Wednesday, May 18
Paul Hornung exhibit
Portland Museum
2308 Portland Ave. • 776-7678
$7; 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Tue.-Thu.)
The Portland Museum opens a new permanent exhibit today featuring the memorabilia of football great — and Portland neighborhood boy — Paul Hornung. A member of every national football hall of fame, Hornung first made headlines at Louisville’s Flaget High School playing for coach Paulie Miller. He won the 1956 Heisman Trophy at Notre Dame and went on to a fabulous career with the great Green Bay Packers teams coached by Vince Lombardi. As a player, Hornung did it all: running, passing, punting and place-kicking. He led the NFL in scoring three straight years, from 1959-61. Lombardi called Hornung “the most versatile man ever to play the game.” Now Hornung remembers the coach in his new book, “Lombardi and Me,” which he will sign for the public at an open house today from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. —Bill Doolittle
Friday, May 20
Louisville Loves Mountains
Carmichael’s Bookstore
1295 Bardstown Road • 456-6950
Free; 4-10 p.m.
Carmichael’s Bookstore and Heine Bros. Coffee present the third annual Louisville Loves Mountains Festival Friday at the Carmichael’s location in the Highlands. The festival is a fundraiser for Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, an organization that advocates community involvement and organization. The event, which celebrates the unique natural beauty and ecological importance of Kentucky’s Appalachian Mountains, takes the form of a miniature street party, with a block of Longest Avenue closed down to make way for live entertainment, food and drink. Among those appearing are authors Wendell Berry and Sally Campbell, along with poetry readings and music by River City Drum Corps, Reel World String Band, Relic, Appalatin and others. —Kevin Gibson
May 20-21
Home Thrown, Home Grown Sale
Deer Park Baptist Church
1733 Bardstown Road
Free; 3-8 p.m. (Fri.), 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Sat.)
Bardstown Road in the Highlands is usually a great place to people-watch — but this weekend, there are a plethora of reasons to head there. We’ve got Bardstown Bound Friday night (4-9 p.m.), the Bardstown Road Farmers Market Saturday morning (starting at 8 a.m.), and Louisville Clay’s third annual Home Thrown, Home Grown Sale during both events. The group of regional ceramic artists will transform Deer Park Baptist Church into a piazza, with potters displaying and selling their work on outdoor tables. The sale will feature casseroles, serving bowls, teapots, pitchers, vases, plates, mugs, flowerpots and more. Buy your flowers at the market, pick up a vase next door. —Sara Havens
May 20-22
Louisville Pirate Weekend
J. Gumbo’s
8603 Citadel Way • 493-4720
Free; 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
With the fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film set to hit theaters on Friday, the Louisville Fencing Club is riding the wave of pirate fever with the first-ever Louisville Pirate Weekend. Led by Les Stawicki, former head coach of the Polish National Fencing Team, the award-winning fencing club is open to anyone over the age of 8. Throughout the weekend, the club will showcase traditional “swashbuckling” styles of fencing that have been used in pirate films since the 1930s. Extras from the “Caribbean” films and Johnny Depp impersonator Dale Clark (aka Captain Jax Parrow) will also be on the guest list of what just might be the largest gathering of authentic Louisville pirates to date. Guests of all ages are encouraged to sport pirate garb, so don’t forget an eye patch and your best pirate-speak. —Brandi Terry
Saturday, May 21
Forest Fest
Jefferson Memorial Forest
11311 Mitchell Hill Road • 368-5404
$5 per carload; 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Some folks have a problem with the government, I hear. They say they’ve been taxed enough already, or that the CIA is spying on their hot tub. I’m not saying those things aren’t true, but the G-men do some things right, such as sponsoring this annual bluegrass music festival. Now in its eighth year, Forest Fest brings headliners the Grascals, those harmonious stars from Nashville, along with Bluegrass 101, High Rollers and popular locals Relic to our Metro Parks. Each band will play two sets, and WFPK’s “Sunday Bluegrass” host Berke Bryant will serve as emcee. “Plenty of good food and arts and crafts” are promised by their website, but that’s subjective, yes? What can’t be debated is the rarity of such inexpensive, family-friendly, creative and joyful events that bring together our community. Bring a banjo in case of jamming opportunities. —Peter Berkowitz
Saturday, May 21
Kentucky Women’s Book Fest
Ekstrom Library, U of L
2301 S. Third St. • 852-8976
Free; 9:30 a.m.
