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SubscribeLocal business leaders to discuss success and strategies at 4th Annual Gear-Up event
The 4th Annual Gear-Up Louisville event will take place on Thursday, October 15 from 8:30AM to 3:30PM at The Sawyer Hayes Community Center at E.P Tom Sawyer State Park, 2201 Lakeland Road. The event will feature presentations by ten dynamic speakers who will share best practices, strategies and success stories to inspire local business owners and entrepreneurs. Early bird tickets are $99 and available until September 30, regularly priced tickets are $149. The event includes breakfast and lunch, and tickets are available at www.GearUpLouisville.com. For more information, contact Christy Smallwood at (502) 595-7157 or christy@arkhamexec.com.
Gear-Up Louisville is designed for established business owners who want to re-tool their methods, strengthen business connections, and learn short cuts from fellow colleagues. The unique one-day event matches up speakers who can share a learning lesson with a local entrepreneur who has seen success from implementing the strategy. For example, Cara Silletto of Crescendo Strategies will talk about managing millennials, and then Master Distiller Marianne Barnes will discuss how she mastered working with millennials in the distillery industry. Another topic will include Gil Roberts of Phone Falcon who will discuss how established business owners can still grow their business using Lean Startup methodology, and then Ontra Caples of Down Home Tea, LLC will share how he achieved his dream. This year’s topics include “Working With Millennials,” “Succession Planning,” “Online Marketing,” “Being a Super Entrepreneur,” and “Using Lean Startup for Existing Business.” Comedian Mark Klein will emcee the event.
“Gear-Up was born out of a passion to develop business through showing examples of homegrown success,” says Christy Smallwood, founder of Arkham Executive and Executive Producer of the event. “Business owners and professionals in general are life-long learners, and this event presents an opportunity to learn from other successful businesses without a hefty price tag. Participants will walk away with new ideas that can be implemented right away in order to achieve their goals.”
For more information, visit www.GearUpLouisville.com.
About Gear-Up Louisville
Gear-Up Louisville is a one-day event hosted by Arkham Executive, founded by Christy Smallwood and John “Z” Zeydel. Arkham Executive provides training on sales, communication, marketing, networking, and other topics help that enhance the efforts of entrepreneurs around the region. For more information, visit www.arkhamexec.com.
The Clifton Center has partnered with Old National Bank and Strothman and Company to offer complimentary tickets for local students to attend select concerts that are part of the Center’s 2015-2016 Louisville Heritage Project. Students from 1st grade through college are invited to enjoy and discover musical and cultural traditions from different regions of the world and the U.S., from Latin America to Appalachia. In addition to free admittance to select concerts, participating students will receive a passport that will get stamped at each concert they attend, giving them a chance to earn a Clifton Center T-shirt.
Free tickets are available for the following concerts (more will be added, visit cliftoncenter.org for updates to the season):
Hot Rize – Friday, September 18
Cumbia All Stars and Trio Brasileiro – Sunday, September 27
Roland Dyens – Thursday, October 1
Dave Liebman – Wednesday, October 21
Eric Bibb and Corey Harris – Thursday, February 4
Dom Flemons – Thursday, March 3
To reserve free students tickets, visit www.CliftonCenter.org and use the promotional code: PASSPORT when checking out. Student status will be verified at Will Call when picking up tickets, and college students must present a valid ID. Students will receive their Passport at the first concert they attend. Tickets also available at the door, based on availability.
The Clifton Center also receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Louisville Metro Government, Music Go Round, West Sixth Street Brewing Company, DD Williamson, Republic Bank, Carmichael’s Bookstore, 91.9 WFPK, and the Friends of the Clifton Center. The Kentucky Arts Council, the state arts agency, also provides operating support to the Clifton Center with state tax dollars and federal funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Thunder, Derby, Travelling Events All Included on List
Courtesy: Kentuckytourism.com
Several events hosted in Louisville have received the honor of inclusion on the Top 100 Events in the United States 2015 list. At least two are Louisville-specific events, while others are events that are “just passing through.” Still more events have connections to Louisville and the Commonwealth – which just goes to show why My Old Kentucky Home is a great place to live.
Among Sporting Events, the Kentucky Derby ranked at number seven. The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports was edged out by heavyweight events such as the Super Bowl and the Daytona 500 race.
Also ahead of the Derby was another sporting event with Louisville and Kentucky connections: the NCAA Men’s Final Four. Last year, Kentucky made it to the Final Four in Indianapolis before being defeated, while Louisville was knocked out earlier in the tournament. The previous year, Louisville and Kentucky met in the Midwest Regional of the tournament and the year before that Louisville rose to the top to beat Michigan for the Championship title. Louisville, of course, also plays host to earlier rounds of the tournament.
