Summer Guide 2013: Festival express

A highlight of festivals in and around town this summer

Jun 5, 2013 at 5:00 am
Summer Guide 2013: Festival express

Greater Louisville

JUNE

7-8 Lyndon Summer Festival: Robison Park (behind the Lyndon Post Office), Fri. 4-10 p.m., Sat. noon-10 p.m., features rides, fireworks, arts and crafts, live music and more, cityoflyndon.org.

7-9 Louisville’s Greek Festival: Belvedere, Fri. 4-10 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sun. noon-7 p.m., celebrates Greek culture with music, arts and crafts, food and more, louisvillegreekfest.com.

8-9Summer Festival of the Arts: The Summit, Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m., featuring more than 100 artists and crafters, artfestival.com.

14-15Kentuckiana Pride Festival: Belvedere, features parade on Friday, beer garden, live music and more, kypride.com.

14-15Smokin’ on the River BBQ, Blues and Brew Festival: Jeffersonville, Ind. (corner of Spring Street and Riverside Drive), Fri. 4-11 p.m., Sat. noon-11 p.m., features live music, beer tent and barbecue competition, smokinontheriverbbq.com.

20-July 14 Kentucky Shakespeare Festival’s “Twelfth Night”: Central Park, Tue.-Sun., 8:30 p.m., kyshakespeare.org.

22-23George Rogers Clark Days: Clarksville, Falls of the Ohio State Park, Sat.-Sun. 10 a.m.-4 p.m., re-enactors, guest speakers, guided cabin tours, pioneer activities, 812-280-9970, fallsoftheohio.org.

24 Taste of Frankfort Avenue: Clifton Center, 2117 Payne St., 4-7 p.m., features food and beverage samplings from more than 25 restaurants, cliftoncenter.org.

JULY

3-4 Waterfront Independence Festival: Waterfront Park, 5-11 p.m., city celebration with fireworks, food, beer garden and live music, waterfrontindependencefestival.com.

4-5Crescent Hill Fourth of July Festival: Peterson-Dumesnil House, 301 S. Peterson Ave., Thu.-Fri. 10 a.m.-10 p.m., pet show, silent auction, antique car parade down Frankfort Avenue, fireworks and more, 897-7819.

12-14 Forecastle Fest: Belvedere, annual music, art, activist festival, featuring more than 65 bands, artists and organizations, forecastlefest.com.

14 Riverside Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Social: 7410 Moorman Road, 1-5 p.m., featuring ice-cream-eating contest, games, children’s activities and music, 935-6809.

18-21Kentucky Shakespeare Festival’s “Taming of the Shrew”: Central Park, 8:30 p.m., kyshakespeare.org.

19-20 Lebowski Fest: Executive Lawn/Executive Strike & Spare, 911 Phillips Lane, Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 4 p.m., featuring live music by Kyle Glass, Kentucky Prophet, Leftover Cuties, March Madness Marching Band and The Seedy Seeds, plus bowling and a film screening, lebowskifest.com.

19-21 Blues ’n’ Barbecue Festival: Water Tower, Fri. 5-11:30 p.m., Sat. 4-11:30 p.m., Sun. 1-7 p.m. with live music, barbecue and more, louisvillebluesandbbqfestival.com

20-21Brightside/Coca-Cola Volleyball Classic: Seneca Park and Baxter Jack’s, annual volleyball tournament, louisvilleky.gov/brightside.

AUGUST

1-4Street Rod Nationals: Kentucky Expo Center, hot rod show with demonstrations, games and more, nsra-usa.com.

10St. Joseph Orphans Picnic: 2823 Frankfort Ave., more than 60 booths with games, food, raffles and more, sjkids.org.

15-25 Kentucky State Fair: Kentucky Expo Center, featuring exhibits, concerts, agricultural and commercial displays and more, kystatefair.org.

22-24Sellersburg Celebrates: Sellersburg, Ind., Silver Creek Township Park, with food and specialty booths, balloon glow, car show and more, sellersburgcelebrates.com.