Spalding’s Festival of Contemporary Writing hasn’t even wrapped up, and a new book fest is already hitting town. The 2011 Kentucky Women’s Book Festival takes place on Saturday in U of L’s Ekstrom Library. All sessions are free except for the luncheon ($16; call to reserve), which features Tania James, author of the highly praised “Atlas of the Unknowns.” Alanna Nash will present on the topic “So You Want to Write a Biography.” Sena Jeter Naslund (who holds positions with both Spalding and U of L) speaks about sacred texts — a topic certainly important to her newest novel “Adam & Eve.” Many of the other presenters will offer “how-to” advice in workshop sessions. The full schedule is up at louisville.edu/womenscenter/kwbf. —T.E. Lyons
Saturday, May 21
Spin a Yarn Storytelling Fest
Little Loomhouse
DeSales High School (parking) • 425 W. Kenwood Drive
$2 (seniors $1, children 6 and under free); 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Before TV, iPods and other gadgets dominated our free time, people had to get creative to be entertained. Spinning a yarn was a popular pastime, as was actually spinning yarn — as in, on a loom. On Saturday, you can experience both types of old-timey fun at the Spin a Yarn Storytelling Festival at Little Loomhouse. Located on a swath of land in south Louisville, Little Loomhouse comprises three century-old log cabins. Interestingly, the historic property is the site where “Happy Birthday” was written in 1898, but more relevant is the fact that it was home to accomplished weaver Lou Tate, whom Eleanor Roosevelt commissioned to make linens for the White House. Tate’s work is on display worldwide today. The festival will include nine talented Kentuckians telling stories, live bluegrass, weaving demonstrations and cabin tours. The first 200 visitors will receive a free T-shirt. —Sarah Kelley
Sunday, May 22
Buy Local First Fair
Water Tower
Free (parking is $5/car); 2-6 p.m.
Sunday’s third annual Buy Local First Fair is like a goody basket of all the cool things that make us a hip, happening city. The event features local businesses, musicians, artists, farmers, brewers, chefs, community organizers and more … all mingling and offering you samples and info on their products and services. There’ll be music from Thomas A. Minor & the Picket Line and the Health and Happiness Family Gospel Band; a performance by the Squallis Puppeteers; an “Iron Chef” competition; and an art market, beer tent and food vendors. Put on by the Louisville Visual Art Association, Grasshoppers Distribution and the Louisville Independent Business Alliance, the Buy Local First Fair should replace your weekend trip to Walmart. Feel the synergy of keeping it local. —Sara Havens
May 22 & 29
Paint Bessy!
The Great Escape
2433 Bardstown Road
Donations accepted; noon
Combining a quirky love for art with philanthropy, Tory Whelan is holding an unusual fundraiser: By making a small donation, people can paint her car any way they want. Whelan plans to drive the car around Louisville daily with its new artwork. Bessy, as her car is lovingly known, became what Whelan calls an “art car” two years ago when she began to paint it with different colors and designs. “I’ve had a lot of fun painting my car over the past two years, and I think people would really enjoy the chance to dip into an unusual area of art,” she says. “They’re not just straight-up donating money. How often do you get to paint a car?” All proceeds will benefit the Kentucky Humane Society. Donations begin at a minimum of 50 cents. The more each person donates, the more they will be able to paint. —Brandi Terry
Wednesday, May 25
Waterfront Wednesday
Waterfront Park, Big Four Lawn
Free; 5 p.m.
After falling victim to inclement weather in April, Waterfront Wednesday returns this month with Harper Blynn, Cabin and Cincinnati-based Over the Rhine, the husband-and-wife duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. Collaborating with Grammy Award-winning producer Joe Henry, Over the Rhine recently released its 22nd album, The Long Surrender. The title is inspired by the idea of moving on: “It seems like many of our friends are currently wrestling with various forms of ‘letting go,’ so hopefully, the ideas conjured by the title feel somewhat universal,” Bergquist writes on the band’s website. “And I think the title speaks to the arc of a lifelong commitment to writing and performing regardless of recognition. Learning when to work hard and when to let go. Learning to leave room for grace to billow our sails occasionally. Learning not to white-knuckle everything.” Due to flooding, the concert will be held on the Big Four Lawn. —Brandi Terry
Through May 31
Paintings by Stephanie Foster
Wayside Expression Gallery at Hotel Louisville
120 W. Broadway • 836-7661
Life is full of mishaps — nothing new about that. Stir in the violence of nature, the plight of women and poverty to make it even more despondent. Stephanie Foster’s art speaks for the disenfranchised, especially women. Her series “Natural Disasters of the World” shows people trying to survive turbulent nature. The eight-part “Women of Haiti” illustrates life after the 2010 earthquake. “Many storms, earthquakes, tsunamis and tornados have (ravaged) areas where families have become separated and communities demolished or wiped out,” Foster says. “(These) unnatural disasters affect all of us. However, women seem to struggle more because of their nurturing personality for family and community.”
The gallery will have a reception on Sunday, May 22, from 2-4 p.m. Normal hours are 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Monday-Friday or by appointment. —Jo Anne Triplett
Through June 5
“The Fortune Teller” by Caravaggio
Speed Art Museum
2035 S. Third St. • 634-2700
If you like your art mixed with scandal, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) is your man. This bad boy lived in society’s underbelly, a lifestyle that led to bar fights and even murder. His “day job” as a painter of baroque canvases was another extreme: He was a favorite of none other than Pope Clement VIII. Caravaggio’s works rarely travel outside Italy, but the Speed Art Museum has scored a coup. They will be exhibiting “The Fortune Teller,” usually housed in the Capitoline Museums in Rome. This limited viewing lets us see one of the few works by Caravaggio to have made its way to the United States. After its stop here, it will travel (along with the Speed’s “Dice Players” by Nicolas Tournier) to the National Gallery of Canada for their upcoming exhibition “Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome.” —Jo Anne Triplett
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