Vows with your Valentine, Lights on Main Opening Party, Cyber Monday, and More
Good Monday morning, y’all—and welcome to December!
It’s hard to believe, but Christmas is now just twenty-four days away. We’re excited to get the season started this Thursday, December 4, with the after-hours kickoff party for Lights on Main!
The Frazier Kentucky History Museum is honored to once again partner with I Would Rather Be Reading to celebrate the 100 sponsors who are supporting both organizations’ focus on education, engagement, inspiration, and lifelong learning.
This now-annual opening party tradition will feature discounted admission, tastings, shopping, live music from the Magnolia Chamber Players, and an award ceremony naming this year’s winning trees. Lights on Main the exhibition is open every day that we are through January 4.
Today also kicks off our very important annual campaign, which raises money to support the mission work our team leans into every day as a nonprofit. The people we serve are the why to what we do. Watch this short video about what we do!
Our Hayley Harlow details the inspiration and the impact for that work below.
Also, in today’s Frazier Weekly issue, we’re launching Vows with Your Valentine. If you know anyone looking to get hitched without the hassle and without a huge price tag, the Frazier is hosting micro-weddings on Valentine’s Day.
Allison Ogle weighs in on the important work at I Would Rather Be Reading, Simon Meiners teases Thursday’s Lights on Main Opening Night Party, and Bernie Lubbers has a very special Bourbon Through Bluegrass performance and tasting experience scheduled for next Friday, December 5—better known as Repeal Day.
Plus, our Museum Shop has some great items in stock for Cyber Monday—which is today!
I sure do hope you enjoy.
Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier Kentucky History Museum
This Week in the Museum
Support the Frazier Kentucky History Museum on Giving Tuesday
A young visitor greets Buffy the Bison in the Frazier’s Lewis and Clark Experience, November 5, 2024. Credit: Clay Cook.
Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday!
Launched in 2012, Giving Tuesday started as a global call to generosity. Today, it reminds us that when each of us supports meaningful work, our collective impact grows.
As readers of Frazier Weekly, you’re already part of the effort to keep Kentucky’s history alive—engaging with our stories, celebrating our culture, and helping us connect people across the Commonwealth.
As we continue our Year-End Campaign, we invite you to join us in supporting the programs, exhibitions, and educational experiences that make the Frazier a place where the world meets Kentucky. Your generosity strengthens our mission to inspire, engage, and educate, both inside the museum and out in the community.
If you’re able, please consider making a gift to support this work.
Thank you for being a vital part of our story.
Hayley Harlow
Sr. Manager of Fundraisinga
Museum Shop: Staff-Picked Holiday Gifts for Cyber Monday!
Staff-picked holiday gifts in the Frazier’s Museum Shop, November 25, 2025.
It’s Cyber Monday—so shop local! As Kentucky’s largest history museum, we have a wide selection of Kentucky-themed stocking stuffers and holiday gifts available in store and online.
We asked a few of our colleagues to share their favorite finds from the Frazier’s Museum Shop—because who knows our shelves better than the folks who walk past them every day?
Leslie is expecting a winter baby, so she picked a grammatical Kentucky onesie and a board book.
Greg, a proud dad to his new pup Pepper, went straight for the whiskey barrel dog toy—naturally paired with his must-have Bourbon taster socks.
And Jason, our resident storyteller, knows that nothing beats a good ghost story. His pick: Kentucky Haunts, stories of spooky spots in Kentucky.
Find the staff picks online—or, better yet, visit the museum.
This Cyber Monday, shop local. Support your Kentucky History Museum. And remember: orders $50+ ship free!
Join Us Thursday for the Lights on Main Opening Night Party!
2025 Lights on Main Opening Night Party flyer.
Musicians perform at last year’s Lights on Main Opening Night Party, November 21, 2024.
Our annual Lights on Main holiday exhibition is back! From November 25 to January 4, museum visitors can explore 100 brilliantly decorated Christmas trees installed throughout the museum. And don’t forget—this month will feature some can’t-miss holiday events:
Thursday, December 4. Lights on Main Opening Night Party, 5:30–8:30 p.m. 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. Admission is $12.
Sunday, December 14. Lights on Main Free Family Day Sponsored by Passport by Molina Healthcare, 9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. 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. Admission is free!
Thursday, December 18. Lights on Main Late Night Thursday, 5:30–8:30 p.m. 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. Admission is $12.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
How I Would Rather Be Reading Created a Louisville Holiday Tradition
The I Would Rather Be Reading tree on display in Lights on Main, November 25, 2025.
Lights on Main began in a moment when our community needed hope the most. During the height of the pandemic, when so much felt uncertain, I Would Rather Be Reading (IWRBR) created a new holiday tradition on the steps of the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. The goal was simple but vital: raise funds to ensure kids could continue accessing year-round after-school literacy support—even as schools were closed and families faced new challenges.
From those early days outdoors to a bustling holiday destination in the heart of Main Street, Lights on Main has grown into a signature celebration of creativity, community, and joy. For the past three years, IWRBR has partnered with the Frazier Kentucky History Museum to elevate the experience for sponsors, families, and guests—transforming the museum into a stunning forest of decorated trees, each designed by businesses and organizations who believe in the power of access for youth across our city: access to opportunity, literacy development, mentorship, and career pathway education.
At IWRBR, we’re on a mission to provide opportunity to our students. Our free after-school programs, summer camps, and family engagement experiences help more than 350 Louisville students each year build confidence, advance their reading skills, and explore the world through imagination, career pathways, technology, and the arts. Every tree at Lights on Main supports this mission—making it possible for kids to discover who they can become.
