Featured Events for December 2009

Saturday, December 5

Say hello to the Highlands – and to your neighbors – at Highland Commerce Guild’s Bardstown Road Aglow, Saturday, December 5. Now in its 24th year, the annual celebration of shopping, dining and imbibing has become a popular social event, bringing together friends and neighbors from the Highlands and beyond. From dusk until 10 p.m., gift shops, specialty stores, restaurants and bars along the Bardstown Road / Baxter Avenue corridor (from Taylorsville Road to Lexington Road) will offer live entertainment, food, drink and discounts. You’ll find wandering carolers and musicians, and free rides on trolleys filled with elves. Four Roses Bourbon, the presenting sponsor, will host tastings at several establishments. At Baxter Avenue and Rogers Street, a block party will feature local vendors, dancers and Celtic street musicians. And at 6 p.m., the Pool Party Express, a 1954 fire engine, will deliver Santa and his elves to Bearno’s for the Highlands Winter Wonderland photo opportunity (proceeds to benefit Gilda’s Club of Louisville). So, grab a jacket, bring an appetite and take a stroll down Bardstown Road to enjoy a friendly holiday evening in the Highlands. 

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Thursday, December 3

Join the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) at Molly Malone’s in the Highlands, 933 Baxter Avenue, on Thursday, December 3, for live music, entertainment, a special Irish menu and drink specials. The Irish Christmas will take place from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., with a bagpipe procession at 6 p.m. to welcome a special guest from up north. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to Boys’ Haven, a private, nonprofit facility at 2301 Goldsmith Lane. Its founder, Father Maloney, was the 1972 AOH Irish Person of the Year. 

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Thursday, DECEMBER 3

Thursday, December 3, the Deer Park Neighborhood Association will again be presenting Winterfest. This free, family-oriented event, open to all Highlands residents, is co-sponsored by and held at The de Paul School on Duker Avenue off Bardstown Road near Fernwood Avenue.

Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. 

Enter at the door decked by a welcoming snowman. There will be refreshments, entertainment, door prizes and craft-making for the youngsters. Be sure to bring a camera if you want a photo with Santa. Donations of canned or dry food items and/or an unwrapped gift for a child will be appreciated. These will be distributed to needy families by the Salvation Army.

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Saturday, December 5

B CHIC, Kentuckiana’s largest consignment shop, located at 1235 Bardstown Road, will hold a Meet & Greet for artist Rick Czerwonka from Czerwonka Designs on Saturday, December 5, from noon to 4 p.m., to coincide with Bardstown Road Aglow.  Rick and Betty Czerwonka design and create fine art pendants and medallions in visually stunning combinations of porcelain, silver and glass, with designs covering an array of styles to fit every taste. Rick, who is featured on an episode of “Villionaire: Louisville’s Rich Art Culture” (on Insight channel 2), will demonstrate how his art is made. Special pricing will be offered on his designs, as well as throughout the store. Refreshments will be served. For more information, call (502) 632-1313 or visit www.bchic.org.

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Tuesday, December 8

Join Highlands Community Ministries (HCM) Senior Services for a Tai Chi Reception on Tuesday, December 8, and see instructors from the Kentucky Tai Chi Chuan Center perform Tai Chi demonstrations with a class. 

The HCM Senior Services Tai Chi beginners class is free and will be offered in the spring. The class is an eight-week course and participants have the opportunity to join an ongoing class once he or she completes the eight-week beginners class. The ongoing class meets every Tuesday morning.

The reception takes place from 10 a.m. to noon in the Social Hall at St. Paul United Methodist Church, 2000 Douglass Boulevard. Refreshment will be served. For more information, call (502) 459-0132.

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Saturday, December 12 

Visit the Louisville Nature Center (LNC) on December 12 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and enjoy hot chocolate and snacks while making your own wreaths, swags and table decorations from live greenery.  

Ribbons, gloves and wire cutters are provided, but participants are asked to bring their own tools, if possible. 

The cost for LNC Members is $20 for wreaths and $15 for swags and table decorations (non-members cost is $25 for wreaths and $20 for swags and table decorations). Call (502) 458-1328 for additional information.  

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Sunday, December 13

Join Mama’s Hip on Sunday, December 13, from noon to 4 p.m., to celebrate the holidays and all things local. The shop that caters to new mothers and babies is hosting a “Locally Crafted Holiday Bazaar” with unique gifts, including jewelry, hand-knit and hand-sewn items, pottery, home decor and local foods. 

