SPOTLIGHT: BLESSING OF THE BEER AND ST. PATRICK’S PARADE
The Ancient Order of Hibernians’ St. Patrick’s Day celebrations begin Thursday, March 7 with the Blessing of the Beer from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., starting with a tour of Bluegrass Brewing Company’s brewery at Main and Clay streets. For this event, the BBC features a special keg of Bourbon Barrel Stout that’s been aged for about five years. The keg – accompanied by a piper and all the Hibernians in single file – is marched to O’Shea’s Irish Pub, 956 Baxter Ave., where it is tapped. Father Joe Fowler will bless all the kegs used at O’Shea’s for the parade celebration. The 40th Annual St. Patrick’s Parade takes place Saturday, March 9 at 3 p.m. It starts on the corner of Baxter Avenue and Broadway, and proceeds along the Baxter/Bardstown Road corridor. As many as 50,000 people watched or marched in last year’s parade. The Grand Marshal will be the Irish Person of the Year, selected by the AOH. And don’t miss the Wearin’ of the Green Party, Friday, March 15, 7:30 p.m., at Mellwood Art Center, 1860 Mellwood Ave. (see detailed listing, pg. 11). For more information, visit www.louisvilleirish.com or call (502) 589-7373. (Highlands/Clifton)
FRIDAY, MARCH 1
21st ANNUAL SHOW OF SHOWS
Kentucky Fair and Expo Center, 937 Phillips Lane, 9 a.m.-6 p.m., $10 (Free for children under 18 when accompanied by an adult). The 21st Annual Show of Shows is the world’s largest military show. It takes place Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2. Guests can meet U.S. veterans and buy, sell or trade their items while browsing 1,965 tables that showcase an assortment of military antiques including uniforms, photographs, weapons, helmets, medals, documents, books and more. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or www.sosovms.com. (Fairgrounds)
OPEN HANDS WELLNESS CLINIC
Grace Immanuel United Church of Christ, 1612 Story Ave., 10 a.m.-Noon, Free. Empty Vessels Healing Ministries presents the Open Hands Wellness Clinic, which is open every day for the next year. Services include acupuncture, massage therapy and zero balancing. Cranial sacral therapy is available on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Care is provided by licensed and certified therapists. For more information, contact Rev. Karen Barth at (502) 641-6169 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. (Butchertown)
MATTHEW RONAY
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main St., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Tues.-Fri.) and 11a.m.-5 p.m. (Sat.-Sun.), $5-$6. The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft presents internationally exhibited artist and Louisville native Matthew Ronay, a contemporary artist based in Brooklyn, New York whose work has been featured in numerous solo exhibitions in Spain, Germany, Denmark, the U.K., New York, Los Angeles and San Antonio. Masterfully skilled, Ronay uses a diverse variety of materials (walnut, pine, driftwood and painted cloth, with touches of leather and gold leaf) to create elaborate sculptures evoking elements of ritual and fantasy. The exhibition will be on view through May 5. For more information, visit www.kentuckyarts.org or call (502) 589-0102. (Downtown)
SCHOLASTIC ART AWARDS EXHIBITION
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main St., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Tues.-Fri.) and 11a.m.-5 p.m. (Sat.-Sun.), $5-$6. The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards is the most prestigious recognition program in the nation for creative teenage students in grades 7 through 12. The Scholastic Art Awards are administered within the Louisville metropolitan region by Jefferson County Public Schools with support from the Fund for the Arts and the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. This exhibition, held on the third floor Brown-Forman Gallery, showcases the work of the Gold Key winners and the five American Visions nominees. The work will be on display until March 3. For more information, visit www.kentuckyarts.org or call (502) 589-0102. (Downtown)
TEMPTATION, CAROUSING AND ADULTERY: A LENTEN RETREAT
Ursuline Motherhouse, 3115 Lexington Road, 7 p.m., $40 for commuters/$50 for overnight guests. Tempted by power and wealth? Looking for love in all the wrong places? It’s not a soap opera, but stories about people and the lessons their lives still teach us. The retreat takes place March 1-2. Facilitators are Sr. Colette Kraemer, Sr. Rosella McCormick and Ginny Schaeffer. For more information, or to register, call (502) 896-3945 or visit www.amcspirituality.org. (Crescent Hill)
NIGHT OF GAMING
Market Street Barbers, 748 E. Market St., 7 p.m.-11 p.m., Free. “Shave and a Haircut, 8-Bit” is an event to introduce Louisville to locally developed video games. Hosted by Southern Indiana-based Mommy’s Best Games, the night will feature their Serious Sam Double D XXL on Xbox 360 Live Arcade, plus games from developers Forest Giant, Merged Reality, FrogDice, Super Soul, Studio Cypher, Hoosier Games, and Basilisk Games – all available for free play on consoles, mobile devices and PCs. Developers will offer game tips and answer production questions. For more information, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
or visit www.tinyurl.com/8bithaircut. (Downtown)
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
The American Printing House for the Blind, 1839 Frankfort Ave., 7 p.m., Free. The American Printing House for the Blind will offer two free performances of “Much Ado About Nothing,” March 1-2, both days at 1 p.m. In reader’s theater there are no costumes or sets. The actors do not memorize lines, but sit together onstage and read from a script, using vocal expression to help the audience understand the story. In this instance, most of the readers are blind and read from braille scripts. The program is best for adults and children ages 12 and up. Space is limited; reservations must be made. To reserve your space, call (502) 899-2213 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
. (Clifton)
ALICE IN BLACK AND WHITE
Kentucky Center for the Arts (MeX Theatre), 501 Main St., Times vary, $18 ($15 students/seniors). Looking for Lilith celebrates Women’s History Month with a world premiere, “Alice in Black and White” by New York-based playwright Robin Rice Lichtig. Alice Austen (1866-1952) fell in love with photography and another woman at a time when young women were expected to do neither. The play captures the highs and lows of Austen’s life and love. This event takes place March 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 and 9. For performance times and more information, visit www.lookingforlilith.org. (Downtown)
MOUNTAINS AND SHEDDING
Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, 715 W. Main St., 8 p.m., Free. Brooklyn-based ambient/experimental rock duo Mountains will perform with Louisville’s Shedding in a special performance for the First Friday Gallery Hop. Thrill Jockey Records’ Mountains was formed by longtime friends Brendon Anderegg and Koen Holtkamp while attending the Art Institute of Chicago. Mountains’ music is defined by slow builds, and subtle transformations, textures and melodic lines that evolve in a variety of ways to create grand soundscapes and acutely detailed compositions. More info at www.kentuckyarts.org or (502) 589-0102. (Downtown)
SATURDAY, MARCH 2
SOLES 4 U ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Soles 4 U, 1827 Bardstown Road (Rear), 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Free. Soles 4 U is a unique boutique that offers women’s shoes in large sizes, plus handbags, jewelry and accessories. The store is celebrating its one-year anniversary with special discounts throughout the day and a party later in the evening. Come join Soles 4 U for food, drinks, music and door prizes. More info at www.soles4u.net. (Highlands)
TUESDAY, MARCH 5
APPROPRIATE
Actors Theatre, 316 W. Main St., 7:30 p.m., $25. The 37th Humana Festival of New American Plays continues with Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ “Appropriate,” directed by Gary Griffin. When three siblings descend upon a former plantation to liquidate their dead father’s estate, a disturbing discovery among his possessions brings a heated family reunion to an outright boil. The play is about family secrets, memory loss and the art of repression. For more information, visit www.actorstheatre.org or call (502) 584-1205. (Downtown)