Featured Events for May 2010

 

Before the Run for the Roses, come out to explore the first spring wildflowers in Louisville’s historic Cherokee Park.

 

Explore life as a beneficial bug, learning about their habits and what makes them so important to our community.

 

Learn about stream ecology, aquatic insects and how to improve water quality in our community.

 

Learn about growing native plants in your own yard as you explore native species found throughout the park.

 

Volunteer in Cherokee Park with Olmsted Parks Conservancy and help keep our park healthy and green. Register by calling (502) 456-8125 or visit www.olmstedparks.org. For weather-related cancellations, call (502) 432-2677.

 

The Phoenix Hill Farmers’ Market opens for its fourth season on Tuesday, May 4, at 829 E. Market Street in the parking lot of the Felice complex.

 

The market will remain open every Tuesday from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. through October, offering locally grown produce, meats, eggs, flowers, jams and jellies, bread, and sweets. Local musicians are highlighted each week as well. 

 

The market’s Spring Festival will take place Tuesday, May 25, with activities for children, door prizes and other special features. 

 

Join director Peter Byck, producer Chrisna van Zyl and associate producer Gill Holland for the Louisville premiere of “carbon nation,” a film documentary about climate change solutions, to be shown at the Louisville Science Center, 727 West Main St., on Thursday, May 6. 

 

This educational and upbeat film, narrated by Bill Kurtis, explores ways of contributing to a low-carbon economy and introduces individuals who are making a difference, including a Texas cotton farmer who relies on wind turbine energy, a trucker with a battery-powered rig, and a host of other climate change pioneers. The Huffington Post’s Adam Siegel calls the film “ ... entertaining ... endearing ... and exceptional.” 

 

Byck, whose first documentary, “Garbage,” won Best Documentary at the South by Southwest Film Festival, has worked as an editor and director for documentaries and promotional shorts for Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, MTV, Vh1, BBC, Disney and MGM. Byck and van Zyl live with their 17-month-old son, Clay, in the Bonnycastle neighborhood. 

 

The two screenings will take place at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., with a one-hour reception prior to each. Reservations are required. For tickets, visit www.carbonnation.tv/tickets and make a tax-deductible donation in any amount to the Earth School Educational Foundation, Inc.  

 

The Bonnycastle Homestead Association will hold its annual “plant swap” on Saturday, May 8, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., in front of Deer Park Baptist Church, 1733 Bardstown Road. Meet your neighbors and fellow gardeners while adding to your collection of plants at no cost. It’s easy – just bring a plant and take a plant.  

 

Community and green organizations will come together in Willow Park to celebrate the third annual Mighty Kindness Earth Day Hootenanny on Saturday, May 8, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

 

As a local community organization and online resource, Mighty Kindness seeks to bring together all things in our eco-region that create a circle of sustainability and contribute to our common wealth.Together with Heine Brothers’ Coffee, Rainbow Blossom, Shine Louisville and Earthenirvana, Mighty Kindness welcomes everyone to this free family fest. 

 

The hootenanny is a celebration for the whole community, featuring The Art in eARTh Music & Dance Stage, Community Film Fest, Mighty KIDness Area, a Green Workshop & Education area, a “Massage-a-thon” by the Louisville School of Massage, yoga sessions with the Louisville Yoga Collective, and hula hooping with SpinningInward. There will even be a “Mighty Kind Wedding.” 

 

Individuals representing local organizations, green businesses, alternative healers, local farmers, and environmental protection, peace and social justice organizations will be on hand at the event.

 

The Art in eARTh Music & Dance Stage will feature local performers, including Butch Rice, Daphne Luster, Earth Mamas Dance Co., Katy Rene & Jon Boy Slim, Kentucky Bootleggers, Leigh Ann Yost, Nick Payne, Rebecca Williams, Sirens, Tamara Dearing, Top Notch Dance Troupe, Trevor DeCuir, Tom Boone & Friends, Troubadours of Divine Bliss and Ron Whitehead. 

 

Willow Park is located at Cherokee Parkway and Willow Avenue. For more information about the event, visit www.mightykindness.org or contact Aim Me Smiley at (502) 235-0711 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

 

This year, LNC is expanding its native plant sale to include several native plant nurseries. There will be presentations throughout the day that will teach new concepts for creating a space that attracts native wildlife and promotes a landscape that is easy to maintain. Rain barrels will be available for purchase, along with food and local crafts. 

 

Join Louisville Nature Center naturalists in Cave Hill Cemetery, where resident and migratory birds will be hunted with binoculars (provided), cameras (bring your own), and your eyes and ears. Plan on walking up to two hours. The walk, for ages 8 and up, is $10 per person. Registration is required. 

 

Tour of the local TV and radio gardening expert’s farm. The day will include lunch and a presentation by Jeneen. The cost is $15 for LNC members; $20 for non-members. Registration is required.

 

Do you have a lawn and/or garden but don’t have the time to devote to making them successful? Is your lawn or garden chemically dependent? Tired of using all those dangerous chemicals? Learn best management practices and “green” ideas so you can have that green lawn and garden without all the muscle, work and expense. The program is presented by Jefferson County Soil & Water Conservation District Program Coordinator Cheryl Bersaglia. The suggested donation is $5 per person. Registration is appreciated.

 

Come study the night sky with the Louisville Astronomical Society. View star clusters, the moon, Mars, Saturn and Venus and learn why Ursa Major has a long tail. Telescopes will be provided. Dress appropriately for the weather. In case of clouds or rain, alternate Night Sky activities will take place indoors. The suggested donation is $5 per person. Registration is appreciated.

