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| The Kentucky Derby |
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Alternatively referred to as “The Run for the Roses” or “The
Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports,” the Kentucky Derby is a 1.25 mile race for three-year-old thoroughbred horses.
The Kentucky Derby draws an average of 150,000 visitors each year, including residents, out-of-towners, celebrities, presidents,
and even members of royal families.
The first Kentucky Derby race occurred in 1875. Close to 10,000 people
watched as 15 thoroughbred horses ran what was then a 1.5 mile course. In 1876, the length of the race was changed to 1.25
miles. By the early 1900s, owners of winning Kentucky Derby horses started sending their winners to run in the Preakness Stakes
in Maryland and the Belmont Stakes in New York. In 1930, sportswriter Charles Hatton coined the term “Triple Crown”
in reference to the same horses running the three races consecutively.
Unless you’re going to be in the infield, you’ll want
to make sure you abide by the traditional Kentucky Derby fashion rules. Men at the Kentucky Derby generally wear solid color
suits or tuxedos. Women are known for their Kentucky Derby hats, which are traditionally large and dramatic. Women usually pair their
hats with simple dresses in spring colors, and white dress gloves are common as well.The Mint Julep is the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. It is an iced drink consisting of bourbon,
mint, and a sweet syrup and is traditionally served in a commemorative Kentucky Derby glass.
| Old Louisville Garden Tour |
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In 1993, two Old Louisville residents, and activists in the preservation of
this Victorian treasure, presented to the Second Street Neighborhood Association the idea of a garden tour that would encompass
and benefit all of Old Louisville. Ten years before the Central Park Centennial, the Old Louisville
Hidden Treasures Garden Tour was initiated. Over the years, the
tour has enjoyed the support and backing of the non-profit Second Street Neighborhood Association membership, as well as sponsors
and volunteers from many parts of Old Louisville and the Metro community at large. The garden tour occurs on the second
weekend in July. (call for information, 502-637-4985
| Victorian House Tour |
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You can experience some of the magic of Old Louisville during their Victorian Yuletide Holiday House Tour, which takes place every year on the first weekend in December. Old Louisville's finest mansions will be decked in
holiday splendor. What makes this all so special is that most of these houses are private homes and are rarely ever open to the public for tours.
In fact, most individual
houses are open to the public only once in a lifetime. So if you missed a house this year, you may not get a chance
to see it ever again. And you may return year after year, and the tour will never be quite the same!
According to visitors, the tour seems more like Christmas than Christmas itself. Few
have the opportunity to experience our magnificent Victorian interiors, much less with giant Christmas trees, hearths
and doorways and staircases festooned with garlands. It truly can be an old-fashioned picture-postcard Yuletide dream.
Visitors enjoy the scent of cedar and pine and spice get to meet some of the
people who live in Old Louisville. Each house is manned by volunteers from the neighborhood, and sometimes the owners
themselves, who will explain some of the unique architectural features of thei home, and some fascinating history.
| Kentucky State Fair |
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The Kentucky State Fair takes place in Louisville, KY. In 2010 the fair
will run from August 19 through August 29, at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Kentucky's State Fair has been
a popular agricultural event for over 100 years. Family oriented entertainment makes the fair a popular summertime festivity.
The fair features livestock, horses, midway rides, festival food, concerts, exhibits, competitions and blue ribbons. Following
is additional information about some of the special events, including the horse shows and concerts
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| Shakespeare Festival |
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Kentucky Shakespeare Festival is the longest-running Shakespeare Festival
of its kind in North America. We use the works of Shakespeare to enrich our community through accessible, professional, theatre
experiences that educate, inspire, and entertain people of all ages.
Kentucky Shakespeare is committed to the fundamental belief that the arts
are for everyone, and to our ongoing “Free Will” campaign which allows us to bring the summer season of professional
theatre to the public free of charge through the generous support of our funders, donors and community.
Under the leadership of new Producing Artistic Director
Anthony Patton, the 49th Summer Festival of Free Shakespeare in Central Park will present two of William Shakespeare’s
masterworks, Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet.
| St James Art Show |
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The St. James Court Art Show® was founded on October 12, 1957 by St. James
Court Association president, Malcolm Bird. Back in 1957, St James Court Association was faced with an empty treasury and the
Art Show seemed to be a perfect means to pay the bills and bring residents together.
The Art Show started simply enough. “At first, it was to be an art exhibit
only, although open to anyone wishing to enter an exhibit. The pictures were hung on a clothesline extending from tree to
tree,” wrote Marguerite Gifford in her 1966 history, St. James Court in Retrospect.
The Art Show provided an opportunity to celebrate the history of St James
Court, so plaques were placed on certain houses to honor their notable residents, who were poets, authors, and mayors.
Ann Higbie and Oscar Stremmel, who succeeded Malcolm Bird as Art Show organizers.
volunteered countless time and energy managing the show for twenty-five years, until 1992. They led the Art Show to national
recognition and, by this time, it had tripled in size from 200 to 600 exhibitors.
Exhibitors expanded to Fountain Court and Fourth Street in 1975. Mel Young
organized the early Fourth Street artists and, in 1979, Rudy Van Meter and Kitty Clark launched the 1400 Third Street section
of the show. By 1994, the show expanded to include artists in the 1300 block of Third Street and at the West End Baptist Church.
The show now remains one of the largest in the nation.
| Humana Festival of Plays |
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Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival of New American
Plays is an annual site of pilgrimage where theatre lovers from around the world gather to get the first look at the
future of the American theatre. Over 350 plays have been produced in the internationally acclaimed Humana Festival, representing
the work of over 200 playwrights.
the Humana Festival gained fame in its early years for introducing future
Broadway and off-Broadway hits (The Gin Game, Crimes of the Heart and Agnes of God). Following the departure of its founding
artistic director, Jon Jory, who was replaced by Marc Masterson in 2001, the festival lost a bit of buzzworthiness, but became
a bit more open to work from the experimental fringes.
And it remains a must-attend event for theater professionals across the country.
Even with a troubled economy, attendance this year was up over last year. And if the selection of new plays was creatively
a mixed bag, for this first-timer it was a stimulating weekend. No breakout hits (like last year's festival favorite, Gina
Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, which moved on to an acclaimed off-Broadway run), but plenty of signs of vitality, flashes of brilliance,
displays of theatrical invention. The flaws and missteps are part of the experience: you want to get involved, tinker, help
with the discovery process: it's theater under construction.
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The St James Art Show is one of the largest art shows
in the country. Booths and tents span over blocks and blocks of Old Louisville, displaying every kind of art object and craft
imaginable. Our Inn will be filled with artists, two of whom are jewelry makers who have been returning to stay with us for
the past five years.