Lexington, KY - Fall is often considered the best time of the year to be a sports fan - the weather is cool enough for a tailgate, but warm enough to actually watch the game without chattering teeth; the NFL and college football are in full swing (opening game for the Wildcats is Sept. 5); the NBA begins its long (long) arduous march to next summer's playoffs; for those who still care, the World Series will close out October; and most importantly, Big Blue Madness inaugurates college basketball season (Oct. 16). But fall is also the time of year when all the various arts organizations announce their schedules and programming for the upcoming year. Not entertainment of the gladiatorial nature, but entertainment nonetheless.
In this month's issue, Saraya Brewer and I have compiled a hefty listing of many local groups' and organizations' upcoming seasons of programming for our Fall Arts Preview (don't be fooled by the name, this isn't a seasonal directory, the list encompasses the entire year for many categories). From visual arts to music to stage presentations, we've listed the schedules from nearly 20 different entities, and we've undoubtedly forgotten one or two, but the selection palette is wide and diverse - there's probably even something in there for the diehard sports fan.
If you're a true patron of the arts, hopefully our list will be something you hold on to and consult throughout the year. If you're fastidious about your social engagements, with a dash of OCD, you could probably stencil in your weekend (and possibly weekday) engagements from now to next September. Even if curtain calls or gallery previews are anathema to you, I hope you make the time to attend at least one of the events listed. Just like athletes, artists and performers like spectators in the seats.
Also in this issue, writer Alex Brooks takes us to the hamlet of Monterey, Ky., to visit Gray Zeitz, the owner and operator of Larkspur Press - a small publishing company dedicated to creating fine books. As a letterpress man himself (Brooks' company here in Lexington is called press eight seventeen), the insight the author gives to Larkspur's archaic, but precious, method of printing is poignant and precise. In a world of iPhones, Blackberries, Kindles and Amazon.com, it's refreshing to know that people like Zeitz are still out there doing the work Gutenberg pioneered over 500 years ago, and having fun doing it - not to mention making a living.
A few miles south of Monterey will take you to Frankfort, and the site of another of our feature stories in this issue. Earlier in August a few of us here at the magazine got a chance to take a walk through the revitalized historic Old Governor's Mansion - the former home to 33 Kentucky governors and 10 lieutenant governors. In television lingo, the executive residence got an "Extreme Makeover" from a cast of over 300 volunteer participants from across the state. Instead of being a walk through history, a stroll through the home is a gallery of contemporary talents now. Rejuvenated in anticipation of being a guesthouse to dignitaries during the World Equestrian Games, the residence will be open to the public for tours following September's Kentucky Mansion Celebration.