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Fest of Ales
Sept. 6 • Fifth Third Pavilion, 215 E. Main St. • www.lexfestofales.com
After taking a year off in 2018, this craft beer festival will return to the Fifth Third Pavilion this fall. More than 35 local and regional craft breweries will be featured; admission includes 20 tasting tickets, live music and a commemorative cup. A VIP option that includes a “beers and bites” event and after-party at Limestone Hall is also available.
Lexington Roots & Heritage Festival
Sept. 6-8 • Elm Tree Lane www.rootsfestky.com
Several city blocks are blocked off along Elm Tree Lane for this annual festival celebrating cultural diversity in Lexington. The festival will feature live music, a kids’ festival, a heritage parade, food, beverage and craft vendors and more.
St. Andrew Orthodox Church Annual Heritage Festival
Sept. 7-8 • St. Andrew Orthodox Church, 1136 Higbee Mill Road • www.standrewlexington.org
The 29th annual Heritage Festival presented by St. Andrew Orthodox Church will celebrate the cultural heritage of the Middle East and Eastern Europe with homemade food and live music. The two-day event will also feature Middle Eastern, Slavic and Irish dance performances, choir concerts, a silent auction, a bookstore and more.
Josephine Sculpture Park Fall Arts Festival
Sept. 8, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. 3355 Lawrenceburg Road, Frankfort • josephinesculpturepark.org
The Josephine Sculpture Park Fall Arts Festival aims to let attendees create, experience and witness the creation of art among a community of fellow art lovers. Now in its 10th year, this year’s event will include work and demonstrations from Brooklyn artist Heather Hart and California-based artist Sherwin Rio in addition to workshops and demonstrations such as paper making with Joanne Price of Starpointe Studio, printmaking with Hound Dog Press, stone carving by Jason Kelty and more.
Scarefest Horror & Paranormal Convention
Sept. 12-15 • Lexington Convention Center, 430 West Vine St. • www.thescarefest.com
The nation’s largest horror and paranormal convention, Scarefest brings celebrities, entertainers and horror fans together for a popular four-day event. Hosted by Ghost Chasers International, the 12th annual event features exhibits, vendors, seminars and meet-and-greets with celebrities of the horror, sci-fi or paranormal genre. This year, special guests include actor and director Bruce Campbell, Linda Blair from “The Exorcist,” and many more. Visit the event website for the full lineup, event times and other details.
Kentucky Ukulele Festival
Sept. 13-15 • ArtsPlace, 161 N. Mill St. • www.kyuke.com
Ukulele enthusiasts and any individual interested in the instrument are invited to attend this third annual eventosted by KYUke, a ukulele-advocacy organization. The festival will host workshops geared toward ukulele players of all levels, with topics ranging from fingerpicking and jazz techniques to duets and ear training, plus performances from Maryland duo Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, Kansas City duo Victor & Penny, Four String Fiasco and more.
Chinese Moon Festival
Sept. 14 • Moondance Amphitheater of Beaumont Centre Circle, 1152 Monarch St. • www.kycaa.org
Presented by the Kentucky Chinese American Association, this annual afternoon/evening event features a talent show with Chinese dances and music, free samples of mooncakes in a variety of flavors, Chinese crafts, a “Best fresh Mooncake” competition, and more. 4-8 p.m.
The annual Latino Fest brings thousands of people downtown each year for a massive celebration of Latino culture. This year’s event takes place Sept. 14-15. Photo by Parry Barrows
Latino Fest
Sept. 14-15 • Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza, 120 N. Limestone St. • www.lexingtonky.gov
Presented by Lexington Parks & Recreation and the Foundation for Latin American and Latino Culture and Arts, this annual two-day celebration of Latino culture features live music, dance, visual arts and authentic cuisine. Friday night is dubbed “tropical night” and will feature authentic Latino foods, live music and dancing.
Expansion Fest
Sept. 14-15 • Cosmic Charlie’s (601 N. Limestone St.) and The Burl (405 Thompson Road) • www.expansionlex.com
This two-day psych rock-oriented music festival is organized by the force behind local music blog Dead Audio Blog. Designed to celebrate surreal and alternative art and music and to introduce new artists to the Lexington community, the multi-venue festival will present a lineup of local and nationally touring acts as well as retro liquid light shows from Silver Cord Cinema, trippy glitched-out projections from Psensibil and more. The music line-up includes Deakin (Animal Collective member), doom psych rockers Ruby the Hatchet, and dreamy beach pop from Sugar Candy Mountain, as well as local standouts Sweet Country Meat Boys, Leaden Verse, Seahags and more.
Christ the King Oktoberfest
Sept. 20-21 • Cathedral of Christ The King, 299 Colony Blvd. • www.ctkoktoberfest.com
Taking place in the parking lot of Christ The King Church for over 30 years, this annual fall festival features fun for all ages, with live music, kids’ games, a celebrity cake wheel, inflatables, Bingo, blackjack and more. The event also features German food and other options from a variety of food and beverage vendors.
Japan Summer Festival
Sept. 21 • Robert F. Stephens Courthouse Plaza, 120 N. Limestone St. • www.jask.org
This annual festival offers an opportunity to experience Japanese culture in the heart of downtown Lexington through activities such as origami, Japanese games, Sumo Taiken (simulated sumo wrestling) and more. The festival will also feature Japanese food and drink vendors and marketplaces.
