Archive for the 'Events & Expos' Category

Hookers Meeting in Louisville, Kentucky Cross Ohio River to Visit Stripes Exhibit

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on September 20, 2009
in Events & Expos
. 0 Comments

Flower by Setsuko Fukuda, Kokubunji City, Tokyo Japan

Rug hookers, that is.  Here’s a Post Script to this Saturday’s Herald-Leader Inside/Out feature story about Rug Hooking. (Click HERE to read the original feature article.)   The P.S.: If you’re interested in rug hooking , there is also an international exhibit up at the Carnegie Center in New Albany, Indiana.  which is just across the river from Louisville.  If you go to the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists’ (ATHA) show in Louisville this coming weekend, it’s just a short jump away.  The exhibit up at the Carnegie Center  in New Albany is called Stripes, which is a world-class, travelling Japanese-American collaboration of 56 rugs on display now through the month of October. What can you create using stripes?  A variety of ideas can be seen in this show. If you time it right, while your there you can also visit the Cat House Rugs shop in nearby Floyd’s Knobs, Indiana, too.  Click on the following links to find more information:

Stripes Exhibit Carnegie Center for Art and History  201 E. Spring St., New Albany ; (812) 944-7336.  Open now through October 24,10 a.m.-5:30 p.m, Tuesday through Saturday,.  Free.

Cat House Rugs  4106 Andrew Dr., Floyds Knobs, Indiana; (812) 923-0200 

 ATHA Biennial Convention at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Naturalist, Illustrator . . . You?

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on August 1, 2009
in Events & Expos and The Arboretum
. 0 Comments

I’m often overcome by the urge to slow down, look more closely at little things, and examine the natural world around me.  That’s why I’m glad to hear artist Olivia Marie Braida-Chiusano is returning to The Arboretum on Alumni Drive to hold a 4-day watercolor workshop, August 23-7.

In this digital age, where images are created by machines using electronic impulses with mathematical precision, it seems an anachronism to celebrate the low-tech act of a person pulling paint across paper.  Yet that is just what Olivia finds fascinating.  Discovering the study of botanical art in the French court tradition set her on a course of learning, researching, creating and teaching the act of making realistic images of plants and even insects.  She has visited London, and gained access to original drawings by the Viennese Bauer brothers that date from the late 1700s, and the Lindley Library to study William Hooker’s art; in Paris, her attention turned to a collection of illustrations known collectively as the Vélins du Roi, from naturalist Daniel Rabel’s early studies in the 1500s to Pierre-Joseph Redouté’s famous roses in the 1800s.  You can see some of her own work at The Academy of Botanical Art.  My first watercolor last year was an artichoke.  This year, I hear they’re working on pears.

If You Go . . . Botanical Art in the French Court Tradition workshop, The Arboretum, 500 Alumni Dr. ; 9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. daily, August 24-27;  Required pre-registration (859) 257-9339.  Tuition: $475, or $450 for Friends of the Arboretum, plus an $8 materials fee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Share/Save/Bookmark

Horse & Gardens * Getting Ready for the 2010 WEG at the Kentucky Horse Park

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on July 30, 2009
in Events & Expos and Kentucky Horse Park
. 0 Comments

No doubt, the Kentucky Horse Park is alive with events, new arenas and museum space, and a renewed sense of purpose with the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games just over a year away.  If you haven’t seen visited the park in a while, you will be surprised at the changes, which only begin with the entrance landscaping, still a work-in-progress.

This week, Vaulting events took the center stage at the new indoor arena, sponsored by the American Vaulting Association and WEG2010 Foundation.  Remember the old pommel horse in gym class?  Here, the horses are real and on the move.  In the discipline called vaulting, the horse canters around a circular arena at the end of a longe line, directed by a person called a team member called a longeur who stands in the circle’s center.  The vaulters perform dance or gymnastics elements to music while atop the moving horse; riders leap to mount and dismount without using stirrups.  As with other arena settings, greenery and flowers create a pastoral atmosphere, lining the circle and accessways.  From its origins with the ancient Minoan culture, to today’s practice at the Kentucky Hose park, this combination of grace and athleticism is a work of art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the same time, other classic equestrian activities can be spotted, from Draft Horse demos, to Rocky Mountain Horses with western appeal and quick-stops to U.S. Pony Club flag games, and more.  As Executive Director John Nicholson says of the upcoming World Equestrian Games, “We plan to celebrate the horse in the same way as we do every day, just on a larger scale.”   If hoof beats get your heart beating, catch a sneak preview of what’s happening right now in 2009 at the Kentucky Horse Park.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Community Garden Tour & Potluck Dinner

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on July 24, 2009
in Events & Expos, General chronological posting and Organizations
. 0 Comments

Lexington’s 3rd annual Community Garden Tour, which you can read about  at SustainLex.org, will be held on July 30th.  Check out the information and register for the event there. In addition to the starting and dinner location at The Rock/La Roca United Methodist Church on North Limestone, a bus tour will make the rounds of 5 other gardens.  Organizer Jim Embry likes to call community gardens “Gardens of Eatin’”. 

