2025 Lights on Main, Can’t-Miss Holiday Events at the Frazier, Sippin’ Paper Boats with O.H. Ingram, and More
It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . to visit the Frazier History Museum (which, we remind you, was recently named the Best Museum in Kentucky!).
Why now? Because the Frazier is glowing once again with Lights on Main, our third annual partnership with I Would Rather Be Reading—a local nonprofit that brings literacy and social-emotional learning to children across Louisville.
Six years ago, IWRBR started this magical tradition outdoors, and every year it just gets better.
Amazon kicked things off with its generous donation of trees.
All this week, local businesses and organizations will decorate with creativity and a little friendly competition. The result? More than one hundred Christmas trees transforming the museum into a twinkling winter wonderland. The exhibition will open to the public on Tuesday, November 25.
If you need a sign to visit, this is it! Your admission ticket includes all current exhibitions—Cool Kentucky, 120: Cool KY Counties, The Commonwealth: Divided we Fall, Davis Jewelers’ Love & Marriage, The Founder’s Gallery, The Stewart Historic Miniatures Gallery, Aflora, The Spirit of Kentucky®, The Lewis and Clark Experience, and KentuckyShow!—plus the one hundred uniquely decorated trees in Lights on Main.
This exhibition also features an opening party, a homeschool day, a free family day, a late-night Thursday, holiday activities with Santa and the Grinch, live music, Bearno’s pizza, Bourbon tastings, and more. Don’t forget to stop in the Museum Shop to find the perfect gift.
So, grab your crew, get in the holiday spirit, and make the Frazier part of your season’s traditions.
Keep reading to learn more about the Lights on Main opening party and late night to purchase your tickets. Plus, you can book your holiday party at the Frazier, learn about the cranberry scare of 1959, and meet American Pearl, the racehorse.
Mindy Johnson
VP of Operations
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
Three Can’t-Miss Lights on Main Events Coming in December
From November 25 to January 4, museum visitors can explore our Lights on Main exhibition! Plus, December will feature some family-friendly events:
Thursday, December 4. Lights on Main Opening Night Party, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
Cost: $12 Discounted Admission (Get Tickets)
Complimentary Tastings by Hop Atomica, Kentucky Peerless, O.H. Ingram, and Whiskey Row Bourbon. Bearno’s Sells Pizza. Cash Bar. Live Music by Magnolia Chamber Players. Pose 502 Photobooth. Tree Contest Award Winners Announced.
Sunday, December 14. Lights on Main Free Family Day Sponsored by Passport by Molina Healthcare, 9:30 a.m.–2 p.m.
Cost: Free!
Appearances by Santa (10–11:30 a.m.) and the Grinch (12–1:30 p.m.)! Aviation-Themed Crafts. Balloon Stylist Tenesha Marshall Creations. Pose 502 Photobooth. Cupcake Decorating. Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa Activities. If able, please bring a non-perishable food item for community partners as part of a holiday food drive.
Thursday, December 18. Lights on Main Late Night Thursday, 5:30–8:30 p.m.
Cost: $12 Discounted Admission (Get Tickets)
Complimentary Tastings by Angel’s Envy, Buzzard’s Roost, and Pursuit Spirits. Bearno’s Sells Pizza. Live Music by Christian Academy of Indiana (CAI) High School Chamber Singers. Additional Music Curated by Louisville Academy of Music.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Sippin’ with Stephen: Paper Boats with O.H. Ingram
This month’s guest on Sippin’ with Stephen is Rachel Harb, General Manager at the Ingram Distillery located in Columbus, Kentucky, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The Ingram Distillery produces the only whiskey in the world aged inside a floating barrelhouse on the Mississippi River. Here, their whiskies are exposed to the constant motion of the river along with its intense humidity and microclimate. This has a profound effect on the spirit and produces an extraordinary final product. In this episode, Rachel and I discuss the unique approach to making whiskey that Ingram Distillery takes which makes their product so tasty. In Sippin’ with Stephen tradition, we taste a delicious cocktail called the Paper Boat, the recipe for which is provided below. For additional information regarding Ingram Distillery, go to ingramwhiskey.com.
As a bonus, O.H. Ingram is a tree sponsor for our annual Lights on Main exhibition! They will be here at the museum serving tastings at the Lights on Main Opening Night Party on Thursday, December 4. Secure your tickets now!
Recipe for Paper Boat
Ingredients:
¾ oz. Uncharted Bourbon
¾ oz. Grand Marnier
¾ oz. Aperol
¾ oz. lime juice
Instructions:
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a Nick and Nora or coupe glass. Enjoy!
