of southeastern Kentucky, where her father, brothers, husband, and sons were miners. In the camps, Aunt Molly delivered babies, nursed the sick, organized for the union, and wrote songs that described the miners’ lives.
The Chautauqua performance will start at approximately 12:15 p.m. at the Audubon Museum. The performance is free to the public, with limited seating. Please call to register if you are interested. The Chautauqua performances are sponsored by Kentucky Humanities, which is a statewide source. Every year Kentucky Humanities provides funding for more than 550 public humanities programs. They are sponsored by local organizations.
For further information about the programs, contact Kim McGrew-Liggett, arts administrator at the John James Audubon Museum. Kim.mcgrew@ky.gov or (270) 827 1893.
“Daphne” lampworked glass by Steve Scherer
The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea announces a new exhibit to celebrate the Center’s 15th Anniversary in 2018. This exhibit recognizes 39 artists from all across the state who over the years have shared their talents by giving demonstrations at the Center and bringing the creative process to life for visitors.
Artist demonstrations are central to the Kentucky Artisan Center and take place every Saturday throughout the year. Demonstrating artists talk with travelers and show the processes and techniques that they use to create their individual works. From jewelry to painting to woodturning and more, demonstrating artists give visitors a glimpse into their creative cauldrons.
The exhibit, which runs from April 7 to August 31, brings together new works, biographies, photos and videos of these artists from over the years. From 2003 to 2008 artist demonstrations at the Center were held every Friday and Saturday and in 2009, Saturday became the demonstration day. Since 2003, the Center has offered 1,026 artist demonstrations!
All of the artists included in this exhibit have demonstrated at least eight or more times. The regional group, the Berea Welcome Center Carvers are regulars every third Saturday of each month. Three different members demonstrate each time and two members, Jack Gann, of Berea and Ron McWhorter, of Richmond, have works in this exhibit.
Artists often demonstrate one aspect of their process but also display examples of the steps used to create their works. Theresa Kibby, of Somerset, brings visual images that explain all the steps in her jewelry making and uses her die press to cut out animal shapes from anodized colorful aluminum.
Woodturner Jamie Donaldson, of Georgetown, brings his wood turning lathe to the Center and visitors love seeing him turn vessels as the wood chips fly. Donaldson states, “the hours I spend at the lathe are a communion. The fellowship of wood and steel is a spiritual experience by itself, and the yield is always more than art or kindling.”
Kristal Gilkey, of Berea, brings her potter’s wheel to the center and amazes visitors as she throws vast numbers of pottery pieces on the wheel. She even manages to transport the work back home to her studio Alley Cat Pottery.
Glass artist Steve Scherer, of Edmonton, is a popular demonstrating artist who uses his gas torch to create intricate animals, figures and birds from glass. During his demonstration, Scherer often shows artisan center staff how to work the glass, as they make small animals under his supervision. The exciting process of flame and glass mesmerizes visitors. His figurative piece in the exhibit titled “Grace” was created with borosilicate glass and fumed with gold.
Two-dimensional artists have also demonstrated their techniques over the years, including printmaker Deborah Stratford, of Louisville, Louie Northern, Carl Von Fischer and Janice Harding Owens of Mount Vernon, and Janice Miller, of Lancaster. From formal landscapes to folk art paintings and linocut prints, artist demonstrations offer a wide array of 2-D techniques accompanied by educational handouts, free to visitors.
Participating artists include: Berea College Broomcraft; Robert Brigl, Bowling Green; Elizabeth Brown, Mt. Sterling; Sherrie Cocanougher, Parksville; Gerald Cooper, Berea; Jamie Donaldson, Georgetown; Derek Downing, Lexington; Lindy Evans, Berea; Jack Gann, Berea; Bob Gibson, Lawrenceburg; Kristal Gilkey, Berea; Donna & David Glenn, Louisville; Darlene Hellard, McKee; Joanne Hobbs, Bardstown; Theresa Kibby, Somerset; Marianna McDonald, Lexington; Ron McWhorter, Richmond; Janice Miller, Lancaster; Lonnie & Twyla Money, East Bernstadt; Janet Northern, Mt. Vernon; Louie Northern, Mt. Vernon; Janice Harding Owens, Mt. Vernon; Gin Petty, Berea; Christopher Robbins, Berea; Jeannette Rowlett, Berea; Pamela Rucker, Lancaster; Steve Scherer, Edmonton; Janet Serrenho, Lexington; Donna & Donnie Smith, Waco; Christa Smith, Elizabethtown; Shawnna Southerland, Berea; Deborah Stratford, Louisville, Carl Von Fischer, Mt. Vernon; Mike Ware, Hindman, Bill Whitt, Waco, and Elizabeth Worley, Lexington.