In the Festivals, Parades & Holiday Events category, Louisville also got a nod for Thunder Over Louisville, which took 9th place in the category. The Derby Festival celebration ranked behind events including Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, New Year’s Eve in Times Square, and Mardi Gras.
Under the heading of Political Events, ranked third (ahead of the State of the Union address) was the National Rifle Association Annual Meetings & Exhibits. Although the 2015 NRAAM event was held just down I-65 in Nashville, next year’s event will be held right here in Louisville at the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Top honors in the Entertainment Industry Events category went to Comic-Con International and, although “the big show” is held in San Diego, Louisville does play host to it’s own versions of the show through FandomFest and the Derby City Comic Con.
View the full list of Top Events in the US at BizBash.com.
The 2015 Kentucky State Fair concluded its 111th edition on Sunday and, in the process, recorded a higher number of attendees than in recent years. This year’s event drew 601,672 visitors to the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is more than a 16% increase in attendance from the 515,937 visitors who attended the rain-soaked fair in 2014. This marks the sixth time in the last 10 years that attendance has exceeded 600,000. The attendance record was set in 1994 when 684,356 visitors passed through the fair gates.
Visitors to all 11 days of the Fair were rewarded with sunny skies and warm temperatures, minus any inclement weather, making the Turf Concert Series performances all well-attended. Along with the favorable weather helping with improved attendance figures, several new initiatives debuted this year that were geared toward making the Fair more accessible and affordable.
These included advanced discounted parking and admission tickets available for purchase at Kroger, Walmart, and online at Ticketmaster. Those riding TARC to the Fair, which nearly 1,000 visitors took advantage of, received half off of a regular-priced adult admission. The age for free child admission was raised from 3 to 5. Additionally, there were two “carload days” where $20 covered entry for an entire vehicle.
“We couldn’t have asked for better weather over the duration of this year’s fair, and that was a big part of why we saw such a dramatic increase in attendance, along with several new discount programs offered for the first time,” said President and CEO of the Kentucky State Fair Board Clifford “Rip” Rippetoe. “Once again the exhibitors and organizers of the Fair put on a world class demonstration of attractions, competitions and live performances that represent the best Kentucky has to offer.”
The 11-day event generated approximately $16.5 million in economic impact across the community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was responsible for creating hundreds of temporary jobs.
Next year’s Kentucky State Fair will be held August 18-28, 2016. For more information, visit www.kystatefair.org. For highlights, photos, and more from the 2015 Kentucky State Fair, be sure to visit the Louisville Dispatch Facebook page.
The Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) will host the 7th Annual Louisville Brewfest on Friday, September 25th from 4:00pm to 10:00pm at the Louisville Slugger Field, 401 East Main Street. The event is presented by BoomBozz Pizza & Taphouse and will feature independent local and regional beer, wine and bourbon, as well as food vendors and a silent auction. Admission is $5 which includes a souvenir cup. Attendees must be 21 or older to enjoy the beer, wine and bourbon. (Designated drivers get free admission.) VIP tickets are $45 and include access to exclusive beers, special gifts made by local artisans, and larger pours in a commemorative festival glass. For more info, visit www.keeplouisvilleweird.com.
In addition to sampling brews from 19 different local and regional breweries, festival goers will have the exclusive opportunity to taste a limited edition beer created especially for this event by Louisville’s Mayor Greg Fischer. Working with Goodwood Brewing Company, Mayor Fischer provided input on the recipe for an Irish Oatmeal Stout style beer, and he will participate in the brewing process at a media event on Friday, August 28th at 10am at Goodwood, 636 E. Main Street. Local musician Ben Sollee will also create his own variety of beer in collaboration with Apocalypse Brew Works that event attendees can sample.
Also new to the event this year will be an interactive activity where attendees can glue bottle caps and other items to an art piece to show their local love. Returning again is the “Brewseum”, a self-directed journey through the history of craft beer in Louisville, supported by demos and ‘how-to’ areas, created by Paul Young. An after party will also be hosted by The Haymarket Whiskey Bar, with free admission for Brewfest attendees.
Participating local brewers include Against the Grain, Akasha Brewing Company, Apocalypse Brew Works, Bluegrass Brewing Company, Cumberland Brewery, Falls City Beer, Goodwood Brewing Company, Monnik Brewing Company (formerly Beer Engine), New Albanian Brewing Company, and Sterling Beer. Guest brewers from the region include Central State Brewing Company from Indianapolis, Country Boy Brewing from Lexington, Eight Ball Brewing from Newport, Flat 12 Bierworks from Indianapolis, Kentucky Ale from Lexington, Rivertown Brewing Company from Cincinnati, Tin Man Brewing from Evansville, Upland from Bloomington and West 6th from Lexington. Locally made wines from Horseshoe Bend Vineyard & Winery, Old 502 Winery, Purple Toad Winery, and Smith-Berry Winery will also be available, as well as bourbon from Heaven Hill Distilleries.