Stephen Yates
Community & Corporate Sales Manager
Frazier to Offer Lights on Main–Themed 2025 Winter Break Camp!
Lights on Main: 2025 Winter Break Camp flyer.
As the days grow shorter and the weather gets colder, the time to start planning for the winter holiday season has arrived! Before you get caught up in the rush of family gatherings, gift giving, holiday dinners, and more, be kind to your future self and make plans for your kiddos to engage in some holiday fun at the Frazier while you finish up any last-minute wrapping and shopping.
The Frazier’s Lights on Main! 2025 Winter Break Camp will take place December 22–23 and 29–31. Registration will be pay-by-the-day, and camp will be geared towards kids in grades 1–5. Come in from the cold and join us this Winter Break as we learn about Kentucky holiday traditions, competitive winter sports, and New Year’s resolutions! Make crafts to gift to friends and family, hone your wrapping skills, explore the Frazier’s Lights on Main exhibition, and more. We can’t wait to see you, so don’t wait and sign up for some festive fun today!
Tori Kennedy
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
It was 1959 and America was in the midst of the Red Scare. There was an intense fear about the perceived threat of communism, thanks to McCarthyism. Additionally, Americans were living under the threat of the atom bomb. American housewives preparing for the annual Thanksgiving dinner could never imagine that the real Red Scare was in her pantry. That is because Arthur S. Flemming, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, at one of his regular weekly press conferences, announced:
“The Food and Drug Administration today urges that no further sales be made of cranberries and cranberry products produced in Washington and Oregon in 1858 and 1959 because of their possible contamination by a chemical weed killer, aminotriazole, which causes cancer in the thyroid of rats when it is contained in their diet, until the cranberry industry has submitted a workable plan to separate the contaminated berries from the uncontaminated.”
With this one sentence, America was thrown into hysteria. The fact that there were possible carcinogens in our food was alarming information as Americans were terrified of cancer. Cancer was considered to be a death sentence. Chemotherapy and radiation were new procedures and were considered experimental. Flemming officially became the Grinch of Thanksgiving.
Overnight, cranberries became front-page news and were immediately pulled from grocery shelves. Reporters came up with headlines connecting cranberry, communism, and cancer as “red zones.” The San Francisco Chronicle published an article titled “A Nation Without Cranberry Sauce!”
So big was this story, even Presidential candidates got involved. Vice-President Nixon ate four heaping spoonfuls of cranberries in front of reporters. Not to be outdone, Senator John F. Kennedy drank a tall glass of cranberry juice and then asked for a second one.
How serious was the threat? The New York Times reported: “. . . even if humans should be as susceptible to the drug as rats, people would have to consume fantastic quantities of contaminated berries to suffer any such ill effects.”
Cranberry bog owners referred to this event as “Black Monday.” The impact on the cranberry industry was devastating. A $50-million-a-year business collapsed overnight. Processing halted completely. Food chains immediately cancelled all orders for cranberries. Hundreds of millions of cranberries were destroyed. Flemming was even hanged in effigy by Miss Cranberry of Modesto.
What ended the crisis? Scientists testified before Congress, stressing the miniscule danger—if any—of aminotriazole. Industry groups pressed Flemming to find a solution. The FDA and cranberry industry laboratories agreed to test batches of cranberries. Agricultural departments and universities were recruited to assist with testing. The cranberries were labeled as safe, and returned to the shelves. Results after testing found that 99% of all berries had no trace of the herbicide. By Thanksgiving, shoppers could buy approved cranberries.
To soothe the American public, the White House press office reported that the President and Mrs. Eisenhower would eat some of the nationally “approved” cranberry sauce at the White House Thanksgiving dinner table. However, the actress Rosalind Russell, who was a guest at the White House for Thanksgiving, let it slip to the press that Mamie Eisenhower insisted that applesauce and not cranberry sauce be served.
The Great Cranberry Scare wiped out hundreds of local farmers. The US government offered a $10 million subsidy to the cranberry industry. The Scare pointed out to Americans that chemical regulation was a serious problem. Americans began to look at food labels. There would be other food scares: cyclamates in sweeteners, nitrates in meats, red dye number two, and alar on apples.
Recipe for Cranberry Salad Delight
Here is a 1950s recipe that shows off the cranberry. It can be used as a salad or dessert. Note that the whipped cream is made from a box mix. Cool Whip is a great substitute!
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. whole cranberries sauce
Small can crushed pineapple with juice
2 T mayonnaise
2 T sugar
Instructions:
Mix all above together. Add ½ cup milk to Dream Whip and beat until stiff. (Alternately, substitute Cool Whip.) Add to mixture and freeze. To serve, slice or cut into squares.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Susan Reed
Engagement Specialist
Museum Shop: Thanksgiving Turkey Earrings and Decanter
Thanksgiving turkey earrings and Tom Turkey decanter sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop.