The Kentucky Artisan Center features works by more than 750 artisans from more than 100 counties across the Commonwealth. For more information about events call 859-985-5448, go to the center’s website or visit us on Facebook.
With the traditional spin of a wheel Tara Dunaway of Leitchfield, KY, was named the 2018 Kentucky Derby Festival Queen at the 60th annual Fillies Derby Ball at The Galt House. Tara, 21-years-old, is a Junior at the University of Louisville where she is majoring in Business Marketing with a minor in Management. She is a College of Business Student Council Member and serves as the Chairman of Outreach, has been named to the Dean’s List multiple times, and has studied in numerous countries including England and Austria. Tara also volunteers at Portland Elementary and has participated in mission trips to Central America.
This year’s Derby Festival Princesses anxiously awaited the traditional spin-of-the-wheel, performed by Fillies President Glenda Thome. The other members of the court include: Katie Bouchard of Owensboro, KY, a senior at Western Kentucky University; Logan Howard of Louisville, a senior at the University of Kentucky; Morgan A. Redmond of Louisville, KY a senior at the University of Chicago, and Caroline Will of Louisville, a senior at the University of Kentucky.
The members of the Royal Court have been representing the Festival at a variety of events since their selection in January, including Festival Unveiled, the Ford Motor Company Spelling Bee and Macy’s Spring Fashion Show. They were selected as Royal Court members out of more than 130 young women who applied to participate in the program last fall.
Criteria for selection included knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality and campus/community involvement. Each woman receives two $1,000 scholarships (one from the Fillies, Inc., and one from the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation) and an official wardrobe.
The Princesses act as ambassadors for the Derby Festival and the city as they represent the community at a variety of functions. The Fillies, Inc. was established to support the Kentucky Derby Festival. Their mission is to organize the traditional Fillies Derby Ball, coordinate the “Royal Court Program,” produce the “Children’s Tea” event, and publish the Official Derby Festival Program. Membership is limited to 250 ladies of our community.
Past Derby Festival Queens include Martha Layne Collins – Kentucky’s first woman Governor, the late Gail Gorski – the first female pilot for United Airlines and a number of other community leaders. Many say their Derby Festival experience helped them prepare for their future careers.
Since 1956, the Derby Festival has worked to bring the community together in celebration. The 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 in a two- week period and has a local economic impact of more than $127 million. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
In celebration of the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies, Thunder Over Louisville, Four Roses has released a Limited Edition Single Barrel Bourbon Bottle featuring the iconic Thunder Over Louisville logo. Four Roses is also the Official Bourbon of Thunder Over Louisville.
The limited edition bottle, priced at $44.99, is exclusively available now at Cox Smoker’s Outlet and Spirit Shoppe, as well as Cox’s Evergreen Liquors. Thunder fans and bourbon connoisseurs will also have the opportunity to have their bottles signed by Four Roses Master Distiller Brent Elliott and Senior Brand Ambassador and Bourbon legend Al Young.
The signings are scheduled for April 13 and April 18:
- Friday, April 13 – Senior Brand Ambassador and Bourbon Legend Al Young will be signing bottles at Cox’s St. Matthews from 4 – 7 PM.
- Wednesday, April 18 – Master Distiller Brent Elliott will be signing the Thunder bottle at Evergreen Liquors from 5 – 8 PM
Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies – is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The 2018 Thunder Over Louisville, themed “A Disco Thunder,” is set for Saturday, April 21, and will be the 29th annual production.
The 2018 USCCA Concealed Carry Expo opens today at the Kentucky Exposition Center. The Expo is open to the public and free for USCCA members and children under the age of 18 to attend (admission for non-members can be purchased at the door). Memberships can be purchased on-site. The event is scheduled for the entire weekend and will feature everything needed for one to safely and comfortably conceal carry a weapon in any situation.
Attendees will be able to walk the exhibit floor that will feature everything from ammunition to concealed carry shape wear for women, as well as the opportunity to test fire the latest handguns at the live-fire range. In addition to the exhibits, there will be a variety of demonstrations and seminars that will discuss everything from revolver techniques to tourniquet application and many legal aspects of concealed carry. New this year is a separate area that will focus on the products and seminar discussions that have been designed specifically for women shooters.
The show opened with seminars only this morning and the exhibit hall opens later this afternoon at 3:00 PM. The show continues all weekend with doors opening at 9:00 AM on Saturday and 10:00 AM on Sunday. Parking at the Expositions Center is $8 for cars and is not included in the price of admission. If you are currently licensed or looking for more information about concealed carry, this is the show to find everything that is needed.