Tahlsound Music Festival
Sept. 21-22 • Oleika Great Temple Great Lawn • 326 Southland Drive • www.tahlsound.com
Organized by a collective of local musicians, this community-oriented music festival now is expanding to two days this year. Taking place on a lawn tucked away behind Oleika Temple, the event features an eclectic mix of mostly local bands, including Erika Wennerstrom (Heartless Bastards), Horse Feathers, Letters of Acceptance, Sour Cream, Restless Leg String Band, Italian Beaches and more. The festival also features interactive family-friendly activities, craft beer and local and regional food merchants.
Kentucky Hemp Harvest Festival
Oct. 5 • Downtown Winchester • www.kyhempharvestfest.com
This first-year, family-friendly festival invites attendees to learn more about the burgeoning hemp industry, including uses of hemp, its history and its benefits to health, agriculture and sustainability. The event will feature vendors, panel discussions, screenings of the film “Hemp for Victory” and a street festival on Main Street in Winchester. Visit the website for the full schedule of events and more information.
Tree Week
Oct. 12-19 • Various locations • www.tinyurl.com/treeweek2019
This second annual week-long event produced by The Urban Forest Initiative will celebrate Lexington’s trees and the many ways they impact our lives. Participants can take part in a variety of free activities that include the Lexington Cemetery Tree Walk, outdoor yoga beneath trees, tree planting at the Arboretum, DIY art projects, a walk-and-talk event at Springhouse Gardens, group hiking trips, bike tours and much more. Visit the website for the full schedule of events and more information.
The Moonshiner’s Ball
Oct. 10-13 • Rockcastle Riverside, Livingston, Kentucky • www.themoonshinersball.com
Now in its sixth year, the regional music festival The Moonshiner’s Ball returns to the Rockcastle County venue Rockcastle Riverside for a weekend of music, camping and fun for all ages. With an informal tagline “folk by day, funk by night,” the festival features a diverse and robust lineup of local and national musical acts, with headliners that include Sinkane, a Sudanese-American artist who blends elements of krautrock, prog rock, electronica and funk; high-energy Nashville alt-country songwriter Rayland Baxter; and progressive rock fusion band Tauk. Also performing will be Brass Against, a nine-piece horn band that focuses on funked-out covers of protest songs and other anthems by artists like Rage Against the Machine, Tool, Living Colour and more; rising songwriter and fiddle-player Lillie Mae; popular bluegrass group The Wooks; Senora May; Bendigo Fletcher; Good Morning Bedlam and more. The family-friendly, BYOB festival was created by the Lexington-based band Blind Corn Liquor Pickers, and features camping, yoga, food trucks, nature walks and other activities in addition to three days of live music. The festival gates will open Thursday, Oct. 10, with Johnny Conqueroo and the Baja Yetis performing that evening. Tickets, full line-up and more information is available at the event website.
New Frontiers Event Series at Transylvania University
Transylvania University • 300 North Broadway • 859-233-8300 • www.transyedu/events
This multi-discinplinary event series initiated in 2018 invites the public to go beyond the familiar and explore ideas, art and music on the campus of Transylvania University. The 2019-20 season focuses on the university’s year-long campus theme of “resilience.” Events in the series are free and open to the public, though some events require reservations. A full schedule of the 2019-20 New Frontiers season is available online.
The Art of Kentucky Literature: 45 Years of Larkspur Press.
On display Sept. 3-Oct. 31. Presented in conjunction with the Morlan Gallery, this exhibit celebrates the 45th anniversary of Larkspur Press – a literary publishing house based in Monterey, Kentucky, with an emphasis on letterpress printing – and explores the significant influence the press has had on printing and literature in Kentucky and beyond. J. Douglas Gay Jr./Frances Carrick Thomas Library).
Transylvania University’s Studio 300: Digital Art and Music Festival takes place Oct. 3-4. Photo furnished
Studio 300: Digital Art and Music Festival.
Oct. 3-4. This annual festival, which explores creative manifestations of technology through concerts and exhibitions of digital art and music, will feature concerts in Haggin Auditorium; an off-campus concert at Al’s Bar; and multimedia gallery exhibits and installations in the Morlan Gallery and the online Studio 300 BYTE Gallery. Artists and musicians from Lexington and beyond will be represented throughout the submission-based programming, which includes a range of categories from electro-acoustic music, video music and late night club electro music, to digital performance, animation, and interactive web art. More details and a schedule will be available at http://studio300.transy.edu/.
Smith Concert Series: Kronos Quartet. Jan. 28 (7 p.m.). For 45 years, San Francisco’s Kronos Quartet has pursued a singular artistic vision, combining a spirit of fearless exploration with a commitment to continually reimagine the string quartet experience. After kicking off the yearly Smith Concert series in 2007, the quartet will return for the 2020 show. Haggin Auditorium.
Kenan Lecture: Joy Harjo, U.S. Poet Laureate. March 18 (7:30 p.m.). In 2019, Joy Harjo was appointed the 23rd U.S. Poet Laureate – the first Native American named so. Harjo is an internationally known, award-winning poet, writer, and saxophone player of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation. She has authored nine books of poetry and a memoir. Haggin Auditorium.