Don’t be a turkey this Thanksgiving—bring the turkey! We’ve got a fun twist on the classic idea with our turkey earrings or our retro-inspired Tom Turkey decanter. This 750-mL decanter comes filled with Bourbon and can be refilled with the beverage of your choice for years to come. Stop by the Frazier’s Museum Shop to pick up your decanter (hurry—they’re going fast!) or shop online for the turkey earrings and other gifts. You get free shipping with a $50 purchase!
Give the Gift of Membership this Holiday Season
A child explores the Frazier’s Lewis and Clark Experience, November 5, 2024.
Are you looking for the perfect gift for the history buff in your life? The holidays are right around the corner, and we are excited to share that our gift memberships are available for purchase! Share the gift of membership with your loved ones this holiday season with a gift membership.
Membership is the best way to experience the Frazier History Museum. From unlimited free admission to special members-only opportunities, members experience more. Plus, members receive discounts on parking, the Museum Shop, and more!
Perfect for history buffs, Bourbon enthusiasts, and those who love to learn, membership is a wonderful year-long gift. Available at all our core membership levels, you can choose the perfect level for your loved ones.
Gift membership can be mailed directly to the recipient, making membership an easy and convenient gift. Visit fraziermuseum.org/gift-membership or call the Membership Office at (502) 753-1031 to learn more.
Gwendolyn Gray
Membership Coordinator
Host your Holiday Party at the Best Museum in Kentucky!
Holiday party décor.
Winter is coming—and along with it the holiday season, which means you’re about to have more on your plate (literally). Let us check one thing off your list! You’ve worked hard this year, so let the Frazier’s Events team do the work of coordinating this year’s holiday party!
As a holiday gift to you, we have partnered with our friends at RK Bluegrass to curate packages that include bar service, catering, and, of course, whichever museum space you connect with most. Each package comes with a preset menu, floor plans, and décor.
Package Descriptions:
Sips & Sleighbells. Enjoy a delicious buffet spread and an open bar and get ready to dance the night away. This full-service dinner option is a great opportunity to impress.
Jingle & Mingle. At this sophisticated soiree, guests will enjoy passed appetizers and one drink ticket as they peruse our exhibitions in a tasteful atmosphere.
Deck the Halls Delights. Work hard; ready to play even harder? Enjoy the appetizer spread before you grab the museum scavenger hunt and begin to explore our exhibitions. After that, it’s time to use both drink tickets included for some liquid courage to grab the mic and sing some holiday karaoke.
To schedule a site visit or inquire about pricing, please check out the event packages menu on our website or email me at swilcox@fraziermuseum.org.
Samantha Wilcox
Facility Rentals Sales Manager
History All Around Us
American Pearl (the Racehorse!) Wins at Churchill Downs
Tori Murden McClure poses with her boat America Pearl on display in the Frazier’s Cool Kentucky exhibition, December 3, 2024.
American Pearl crosses the finish line to win a race at Churchill Downs in Louisville, November 5, 2025. Credit: Coady Media.
Tori Murden McClure poses with the racehorse American Pearl, September 1, 2025.
We talk about the American Pearl all the time at the Frazier History Museum. You know, the boat built by Tori Murden McClure that sits in our Cool Kentucky exhibition.
Tori rowed it into the history books by becoming the first woman, and first American, to row across the Atlantic.
Now there’s another American Pearl in the spotlight, and this one may be a little faster than Tori in a rowboat!
It’s American Pearl, the racehorse that just won a race at Churchill Downs, in only her second start.
She finished second at Keeneland.
I’ve been talking with Mike Snyder, a small Kentucky breeder who owns the horse in partnership with LNJ Foxwoods.
Snyder had read Tori’s book, A Pearl in the Storm, as the horse was beginning her training.
The ups and downs of Tori’s two attempts to make history reminded him of the challenges of horse racing.
He loved her quote, “dream a little and sweat a lot . . . the impossible just takes longer.”
Snyder says he knows it’s nothing like rowing across the Atlantic, but it has been a journey.
He likened American Pearl’s debut at Keeneland to a golfer making their debut at the Masters.
Tori has met American Pearl and says she is touched by the name and thrilled to be associated with it.
Tori missed Pearl’s run at Churchill, because she was in Wyoming getting certified as a Wilderness Medicine Instructor. (I’m not kidding!)
There will be other races for Tori to see. As Mike said to me after American Pearl’s race at Churchill, which went wire to wire, “she has the makings of something special.”
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
