The largest comic-con in the region, Fandomfest, kicks off this Friday, August 7, in Louisville.
The three day event features celebrities including sci-fi movie stars, sports legends, artists, authors, and more. In addition to the opportunity for fans to get autographs and photos with their favorite heroes, there is a full roster of events including movie screenings, panel discussions and Q&A sessions, gaming sessions, parades, and live performances.
Attendees will have the opportunity to get on the action as well by participating in the Fantasmagorical Fandomfest Parade, cosplay events, after parties, and more.
The event takes place in and around the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville Friday August 7 – Sunday August 9. Vendors and exhibit halls are open from 4-10PM on Friday, 10AM-7PM on Saturday, and 11AM-4PM on Sunday. Discussion panels, movie screenings and after hours events take place during exhibit hall hours and last until 2AM on Friday and Saturday nights and until 5PM on Sunday. For additional details, visit fandomfest.com.
Tickets area available online and start at $30 for all-day Friday or Sunday passes and $40 for all-day Saturday passes. Weekend passes, VIP Experience packages, and more are also available.
Be sure to keep an eye on traffic and weather around the event to make the most of your weekend.
The Kentucky State Fair board has announced that the hiring of more than 750 temporary employees for the event will begin August 10.
Positions include ticket sellers, gate attendants, maintenance workers, and tram drivers. Wages start at $10.10 an hour. Qualified applicants must be at least 18 years old and have proper identification verifying eligibility to work.
Interested applicants must apply in person at either the KY Expo Center (South Wing C) or the employment trailer at Gate 4 of the KY Expo Center according the schedule below.
KY Exposition Center, South Wing C
August 10: 7 A.M. until 4 P.M.
August 11: 10 A.M. until 6 P.M.
August 12, 13, and 14: 8 A.M. until 4 P.M.
Employment Trailer, Gate 4 at the KY Exposition Center
August 15: 8 A.M. until 12 P.M.
August 17: 8 A.M. until 4 P.M.
August 18: 6 A.M. until 6 P.M.
August 19 and 20: 7:30 A.M. until Midnight
August 21: 7:30 A.M. until 8 P.M.
August 22: 7:30 AM until 10 P.M.
August 23 – 28: 7:30 A.M. until 8 P.M.
August 29: 7:30 A.M. until 10 P.M.
August 30: 7:30 A.M. until 2 P.M.
For additional information, call the Employment Office at (502) 367- 5235
The Kentucky State Fair will kick off the 11-day 2015 season Thursday, August 20. Gates will open a 7 A.M. daily with exhibits opening at 9 A.M. Discounted admission (available until August 19 at Ticketmaster outlets or on the KY State Fair website) is $8 for adults and $4 for children under 12 and seniors. Admission at the gate is $10 for adults and $6 for children and seniors.
Parking is $8 per car although discounted parking passes can be purchased in advance for $5. Free off-site parking is available on weekends at the Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and will include free tram service to the fairgrounds.
The Midway and tents will close around midnight daily and the exhibit hall will close at 9 P.M. during weekdays and 10 P.M. on weekends. Some areas may close earlier on the last day of the fair.
Running concurrently during the Kentucky State Fair, the World’s Championship Horse Show will take place in Freedom Hall, August 22-29. Free performances will be held at 9 A.M. August 24 – 29, daily. Seating will be in the upper level of the arena.
Thursday, August 20 – Carload Day Pay only $20 for an entire vehicle until 5 p.m. (includes parking)
Sunday, August 23 – Military Sunday All active duty and veteran military personnel and their families save 50% on admission with valid military ID.
Tuesday, August 25 – Senior Day Admission is only $1 for seniors 55 and over before 6 p.m. Parking not included.
Thursday, August 27 – Carload Day Pay only $20 for an entire vehicle until 5 p.m. (includes parking)
Thursday, August 20 – Meghan Trainor “MTrain Tour” with special guests Charlie Puth and Life of Dillon Freedom Hall, 7 p.m. – $50, $52.50
Friday, August 21 – Barrels and Boots Music Festival at the Kentucky State Fair presented by your local iHeartRadio station featuring Montgomery Gentry and John Michael Montgomery with RaeLynn, Eric Paslay, Kelsie May and Craig Campbell Freedom Hall, 5 p.m. – $37
Sunday, August 30 – Boyz II Men and Kool & The Gang Freedom Hall, 8 p.m. – $50, $55
Thursday, August 20 – Slaughter and Great White Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Friday, August 21 – Jagged Edge with special guest Dru Hill Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 22 – All That Remains Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 23 – Oak Ridge Boys with special guest Belles & Whistles Sponsored by Hillshire Farm Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Monday, August 24 – Casting Crowns with special guest I Am They Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Tuesday, August 25 – Country Gold Tour featuring Leroy Van Dyke, Steve and Rudy Gatlin, Moe Bandy, Eddy Raven, Jimmy Fortune and Gene Watson Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Wednesday, August 26 – Easton Corbin with special guest Nathan Osmond Sponsored by Weaver Leather Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Thursday, August 27 – Happy Together Tour featuring The Turtles, The Association, The Cowsills, Mark Lindsay, The Buckinghams and The Grass Roots Sponsored by Habitat for Humanity Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Friday, August 28 – Charlie Daniels with special guest Colt Ford Sponsored by Farm Credit Mid-America Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Saturday, August 29 – Joan Jett with special guest Devour the Day Cardinal Stadium, 8 p.m.