This year’s Republic Bank Pegasus Parade will be a blast from the past for Festival fans. Festival officials announced the Grand Marshals and set the line-up for the parade at a special event tonight at Mark’s Feed Store. In honor of this year’s parade theme “ThrowbackThursday,” former coaching rivals and basketball fan favorites Joe B. Hall and Denny Crum will serve as the parade’s Co-Grand Marshals. It’s a familiar role for the coaches who also participated in the 1975 parade.
“The parade is the event that started the Festival 63 years ago and this year’s march will be a trip down memory lane,” said Mike Berry, KDF President and CEO. “Who better to evoke great memories than two coaches responsible for nine of the Final Four trips and three of the NCAA championships for UofL and UK.”
In addition to announcing the Grand Marshals, floats and inflatable units participating in this year’s parade drew for positions for annual march down Broadway. This year’s theme of “ThrowbackThursday,” will be used by sponsoring companies to help direct the building of floats and costuming of the inflatable handlers and crew. Participants were invited to pick their favorite parade themes from years past to decorate their units. The floats and inflatables compete for various awards based on originality, eye appeal, theme representation, animation, attention to detail and enthusiasm. Marching bands use the theme to help with musical selection and it is the basis of costume and concept design for the other marching units.
The 2018 Parade will feature 10 floats, many of them built by the employees of the companies sponsoring them. The following companies drew for their float position in the parade at tonight’s event, as well as the sponsors of the five participating inflatable character balloons.
Floats:
City of St. Matthews
Grand Lodge of Kentucky
Hwang’s Martial Arts
Kentucky Proud
Kosair Shriners/Kosair Charities
Louisville Parks & Recreation
Norton Healthcare
Second Chance @ Life
Shirley’s Way – Ride to Ride Out Cancer
The Fillies, Inc.
Inflatable Balloon Characters:
CareSource “Cookie Monster”
Horseshoe Southern Indiana “Horseshoe”
LG&E “Louie the Lightning Bug”
Republic Bank “Peggy Bank”
Waystar “Star”
Before the parade, fans can see the floats, inflatables, equestrian units and much more on display at the Pegasus Parade Preview Party Presented by Louisville Mega Cavern on Tuesday, May 1, at the Kentucky Exposition Center, in South Wing C. Admission is a 2018 Pegasus Pin.
Tickets for the Parade are on sale now online at KDF.org. Ticket prices are $10 for bleacher seats, $12 chair seating and $30 VIP seats. Republic Bank is the Title Sponsor of the parade with Contributing Sponsor, KentuckyOne Health. Official Hotel: The Galt House.
Photo: Kentucky Department Fish and Wildlife
The fisheries division of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources recently added some bigger rainbow trout to its usual stockings at streams in three popular tourism destinations.
Areas receiving the upsized fish include the Middle Fork of Red River near Natural Bridge State Resort Park, East Fork of Indian Creek in the Red River Gorge National Geological Area and in Rock Creek in the Daniel Boone National Forest in McCreary County.
“We are trying to stock an average of 12-inch trout instead of the usual average of 9-inch trout,” said Tom Timmerman, Northeastern Fisheries District biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “When we stock 12-inch average trout, some of them are larger.”
Crews stocked the Middle Fork of Red River and East Fork of Indian Creek April 4 and Rock Creek April 5. They placed 650 rainbow trout in the Middle Fork of the Red River and 850 trout in the East Fork of Indian Creek, with 100 of those fish in each stream of a larger size. Rock Creek received 2,075 trout with 275 of those fish of a larger size.
The increased size of the stocked trout is part of an effort to lure more anglers to these streams. “We want to make these destination streams and give someone incentive to come to Kentucky and trout fish the Red River Gorge area or Rock Creek,” said Justin Heflin, assistant fisheries biologist for the Northeastern Fisheries District. “If you are coming from a good ways, you want to catch a good fish.”
The stockings of larger trout will continue in October on these streams. “When we stock larger fish, it does slightly reduce the total number of trout stocked, but should not impact fishing success,” said Ron Brooks, director of Fisheries for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “We are limited on the number of big trout available and are concentrating on these three streams with these stockings.”
Anglers may keep up to eight rainbow trout a day from these waters from now until Sept. 30. There is no size limit for rainbow trout in these waters. Anglers keeping their catch must have the appropriate fishing license and trout permit. Trout permits are $10 and may be purchased wherever fishing licenses are sold, or bought online at fw.ky.gov.
These waters fall under special catch and release regulations for trout from Oct. 1 through March 31. During this fall/winter season, all trout caught must be released immediately.
