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Zoo Invites Public to Help Name Giant Bugs

Zoo LogoThe Louisville Zoo is inviting the public to help name 13 giant bugs in their new exhibit.  Each Monday and Wednesday through the week of July 21, entries (one per person, per day) can be submitted through the Louisville Zoo’s Facebook page.

Contest winners will receive not just bragging rights, but also a mention on their bug’s signage at the exhibit as well as a special prize:  two free general admission zoo tickets or two free one-day ride passes for Zoo members.  Winners will be chosen by zoo staff and announced on Fridays some time after 12 P.M.  If multiple people submitted the chosen name, a random drawing will determine the winner among them.

The Louisville Zoo, located at 1100 Trevillian Way, is open from 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. in June and July, 10 A.M. to 6 P.M. through September 28 and 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. September 29 through mid-march.  The Zoo is home to more than 1,500 animals, including gorillas and orangutans, lions and tigers, penguins, bears, seals and sea lions, giraffes, hippos, reptiles, hundreds of colorful birds and more

Frankfort Avenue TrolleyLouisville, KY – Frankfort Avenue will host the FAT Friday Trolley Hop on Friday, May 30th from 6:00-10:30pm. Many businesses along the Avenue will host live music, offer special sales and serve refreshments. Free trolleys will run along Frankfort Avenue from Cannons Lane to River Road. For more information, visit www.fatfridayhop.org.

                              

Special activities planned for the May 30th Trolley Hop include:

  • Just Creations, located at 2722 Frankfort Avenue, will host a Community Shopping Night where 15% of sales will be donated to Wellspring, an organization that provides housing and psychiatric rehabilitative services to those facing the challenges of mental illness.
  • Bourbon Barrel Foods, located in the Butchertown Market at 1201 Story Ave. Ste. 175, will host a free pre-party tailgate including cooking demos, heavy appetizers, refreshments, a behind the scenes tour of Bourbon Barrel Foods, and the chance to win event tickets and Bourbon Barrel Foods products.

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The LFPL summer reading program starts June 1st and, to help get area children in the reading spirit, there will be a kick-off event at the main library branch on May 31 from 10 AM through 12:30.

Kids from birth through 5th grade can be enrolled in the “Read Big” program using the form available at any library location after June 1.  Each participant who read 10 books by August 9th will receive a number of prizes, including a backpack, passes to area attractions such as the Kentucky Science Center, Frazier History Museum, a Louisville Bats baseball game, the Rauch Planetarium, and more.  Participants who complete the program will also be entered to win one of the grand prizes, including a $500 Barnes & Noble shopping spree, a backpack full of school supplies, 4 passes to the Louisville Zoo and more. Continue reading

LPFL How To FestThis Saturday the Louisville Free Public Library (LFPL) will host The How-To Festival, where over 100 presenters will share their skills with attendees.

Visitors to the festival will have the opportunity to learn everything from yodeling, belly dancing and archery to making barbecue brisket, cotton candy and cornmeal.  The How-To Festival is free to attend thanks to donors to the Library Foundation and the Community Foundation of Louisville and lasts from 10 AM to 3 PM this Saturday, May 10 2014, at the main library branch downtown at 301 York Street.

A map and full schedule of presentations for the How-To Festival is available online.  Note that some of the presentations have moved due to the possibility of rain.

Win AROTR TicketsAbbey Road on the River returns to the Louisville waterfront May 22-26.  Don’t miss out on the music, art, atmosphere and fun this Memorial Day weekend as musical acts from around the world perform in over 200 live shows.

Grab a friend and enter for your chance to win a pair of general admission tickets (arv $60) good any day of the largest Beatles-inspired musical festival in the world as it celebrates 50 years of Beatlemania.  You can enter below by connecting with us on Facebook or Twitter (enter every day on Twitter!) or by signing up for the Louisville Dispatch Newsletter between now and the contest close date.
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A Bourbon Affair to Remember

KY Bourbon Affair“Bourbon’s Biggest Party” Just Around the Corner

The Kentucky Bourbon Affair is a five day celebration of bourbon spanning May 14 through 18 in the Kentuckiana region.

The event is kicked off by The Bourbon Premier at Hermitage Farm in Goshen where up to 300 guests will gather to enjoy bourbon-inspired cuisine and cocktails while rubbing elbows with bourbon big-wigs.  Despite being approximately 20 miles from downtown Louisville in Oldham county, guests need not worry about getting behind the wheel after enjoying some of the Commonwealth’s finest beverages:  transportation will be provided to and from the Louisville Marriott East starting at 7 PM with buses returning to the River City starting at 9:30 PM.  For attendees who do drive to the opening event, valet service will be available.

Other Bourbon Affair evening events include a “day in the life of a master distiller” experience from Four Roses, dinner events with the master distillers including Chris Morris of Woodford Reserve and Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey, the Old Forester Cocktail Toast & Tour, craft bourbon events, liquor appraisals and more.

The crown jewel of the Kentucky Bourbon Affair is the Black Tie – Silver Screen – Golden Anniversary event Saturday night, May 17, at the Pendennis Club in downtown Louisville.  Here, guests will join bourbon royalty and celebrities in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the congressional resolution declaring bourbon to be “America’s only native spirit.”

The entire affair is capped off on the 18th with a Polo Tournament presented by Maker’s Mark and Lexington Polo.

Special “Golden Tickets” – complete with special priveleges – have long since sold out, with only 50 available at over $1,300 each, but there are still plenty of tickets left for other events available at the Kentucky Bourbon Affair website.

Host Your Own Derby Party

Churchill Downs RacingThe annual running of the Oaks and Kentucky Derby will take place this Friday and Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd.  Throughout the course of the races, hundreds of thousands will enjoy the races and festivities from under the twin spires of Churchill Downs.  Many others, however, will choose to get in on the action from the comfort of their own home or at a Derby party.  Celebrating the event at home is a great way to enjoy the many races throughout the day:  it is less stressful, less crowded, and cheaper.

Once you have decided to throw a Derby party at your home, the next step is to plan a fun party.  There are a number of directions in which you can take your Derby party.  Check out some of the theme  ideas below from a variety of sources, including the Official Kentucky Derby website and Better Homes and Garden:

  • For a more Family Friendly Experience, have a Under-Horse Party
    • Decorations:  decorate in the colors of the under-dog horse
    • Attire:  casual – for kids (or adults), buy cotton T-shirts and fabric paint so the kids can make their own jerseys
    • Food:  potluck, grilled food, horse-shaped cookies for kids to decorate
    • Drinks:  mint juleps (for virgin mint juleps – substitute ginger ale for bourbon)
    • Games:  Corn hole, horse shoes, derby pool (put the horse numbers into a hat and have your guests draw a number, a prize or an extra drink to the winner), water balloons, pin-the-tail-on-the-race horse
  • For a more informal party, have an Infield Party
    • Decorations:  Outdoors, use plastic horse figurines or plastic trophy cups for place markers, use trophy cups as cocktail glasses, pretty much anything goes here
    • Attire:  casual
    • Food:  grilled food, potluck, burgoo
    • Drinks:  beer and mint juleps
    • Games:  corn hole, horseshoes, three-legged races, provide materials (e.g. duct tape and plastic shopping bags) for a create your own hat contest, beer pong, slip-n-slides, derby pool

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