The idea of growing your own food has gained popularity in recent years, but gardening as a spiritual exercise has deep cultural roots.  A couple years ago, Fayette County Master Gardener John Murray  wrote a moving essay about what gardening means to him.  I’ve been saving it for just the right moment to share.  Click A Way to Peace of Mind to read the essay.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Bone Appetit in Woodford… People Cuisine, Too!

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on July 13, 2009
in Book Look and Events & Expos
. 0 Comments
The Woodford Humane Society’s Bone Appetit fundraiser will be Friday night. The featured speaker is Christopher Hirsheimer, a founding force in creating Saveur magazine and co-author of a brand new series of seasonal cookbooks with Melissa Hamilton called Canal House Cooking.  Volume No 1 may  inspire you to navigate deeper culinary waters in preparing meals with the fresh summer herbs and vegetables so abundant in home gardens right now.  A guidebook to all the fun stuff summer cooking entails, from drinks in ‘It’s Always Five O’Clock Somewhere’ through grilling, ways to use oil & vinegar, and my favorite “Too Many Tomatoes’, not only are recipes included, but also ways to do things like make simple syrup, preserve lemons and make your own little toasts for appetizers. The recipes read like notes from your best friend, the one who knows what to do with zuccinis and whose dinners you’ve vowed never to miss because they’re so delicious, and down-home, easy-does-it comfortable. 
And, there’s more …  Plans are in the works for three seasonally-oriented volumes a year: Summer, Fall & Holiday and Winter & Spring.  Charter members can purchase all three volumes for a subscription price of $49.95.  Find details at the Canal House Web-site by clicking HERE.
 If you go local…
Hirsheimer will be visiting the Bluegrass this week as the featured speaker at the Woodford Humane Society’s Bone Appetit at Pin Oak Farm on Friday evening, July 17th. Part of Freedom Fest Celebration, which runs from a preview party July 16th until the Fest gala on the 18th; see the Web-site for details.  Hirsheimer will also sign books at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Lexington Green on Saturday, July 18th at 4 p.m.: Click the highlighted links for more information.

Share/Save/Bookmark

The Whatzit #2 Solution …

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on June 21, 2009
in Events & Expos, Kentucky Horse Park and Weekly Whatzit
. 3 Comments

Today there are only 460 days until the 2010 Alltech World Equestrian Games begin in the Bluegrass.  This Whatzit is on the way there.  As Bob Perry commented, the rocks ascending this wall are actually stair steps, which allow people to climb over the fence easily; they lead to a small, enclosed cemetery dating from the mid-1800s created by the Gorham family, which once owned the land here on Newtown Pike.  The stone walls along this section of the road were recently rebuilt, but this section was left untouched.  So much for history.  Let’s look to the present and future.  Despite the spacious, bucolic beauty of wide rolling green fields, there’s a lot happening over that rock wall.  On the way to the Kentucky Horse Park, this area is part of a UK College of Agriculture research farm, close to a  water quality riparian buffer zone project on Cane Run creek, as well as the new Legacy Trail, a multi-use pathway that will connect the Kentucky Horse Park and downtown Lexington.  With the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games around the corner, this section of the highway represents the beauty of the Bluegrass well, and is a sign of some positive positive progress.  Click on the underlined links to find out more about each organization.  *************************The Whatzit #2 question:  This one’s more of a Wherezit, because if you know that, you probably know the Whatzit of it, too.  How closely do you pay attention to detal as you cruise around the Bluegrass, enjoying the classic look of dry stone walls?  This sections, however, is mortared.  For Whatzit used?

Share/Save/Bookmark

Mountain Laurel Festival: Traditional Elegance

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on May 25, 2009
in Events & Expos and Mountain Laurel
. 1 Comment

This weekend marked the crowning of a new Mountain Laurel Queen at Laurel Cove in the Pine Mountain State Resort Park near Pineville.  Since 1931, the folks in Bell County have been mixing together the awesome splendor of pink and white mountain laurel in bloom against the deep greens of a forest setting in a natural hillside ampitheatre, with some beautiful young women and children dressed in pink, white, and green formals for the ceremony. to create a magical, serendipitous moment.  It made me remember what being a flower princess was all about.  Just lovely.

You can find more information about the festival and its history HERE.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Down to Earth Plant Sale Goes Native

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on April 22, 2009
in Events & Expos, General chronological posting and Organizations
. 2 Comments



One of my favorite plant sales is the annual Down to Earth Garden Club’s May event.  There are great native plants at really reasonable prices, and the club uses their profit for donations to local garden-related clubs. 

