ermantown, located approximately three miles southeast of downtown Louisville, was once a vast swathe farmland that was settled predominantly by Germans sometime in the 1870s. For most of its history, the Germantown, Schnitzelburg and Paristown neighborhoods as well as other nearby enclaves have been filled with the descendents of the original Louisville pioneers. Recently, however, other parts of Louisville have seeped into the neighborhood, creating a melting pot of people of all ages and cultures. It is a strange, unlikely confluence of young hipsters, artists, musicians, older working-class people and a few others in between.
Thats part of what makes this neighborhood so unique, said Tandee Ogburn, a Germantown inhabitant and co-founder of the Shotgun Festival. Its a really blue collar neighborhood and at the same time, a lot of young, successful people are moving in and renovating the older houses.
Ogburn said the idea for the festival came at a meeting of the German-Paristown Neighborhood Association. The Shotgun Festival, of course, is named for the style of housing that characterizes the area.
It started as a block party because the neighborhood is so different, she said. I wanted to get all the young people in with the people who have been there for generations.
The previous festival had a weirdly inspiring panoramic: men and women in their golden years scarfing hot dogs with their young, indie-rocking neighbors, talking and (evidently) having fun together.
It gives the community a chance to embrace all of their differences, Ogburn said. Jess Mahanes
The 2nd Annual Shotgun Festival
Jockamos Pizza Pub
Goss and Kreiger avenues
Saturday, June 28
noon-9 p.m.
All ages
This article appears in June 24, 2008.