24 — Brew at the Zoo and Wine Too!: Louisville Zoo, 1100 Trevillian Way, 4-9 p.m., features beer and wine samples and live music, louisvillezoo.org.

31-Sept. 2 Kentucky Bluegrass Music & Burgoo Festival: Water Tower, featuring live music, local beers, food, children’s activities and more, Sat.-Sun. 5-11 p.m., bisig.com.

SEPTEMBER

9-14 National Quartet Convention: Expo Center, Southern gospel music festival with local, national and regional acts, natqc.com.

14Gettin’ Drunky in KY Pub Crawl: Baxter Avenue, LEO Bar Belle’s annual pub crawl, 7 p.m. at Outlook Inn, [email protected].

15-22 Jeffersontown Gaslight Festival: Taylorsville Rd./Watterson Tr., with arts and crafts, parade, balloon glow (dusk Friday), music and more, jtownchamber.com.

27-29Louisville Irish Fest: Bellarmine University, Fri. 7-10 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun. 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m., celebrates Irish heritage with music, cultural exhibits, vendors, food and more, louisvilleirishfest.org.

Beyond Louisville

JUNE

1-July 7Highland Renaissance Faire: Eminence, Ky., with jousting, mud show, jugglers, musicians, crafts, period food and more, $14, kyrenfaire.com.

6-8Poke Sallet Festival: Harlan, Ky., features children’s rides, arts and crafts, beauty pageant, dinner, trail rides and more, 606-573-4717.

6-9400 Mile Sale: From Maysville to Paducah, Ky., along U.S. Hwy 68, featuring four days of antiques, collectibles and stuff, 859-491-0458.

7-8 Bardstown Bluegrass Festival: Bardstown, Ky., live music by Terry Waldridge, Bluegrass 101, Timberline Drive and more, bluegrass101.com.

7-8Seedtime on the Cumberland: Whitesburg, Ky., Appalshop Center, featuring screenings of Appalshop films, traditional mountain arts and crafts, food and more, with music by Randy Wilson, Lee Sexton and more, 606-633-0108.

7-9Great American Brass Band Festival: Danville, Ky., Centre College, featuring world-renowned brass bands, parade, balloon race, picnic, food and more, 800-755-0076.

8Outdoor Women at Big Oaks: Madison, Ind., Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge, encourages fun and success in outdoors for women, fws.gov/midwest/bigoaks.

8-15W.C. Handy Blues and Barbecue Festival: Henderson, Ky., Audubon Mill Park, festival honors father of blues, W.C. Handy, with music, food, arts and more, handyblues.org.

8-15Bill Monroe’s Memorial Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival: Bean Blossom, Ind., Bill Monroe Memorial Park, with live music and more, beanblossom.com.

13-16Newport Italianfest: Newport, Ky., riverfront, celebrates Italian heritage with food, art, games, music and more, newportky.gov.

15Green River Fest: Morgantown, Ky., environmental clean-up day at Green River, canoes will be provided, 270-526-6827.

17-22 Bullitt County Fair: Shepherdsville, Ky., Bullitt County Fairgrounds, 245 at I-65, with rides, fair food and more, 502-543-4855.

20-22 Renfro Valley Bluegrass Festival: Renfro Valley, Ky., annual event featuring bluegrass music and other festivities, camping available, 800-765-7464.

22 Taste of Bloomington: Bloomington, Ind., Showers Commons, featuring samples from local restaurants, art, music and more, visitbloomington.com/taste.

22-23 Dayton Air Show: Dayton, Ohio, Dayton International Airport, featuring live air shows, demonstrations, parade and more, daytonairshow.com.

27-29 ROMP: Bluegrass and Roots and Branches Festival: Owensboro, Ky., Yellow Creek Park, live music by Dale Ann Bradley, Mike Snider, Cherryholmes and more, rompfest.org.