 

To register for any of the programs, visit www.louisvillenaturecenter.org or call (502) 458-1328, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The Louisville Nature Center is located at 3745 Illinois Avenue, across from The Louisville Zoo.

 

Renowned Affrilachian poet and novelist Crystal Wilkinson will be the featured keynote speaker at the Fourth Annual Kentucky Women’s Book Festival, Saturday, May 15, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the University of Louisville’s Ekstrom Library.

 

Writers and readers from the region are invited to the event, which offers sessions led by well-known and newly emerging female authors connected to Kentucky.

 

Wilkinson’s talk will take place at the luncheon, from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m., in the library’s Silent Study Room. Tickets for the luncheon are $16 and should be purchased in advance by calling the UofL Women’s Center at (502) 852-8976. 

 

Morning and afternoon sessions are free. They include an opening keynote address at 10 a.m. by Sheila Joyce Pyle, co-owner of the Rudyard Kipling and longtime supporter of the arts, and a closing address at 3 p.m. by Sarah Gorham, an author who is publisher and founder of Louisville-based Sarabande Books, 

 

There will also be concurrent sessions on poetry, a letterpress journal, writer’s groups, blogging, and oral history. For details, call (502) 852-8976 or visit http://louisville.edu/womenscenter/kwbf for a complete schedule.

 

Celebrate the beginning of summer with the Highland Commerce Guild on Saturday, May 15, when merchants along Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue will participate in a day (and evening) of shopping, sampling and saving. “Bardstown Bound” will begin at noon and last into the night. Local bands will be at many locations and there will be more Bubbly Hour spots than before.

 

Whether on foot or a trolley, this one-day event will offer special sales, plus dining and drink specials. Entertainment will include sidewalk karaoke, live bands, and caricature artist Emily Ruppel from Shops at Deer Park. A dog station will be set up on the sidewalk at the Midland Avenue UPS Store, offering drinking bowls, free biscuits and drawings for dog gift baskets. Participating merchants will donate proceeds to benefit Gilda’s Club Louisville, located in the Highlands. 

 

Visit www.bardstownbound.com for more information and a map of Bardstown Bound participants. 

 

Artist applications are being accepted through Saturday, May 15, for the 2010 Highlands-Douglass Art Show. The juried show, which takes place June 12 on the grounds of Douglass Boulevard Christian Church, features original works from local and regional artists, along with music and food vendors. 

 

For more information or an artist application, contact Lisa Bird at (502) 454-5800 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

 

Highlands Art Studios has announced they will host monthly art receptions year round at their group gallery at 1220 Bardstown Road, across from the McDonald’s near Mid City Mall. 

 

The first event, on Saturday, May 22, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., will feature new works by the gallery’s seven resident artists. Stop by for a visit and enjoy a variety of affordable, original artwork and entertainment by local musicians. Free refreshments and cocktails will be served.

 

The gallery’s regular business hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sundays, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, call the Highlands Art Studios at (502) 365-3106.

 

 

Enjoy a journey through Louisville’s historic Cave Hill Cemetery to identify the many types of birds that make the cemetery home on a permanent or temporary basis. Guides from the Louisville Nature Center will lead the driving and walking tours on Saturdays from 9  a.m. to 11 a.m.  A small guide book will be provided, but participants are encouraged to bring binoculars. The cost is $10 per person.  

 

Birding dates are: 

Saturday, May 15

Saturday, September 25

 

Join J. Michael Higgs, Cave Hill Heritage Foundation Coordinator, or Steve Wiser, AIA, on a two-hour journey through the meandering roadways of Cave Hill and discover information about the cemetery’s history, its residents, and the works of art presented through its monuments. Cemetery topography, botanical highlights, and connections between the cemetery and state, local and national history will also be discussed. Tours are on Sunday evenings from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The number of participants is limited on the cemetery’s tractor-driven hay wagon. The cost is $35 per person.

 

Tour dates are:

May 23 (J. Michael Higgs)

June 27 (J. Michael Higgs)

July 25 (Steve Wiser)

August 22 (Steve Wiser)

September 19 (Steve Wiser)

October 17 (Steve Wiser)

 

1250 Bardstown Road, Mid City Mall

(502) 574-1672, www.lfpl.org

 

BOOK DISCUSSION

Monday, May 17, 2 p.m.; Your favorite book on Louisville or Louisville people; Visit the Kentucky section under the Kentucky flag.

 

CHILDREN’S PROGRAM

Pajama Party; Tuesday, May 11, 7 p.m. 

Wear your PJs to this bedtime storytime. Ages 3-8

 

TEEN OUTPOST  

Teen Advisory Board, Tuesdays, May 11 and 25; Let your voice be heard! Call (502) 547-1640 to register. Ages 12-19

 

Anime @ The Outpost, Wednesday, May 19, 4:30 p.m.; Featured viewings and activities; Ages 14-19 (Teens under 14 must have a signed, parental permission slip.)

  

ADULT PROGRAMS

Weather on the World Wide Web, Monday, May 10, 7 p.m.; Increase your understanding of weather phenomena and forecasting.

 

Grandmothers Counsel the World, Tuesday, May 11, 10:15 a.m.; Phyllis Fitzgerald leads a discussion of this book.

 

Job Search Class

Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 9:15 a.m. 

A basic introduction to searching and applying for a job online. 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