Sunday, August 30 – Family Force 5, Hawk Nelson, Matt Maher, For King and Country Cardinal Stadium, 4 p.m.

Credit: Louisville Metro Police
National Night Out (NNO) is an annual community-police awareness-raising event held on the first Tuesday of August since 1984. The event, organized in part by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), is meant to increase awareness about police programs in communities, such as drug prevention, neighborhood watch, and other anti-crime efforts.
Aimed at community-building, promoting police-community partnerships, and developing neighborhood camaraderie, there are a number of events being held around Louisville this Tuesday, August 4th.
1st Division
6-8pm
Waterfront Park, Louisville, KY 40202
2nd Division
6-8pm
First Choice Market, 3044 Wilson Avenue, Louisville, KY 40211
3rd Division
6-8pm
Home Depot, 6840 Dixie Highway, Louisville, KY 40258
4th Division
5-8pm
Wyandotte Park, 1104 Beecher Street, Louisville, KY 40215
5th Division
6-9pm
Peterson-Dumesnil House, 301 S. Peterson Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206
6th & 7th Divisions
6-8pm
Target Okolona, 7311 Jefferson Boulevard, Louisville, KY 40219
8th Division
6-8pm
Target Middleton, 12975 Shelbyville Road, Louisville, KY 40243
Louisville Dispatch wishes you a safe and happy Independence Day!If we missed any area celebrations or festivities, be sure to let us know in the comments section below or on our Facebook page.
Springfield’s Independence Day Celebration
6 p.m.
Behind the Judicial Center. Features live music, car show, food and fireworks at dark.
Louisville Bats Baseball Fireworks Show
Bats vs. Columbus at 6:45 pm at Slugger Field, fireworks extravaganza following the game
Harrison County (Indiana) Kiwanis Annual Fireworks Display
Old Capital Golf Club – Fireworks at dark.
Louisville Orchestra Waterfront 4th
July 4 – 5 pm to 10:15 pm. Featuring live music, beer garden, activities, and Fireworks on the Great Lawn
Bullitt Blast and Shepherdsville City Fair
All day events at Shepherdsville City Park include 5k run, beauty pageant, car show, live music, WWII reenactments, watermelon eating contest, and fireworks at approximately 9:30 pm.
Carrollton’s Annual July Fourth Family Celebration
Point Park where the Kentucky and Ohio Rivers meet. Fireworks begin at dusk. FREE music and fun for the entire family.
Elizabethtown Founders’ Day
5 pm until dark at Freeman Lake Park. Air shows, skydiving demonstration, pie eating contest and fireworks at dark.
Shelby County Shake the Lake
Clear Creek Park Amphitheater, 5:30-10 pm. $3 per person.
Simpsonville’s Red, White and Boom
Noon – 10 pm at Simpsonville Park. Live music, food, DJ, vendor booths, bouncies & fireworks.
Crescent Hill Old Fashioned Fourth of July Art and Music Festival
10 am – 10 pm, Peterson Dumesnil House. Music, food, activities.
Fort Knox Celebrates Freedom
5 – 10:30 pm at Brooks Field on Fort Knox. Food, music, fun. Fireworks at 10:15 pm.
Madison Regatta
Fireworks Spectacular, Co-Sponsored by American Legion Post No. 9, The City of Madison Indiana, &
Jefferson County Board of Tourism. approx. 10pm / Riverfront
The Dixie Area Business Association’s (DABA) Discover Dixie Expo will be held Tuesday, September 15.
The annual B2B event, held in the gymnasium of the Ormsby Heights Baptist Church at 2120 Lower Hunters Trace, will showcase area businesses and allow other business owners, employees, entrepreneurs to see what the Dixie Highway corridor has to offer.
Over 60 exhibitors are expected from various fields including education, financial services, healthcare and fitness, home improvement, computers and technology, advertising & marketing, and others. The event also features business seminars, a silent auction, prizes, networking and more.
Admission is free with a business card. For the full schedule and more information, visit the Discover Dixie Expo Facebook page or official website.
The Louisville Independent Business Alliance (LIBA) will kick off “Independent’s Month” with a special event on Monday, July 6th from 5:00pm-8:00pm at Iroquois Amphitheater. The celebration precedes the July installment of Free Movie Nights at the Amphitheater, so attendees can stay and enjoy a free screening of “Muppets Most Wanted”. LIBA’s Independent’s Month Celebration is a free, family-friendly event and will include:
LIBA will also be making a very special announcement that night, so attendees will get to hear the news before it is officially announced on the following day.
In an ongoing effort to “Keep Louisville Weird” for more than 10 years, the Louisville Independent Business Alliance declares July as “Independents Month” and invites the publicto celebrate the city’s independent businesses throughout the month. The goal of this campaign is to create awareness around the fact that purchasing goods and services from a locally owned store keeps more money circulating in our local economy and supports the businesses that make Louisville “weird” and unique.