28-29 Freedom Fest: Murray, Ky., features barbecue, drinks, paintball, music and more, 800-715-5004.

JULY

3-8Henry County Fair: New Castle, Ky., country fair with locally grown foods, hayrides, crafts, music and more, 502-845-5707.

4 Celebration of the American Spirit: Owensboro, Ky., English Park, with fireworks at dusk, rides, games and more, (270) 687-8700.

5-7 Madison Regatta: Madison, Ind., riverfront, hydroplane races, parade, fireworks and more, madisonregatta.com.

11-21 Summer Celebration: Indianapolis, Ind., Convention Center, heritage festival with national and regional performers, juried art competitions, minority health fair and more, indianablackexpo.com.

12-13Duncan Hines Festival: Bowling Green, Ky., downtown, honors Kentuckian who made cake mixes famous with recipe contests, games, music and more, 800-326-7465.

12-14 Berea Craft Festival: Berea, Ky., Indian Fort Theater, with arts and crafts, demonstrations and more, bereacraftfestival.com.

13 Kentucky Shaker Music Day: Harrodsburg, Ky., Shaker Village, with music by South Union Quartet and Pleasant Hill Singers, shakervillageky.org.

14-20 Harrison County Fair: Corydon, Ind., Harrison County Fairgrounds, Indiana’s oldest continuous running fair, 888-738-2137.

19-20 Master Musicians Festival: Somerset, Ky., Somerset Community College, live music by local and national artists and more, mastermusiciansfestival.com.

19-21 & 26-28 Kentucky Art Outpost: Newport, Ky., World Peace Bell Park, featuring dozens of regional artists, newportky.gov.

20 Oldham County Day: La Grange, Ky., downtown, with 5K run/walk, parade, arts/crafts, games and more, 502-222-1731.

24-Aug. 4Ohio State Fair: Columbus, Ohio, Expo Center, featuring midway, live music, games, food, demonstrations and more, ohiostatefair.com.

AUGUST

1-Aug. 4 Jasper Strassenfest: Jasper, Ind., German heritage fest with food, music, carnival rides, arts and crafts, fireworks and more, jasperstrassenfest.org.

2-18 Indiana State Fair: Indianapolis, Ind., Indiana State Fairgrounds, agricultural and commercial displays, livestock exhibits, performances and more, in.gov/statefair.

3-4Shaker Village Craft Fair: Harrodsburg, Ky., Shaker Village, juried arts and crafts and demonstrations, shakervillageky.org.

8-11Great Inland Seafood Festival: Newport and Cincinnati, riverfront, celebrates seafood from local restaurants, cincinnatiusa.com

9-10Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival: Henderson, Ky., Audubon Mill Park, with demonstrations, children’s activities, folk-type crafts, music and more, bluegrassinthepark.com

17-18Woodland Arts Fair: Lexington, Ky., Woodland Park, arts and crafts, demonstrations, music and food, woodlandparkfineartsandcraftsfair.com.

23-24 Heartland Festival in The Park: Elizabethtown, Ky., Freeman Lake Park, features arts and crafts, balloon race, fireworks, parade and more, heartlandfestivalinthepark.com.

27-29 Hot August Blues Festival: Aurora, Ky., Kenlake State Park, with national, regional and local blues bands, 270-293-6641.

31-Sept. 1 Fourth Street Festival of Arts and Crafts: Bloomington, Ind., arts and crafts, music and more, 812-575-0484.

SEPTEMBER

13-15 Lanesville Heritage Festival: Lanesville, Ind., featuring tractor pulls and displays, food, entertainment and more, lanesvilleheritageweekend.org.

17-22Kentucky Bourbon Festival: Bardstown, Ky., with bourbon tastings, gala, distillery tours, balloon glow, barbecue and more, kybourbonfestival.com.

12-21 Indy Jazz Fest: Indianapolis, Ind., Military Park, featuring national, regional and local jazz and blues musicians, indyjazzfest.net.