Bike Lexington Commuter Challenge Winners Announced
Nearly 30 Lexington businesses vied for the “Golden Cranks” awards during the 2013 Bike Lexington Commuter Challenge.
Participants were asked to record every work or errand-related trip made by bicycle during Bike Month in May. By the end of the month, participants logged 2,833 bicycle trips and rode more than 12,000 miles.
Businesses competed in one of four categories based on the size of the company.
The winners: POHL ROSA POHL architecture + design took first place in the small business category with an average of 32.4 trips per employee, the highest average of all winning businesses.
Defending their 2012 title, the winner in the medium business category was the University of Kentucky Department of Statistics, with 12.15 trips per employee.
The large business with the most bicycle trips was Good Foods Market & Café. They made 8.78 trips per employee.
UK Healthcare Trauma Surgical Services is the winning group in the extra large category, with an average of 1.25 bicycle commuter trips per employee.
11th Annual Minority Business Expo to kick off
The Lexington Bluegrass Area Minority Business Expo will have its 11th installment on Aug. 1 and 2, providing an opportunity for minority and female business owners to showcase their products and services to government procurement officers and corporate buyers at the Lexington Center.
Approximately 60 minority and women-owned businesses will be showcased throughout the event, along with general session and panel discussions.
During the day, there will be breakout sessions that will address a variety of topics intended to help minority businesses. This year for the first time, a session will be conducted in Spanish.
Sessions include: Secrets to Success for Solopreneurs; Business Basics: Scared Straight; Conceptos Basicos de Negocios; Are You Looking for a New Love? Finding New Markets Online; How to Access Billions of Dollars in Federal Contracts; and Youth Sessions.
The keynote speaker at this year’s expo luncheon will be Dr. Farrah Gray, a self-made entrepreneur and best-selling author. Raised in the impoverished south side of Chicago, he defied the odds to become a millionaire at the age of 14.
To reserve an exhibit space, call (859)382-9501 or register at www.lexingtonmbe.com/ Register.
Home chef competition and other events are appetizers to Crave Lexington food festival
To kick off Lexington’s first outdoor food and music festival, organizers of Crave Lexington are rolling out a series of mini-events to whet the palate before the main course on Sept. 21–22 at MoonDance at Midnight Pass amphitheater in Beaumont Circle.
Crave Lexington is a Smiley Pete Publishing production.
In July, locals who know their way around the kitchen are encouraged to enter the Crave Best Home Chef Competition, which seeks to honor the best made-from-scratch chef through a recipe and cooking challenge. The top three recipes will be chosen, and a one-hour challenge will take place at Sullivan University Culinary School, where a panel of the area’s top chefs will choose the best home chef. The winner will be cooking on the Crave Lexington main stage and have his or her winning recipe featured at the festival.
August brings a collaborative pop-up event with Chamber Music Festival at West Sixth Brewery and Crave Lexington Sunday Fare, a pass-the-plate brunch at MoonDance. On Aug. 17, Crave presents a Chamber Music Festival, West Sixth Brewery and mobile food-truck collaboration featuring a musically inspired menu by Fork in the Road Mobile Gallery. Crave Lexington Sunday Fare, on Aug. 25, teams food trucks and top area chefs to produce a sit-down, pass-the-plate brunch at MoonDance (seating is limited to 100).
During Crave Lexington’s food and music makers’ festival, 60 diverse cuisine vendors will serve small-plate ticketed foods along variations of a trail theme, such as the Dumpling Trail, On a Stick Trail, Pickled Trail, Seasonal Trail and Soaked Trail. The festival will also include cooking demonstrations and workshops for children.
Unique in music-festival programming, Crave Lexington is free and open for all ages. The stage will feature a variety of genres, including Americana, bluegrass, Bollywood, gospel, blues and rock.
There will be a ticketed Sunday brunch on the festival grounds. Limited to 500, the breakfast menu is by Chef Jeremy Ashby, Azur Restaurant & Patio and host of Food News & Chews TV Show.
For more information about the festival and its satellite events, please visit www.cravelexington.com.
Almost $450 million in Fayette County real estate sold in first half of 2013
Residential real estate sales by members of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of Realtors (LBAR) reported 2,327 sales totaling $449,586,161 through June 30.
During the first half of 2013, sales increased 27 percent, from 1,830 to 2,327 sales reported closed. The median sales price increased three percent for the same time period, from $155,000 to $160,000.
Churchill Downs closes on Maine casino
Churchill Downs Inc. has completed its purchase of the Oxford Casino in Oxford, Maine. The approximately $160 million deal follows the approval of the transaction by the Maine Gambling Control Board.
Oxford, which opened in June 2012, has already undergone an expansion that was completed in October. The casino has a 25,000 square foot gaming floor with 790 slot machines and 22 table games, according to a release from Churchill.