The 7th Annual Louisville Brewfest is sponsored by Boombozz Pizza & Taphouse, Manny & Merle, Joella’s Hot Chicken, Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Heaven Hill Brands, Yellow Cab, The Haymarket Whiskey Bar, Buckhead Mountain Grill, Eclipse Bank, LEO Weekly, Louisville Magazine, Louisville.com, LouisvilleHotBytes.com, Nachbar, Abbey Road on the River, vo2 Multisport, WAKY radio, WFPK, Falls City Beer, Universal Linen, YELP Louisville, ValuMarket, Louisvillebeer.com, and Old 502 Winery.
Have you ever driven by a house and wondered what all of those large antennas on the roof are? Have you seen a vehicle with antennas of various sizes sprouting from it like a big, steel porcupine? Have you attended a large event like a marathon or the Derby Breakfast and seen event coordinators communicating with each other using handheld radios? If so, then chances are that you have seen some licensed radio amateurs – also known as “hams.”
The Louisville area is home to many active ham radio enthusiasts who use the technology for everything from emergency communications to simply chatting with friends or seeing what kind of homebrew transmitting or receiving equipment they can create.
Each year, area hams get together for an event known as a hamfest. The 2015 Greater Louisville Hamfest will be held September 12 at Paroquet Springs Conference Center in Shepherdsville. During the event, attendees will have the opportunity to connect face-to-face with other hams they have met on the air; buy, sell, and trade equipment at the flea market; learn about various topics during the forums and presentations; watch demonstrations; and earn or upgrade their operating license during the on-site testing opportunities. According to Amateur Radio Kentuckiana, getting licensed to operate on amateur radio frequencies is often much easier than people think it is.
To learn more about the upcoming Greater Louisville Hamfest, visit their website at louisvillehamfest.com.
There is still plenty of time to get out and enjoy the final days of the 2015 Kentucky State Fair, which runs through this Sunday.
There is entertainment for everyone at the fair. Children (and kids at heart) will enjoy the performing animal acts like JUMP! The Ultimate Dog Challenge, Miller’s Border Collies, and Cuzzin’ Grumpy’s Porkchop Revue. Fair-goers looking for thrills will want to check acts like the Chinese Acrobats of Hebei or Team FMX.
Foodies looking for something interesting for their pallets may want to try a few of the many vendors that are selling unique items like the Philly Cheesesteak Doughnut Burger, a deep fried bacon-wrapped Oreo, or some traditional Kentucky favorites with a twist like the Hot Brown on a Stick or the deep fried Derby Pie. There are also cooking contests and demonstrations throughout the day as well. On Friday, there’s a Taste of Beef Challenge and Cast Iron Skillet competition. Those interested in farming will enjoy a walk through the Agriculture exhibits to see various fruits, vegetables, and grains that were grown throughout the state, including a pumpkin that weighs over 800 lbs.
Attendees interested in the performing arts won’t have to look far. Alumni and faculty of the Jefferson County Youth Performing Arts School are performing two different musicals celebrating the history of the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation. Dance lovers will also be able to see cloggers, square dancers, and other forms of dancing during the fair daily.
For the animal lovers there are sheep, swine and beef cattle competitions daily and, on Sunday, there will be a draft horse and mule pull. For a more hands on experience with animals, there is the Discovery Farm in the exhibit hall where fair goers can see ducklings learning to swim, learn about dairy, and have a chance to see chickens hatch. The World’s Championship Horse Show is wrapping as well. Free seating is available in Freedom Hall starting at 9:00 AM in the Upper Level.
There is no shortage of musical entertainment either. Visitors to the 2015 Kentucky State Fair can visit any of the many venues placed throughout the grounds. There are a variety of bands playing all day that will surely suit everyone’s tastes. There are also concerts nightly in the Cardinal Stadium, many of them free with fair admission. Charlie Daniels with Colt Ford will be playing Friday at 8:00 PM and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with Devour the Day will be playing at the same time on Saturday. Sunday at 8:00 PM Boyz II Men and Kool & The Gang will be playing. Tickets for this show can be purchased through Ticketmaster with prices ranging from $50 to $1800, which includes standard fair admission.
Be sure to check out our 2015 Kentucky State Fair album on Facebook for more photos of all the action.