This year, the sale will be held rain or shine on May 9, 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Woodland Christian Church parking lot, 530 E. High St. in Lexington.  In addition to herbs, vegetables, hostas and iris, the list of some of the perennials that will be available includes Grey Headed Coneflower, Switchgrass ‘Heavy Metal’, Great Blue Lobelia, Small’s penstemon, native columbine, yellow columbine, cranesbill geranium, New England aster, bluestar, wood poppy, wild ginger, downy scullcap, lyre-leaved sage ‘purple knockout’, Carolina allspice, sweet coneflower, purple coneflower, blazing star, spiderwort, purple poppy mallow, tall phlox ‘Eva Cullem’.

Check out the club’s Web-site at www.downtoearthky.org for up-to-date information.

 Member and organizer Jannine Baker writes: In 2008, we raised almost more money than the previous three years combined!  As a result, we donated garden carts and cash totalling $2100 to the following community groups:
Walnut Woods restoration at the Arboretum
Port Royal Neighborhood Assoc for the Roanoke Greenway project
Squires Elementary
Sandersville Elementary
Community Gardens
Floracliff Nature Sanctuary
Women’s Prison Garden Project
Legacy Trail
In addition, we will be using money raised to help us continue to improve and maintain the perennial garden at the Waveland State Historic Site, our club’s ongoing Civic Project.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Blue Grass Trust: Antiques & Garden Show

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on February 26, 2009
in Events & Expos
. 0 Comments

Judith Miller

Mary Palmer Dargan

Pretty in pink dogwood and new leaf green, invitations to the Blue Grass Trust Antiques & Garden Show are a reminder that winter is almost over, and spring is on the horizon. 

None too soon! 

The show at Keeneland opens March 13, and continues on the 14th and 15th.  Check the website for detailed information about events, social gatherings, reservations and admission fees.  Featured speakers include internationally acclaimed author Judith Miller, whose antiques guides have become annual collectibles in themselves; and landscape architect Mary Palmer Dargan, whose re-creations of 18th and 19th century gardens in Charleston, South Carolina, you might have already experienced.  Complimentary speakers, like Mark Henkle who knows his heirloom tomatoes and David Swayer’s orchid repotting workshop, offer ideas you can put to use right away.   There is always a great group of exhibitors with antiques, green goods, and home & garden accessories to explore.  Proceeds benefit the Blue Grass Trust for Historic Preservatiion.

Share/Save/Bookmark

Bluegrass Has a Ball in Washington

Published
by
Susan Smith-Durisek
on January 22, 2009
in Events & Expos and General chronological posting
. 0 Comments

It was all about the Bluegrass Ball in D.C. on Inauguration eve.               The Bourbon Trail reception that welcomed party-goers in to the festivities was warm,  relaxed and started off the evening by setting an easy-going  atmosphere; the Kentucky Bourbon Producers also supplied spirits for soaking cherries in the desserts.  The dinner planned by Louisville’s Proof on Main chef Michael Paley included locally grown and raised Bibb lettuce from Louisville’s Grateful Greens, bison from the Kentucky Bison Company in Goshen, striped bass from Bluefin Seafood in Louisville and country ham from Newsome’s Country Hams in Paducah.  The stars were shining brightly for about 1400 Kentuckians and their guests, as Muhammed Ali and wife Lonnie, Ashley Judd, and Phyllis George with daughter Pamela Brown took the stage, and as our elected political figures led some singing. 

The charm of the setting was enhanced by the lush and brightly colored floral arrangements at each table.  Some were high, others low, and many sparkled with small lights.  

Behind the scenes, volunteers from the Kentucky Society of Washington had been working with UK College of Agriculture’s floriculture specialist Sharon Bale for two days, creating some magnificient masterpieces and then transporting them to tables for the event.  After driving a passenger van packed to the roof with flowers from Lexington to D.C., a crew was waiting to unload, unpack and begin to reorganize into an on-the-fly workshop.  The first job was to create over 100 pave balls by lining spheres of Oasis, which is a water-holding florists’ foam, with rosebuds and and mums. The effect was stunning, and in the enormous ballroom of the Wardman Park Marriott, they appeared to be bright spots of color floating above the black tablecloths.  Next, tall acrylic towers were topped with curly willow branches illuminated by small, battery-powered lights,  and hung with orchids and lilies grown at Sullivan Farms in Rough River which created almost a tropical forest atmosphere overhead.  Finally, floral rings were filled with flowers and more tiny lights to glow at table level. 

Everything came together beautifully Monday afternoon, and when the Ball began, and dignitaries walked down the sweeping stairway into the darkened hall, they seemed to be walking through a starlit forest.  From all the volunteers who worked so hard to pull the event together, you could hear a sigh of relief as My Old Kentucky Home was sung once more.

Share/Save/Bookmark