Stop by and enjoy live music, refreshments and local creations. Mama’s Hip is located at 1559 Bardstown Road, near the corner of Alta Avenue.

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Friday, December 18

The American Legion Log Cabin Post 201, at 2919 Bardstown Road, is holding an open house from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, December 18 (also the day of the post’s reasonably priced fish fry, held in the big hall, followed by karaoke in the log cabin). 

“We will roll out the welcome mat and invite all our neighbors who are veterans young and old, along with their families, to visit our post,” says Syl Guzman, who serves on the Executive Committee at the post. “We have a very nice lounge for members to come and share time with their friends.” The lounge opens at 1 p.m. each day, seven days a week.

The post also offers facilities for rental functions with three rooms that will accommodate 100, 175 or 600 persons. 

Bingo is open to the public on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with doors open at 6 p.m. and bingo starting at 7:30 p.m. Nineteen games are played on each evening, with prizes from $50 for the early bird games to $1,000 for the coverall. A food kitchen and bar are also available.

Also open to the public is a fish fry on the third Friday of each month (except June, July and August) starting at 5 p.m., with dine-in or carry-out service. The fish fry includes both sandwiches and dinners (baked or fried), shrimp, oysters, bratwurst and hot dogs, along with green beans, new potatoes, clam chowder, macaroni and cheese, and slaw. A bar is also available. Karaoke follows the fish fry, beginning at 8 p.m. “A good time is had by all, with some good singers and some not so good (just kidding),” says Guzman. 

The Avenue of Flags is flown five times each year on Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, September 11 and Veterans Day. The flags are donated by the families of deceased veterans.

For more information, call (502) 458-1525 or visit www.highlandpost201.org.

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Sunday, December 20

Highlands Community Ministries is sponsoring  a trip to the musical, “A Wonderful Life” at Derby Dinner Playhouse on Sunday, December 20. The $32 cost includes TARC transportation. The bus leaves at 11:15 a.m. from Highlands Court, 1720 Richmond Drive. Call (502) 451-3695 to reserve your seat.

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Thursday, December 31 

The Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH) and Flanagan’s Ale House are sponsoring an Irish New Year’s Celebration on December 31, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Flanagan’s, 934 Baxter Avenue.  Following the clocks in Dublin, Ireland, the 2010 New Year will be welcomed at 7 p.m. with a special toast and bagpipe salute of “Auld Lang Syne.” 

The evening will feature Irish music, beer and menu specials to help raise funds for the annual St. Patrick’s Parade, planned for March 13, 2010. The celebration is open to the public, with a $3 cover charge for party favors. 

The AOH is an Irish-Catholic fraternal organization that has sponsored the last 33 St. Patrick’s parades in Louisville. It currently has over 160 members in Louisville – not all necessarily ancient – ranging in age from their early ‘20s to mid-’80s and from all walks of life. The AOH is the oldest and largest Irish cultural organization in the U.S., with roots going back 300 years to groups of the same name in Ireland. 

Each year, the St. Patrick’s Parade draws as many as 15,000 to Baxter Avenue and Bardstown Road to watch over 100 units march in honor of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. 

CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS

Saturday, December 5, 2 p.m.

Ed the Incredible, “The World’s Second Worst Magician”; Ages 9 and up

 

All Spruced Up

Tuesday, December 15, 7 p.m.

Get ready for the holidays with stories about decorating and entertaining. Help us decorate our story room; Ages 3-8

 

TEEN PROGRAMS

A Boston Tea Party

Wednesday, December 16, 4:30 p.m.

Celebrate the anniversary of the most infamous tea party next to the Mad Hatter’s!

Ages 12-19

JOB SEARCH CLASS

Beginning Your Job Search Online

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 9:15 a.m. This class is for adults with very limited computer experience and is a brief basic introduction to searching and applying for a job online. It covers computer access, common problems with online applications, helpful job search Web sites and classes available to upgrade skills. Class size is limited and registration is required. Call (502) 574-1672.

COMPUTER CLASSES

Call (502) 574-1672 for times and dates.

STORY TIMES

Family Story Time, every Tuesday, 7 p.m.; Ages 3-8

Toddler Story Time, every Wednesday, 10:15 a.m.; Ages 2-3

Mother Goose Time, Every Thursday, 10:15 a.m.; Walkers under 2 years