This year’s Opening Night Party celebration on December 4 invites supporters to be the first to see the magic, enjoy holiday tastings, and help crown the award-winning trees. Throughout the season, visitors to the Frazier can stroll through the displays, learn about the businesses behind each tree, and cast their votes to support opportunity to students in Louisville.
What began as a spark of light in a difficult time has grown into a beacon of community connection and hope—lighting the path forward for the next generation of leaders!
We invite you to join us this holiday season. Together, we can make sure every Louisville child has the chance to shine.
Allison Ogle
Co-CEO, I Would Rather Be Reading
Guest Contributor
Save the Date: Vows with your Valentine!
Vows with your Valentine flyer.
While you’re preparing for the man in the red suit, we’re already dreaming in red hearts!
This Valentine’s Day, the Frazier Kentucky History Museum invites couples to celebrate their love with Vows with your Valentine—a one-day-only mini-matrimony experience designed for romance without stress (or the steep price tag).
On February 14, 2026, say “I do” in an intimate, meaningful ceremony inside the historic Order of the Writ, then toast your new chapter in our cozy Speakeasy. For $500 per couple, your package includes:
· An Ordained ceremony in the Order of the Writ lounge
· Champagne toast and cake in the Speakeasy
· One complimentary portrait or ceremony videography
· Beautiful floral décor
· Full gallery access, including the Davis Jewelers’ Love & Marriage exhibition
Mark your calendars and get ready to make history with your sweetheart.
Book your Valentine’s Day nuptials by contacting events@fraziermuseum.org.
Love is in the air—and at the Frazier. 💕
Melanie C. Duke
Director of Events
Celebrate Repeal Day December 5 with our Final Bourbon Through Bluegrass of 2025!
Bernie Lubbers laughs while Steve Cooley speaks during a Bourbon Through Bluegrass performance, September 29, 2025.
We’re closing out our inaugural season of Bourbon Through Bluegrass on the most fitting day imaginable: Repeal Day, December 5! Don’t miss your chance to experience this one-of-a-kind sensory journey.
Led by Bourbon icon Bernie Lubbers (the Whiskey Professor) and bluegrass music legend Steve Cooley, this live experience brings Kentucky’s native spirit to life—literally. As the story of Bourbon’s past unfolds, you’ll taste iconic Kentucky whiskeys paired with the music that shaped a culture, from Bill Monroe to Merle Travis to Billy Strings.
We launched this partnership this fall and have been overwhelmed by the response—there is truly nothing else like it. If you love music, storytelling, Bourbon history, and great spirits, you’ve got all the ingredients for the perfect Repeal Day celebration.
Book online to join us Friday, December 5.
And keep an eye on this space—next season’s announcement is coming soon!
Mindy Johnson
VP of Operations
On the Trail with Abby: Fresh Bourbon in Downtown Lexington
On the Trail with Abby graphic.
Bourbon tourism is booming—and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® is growing faster than ever! Each week, the Frazier’s Abby Flanders takes readers on a digital stop-by-stop tour of this expanding adventure, spotlighting the distilleries, stories, and expressions behind America’s native spirit. Ready to hit the trail in real life? Start your journey at the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, the Official Starting Point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
Interior of Fresh Bourbon in Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky.
When co-founders Tia and Sean Edwards started Fresh Bourbon, it was after experiencing that many distilleries traditionally lean on a “neat only” Bourbon tasting. Edwards registered their company in 2017 with the goal of establishing a premier African American–owned Bourbon brand in his hometown.
Their intimate tasting room in downtown Lexington keeps that original concept in mind, offering a unique tasting and mixology experience that explores Fresh Bourbon in three stages: a sensory experience, a mixology class, and a cocktail. Founded with the goal of making Bourbon approachable for everyone, the distillery leans into creativity with a mash bill that includes corn, honey malt, malted wheat, malted rye, and malted barley, giving their whiskey a soft sweetness. Their modern tasting room on Main Street is warm, stylish, and intentionally welcoming—an easy place for first-timers and seasoned sippers alike to settle in and explore something Fresh!
Abby Flanders
Administrative Chief of Engagement
History All Around Us
Borderless Arts Tennessee Dedicates Little Library to Pack Horse Librarians
A Little Library is dedicated at Cross Roads Church in Westmoreland, Tennessee, November 22, 2025.
A Little Library is dedicated at Cross Roads Church in Westmoreland, Tennessee, November 22, 2025.
A Little Library is dedicated at Cross Roads Church in Westmoreland, Tennessee, November 22, 2025.
You know how much we love the history of the Pack Horse Librarians at the Frazier and keeping their story alive thanks to our recent program with bestselling author Kim Michele Richardson. As it turns out, other states are also taking notice and paying tribute to their storied history as well. How can you not be inspired by those, mostly women, who delivered books by horseback during the Great Depression, often in Appalachia? Keep reading to learn about the most recent dedication in Tennessee, and how the books were brought in by horseback!—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission
On November 22, a Little Library was dedicated to the Pack Horse Library Program by participants of Borderless Arts Tennessee.
The Borderless Arts Tennessee visual arts program is called the Teapot Diplomats. They received that name in 2015 as they used their artistic talents to serve the world by creating a piece of art that ended up in the US State Department’s Art in Embassies Program. Since that time, the group of young adults with disabilities has made it their mission to become skilled in various artistic techniques and then to use the art they create to serve others.
When the group became aware of the Pack Horse Library program that took books into remote Appalachian regions, it was clear that this was a program that the participants wanted to learn more about and recognize this program through a piece of art.
Borderless Arts Tennessee is very grateful to the Frazier Kentucky History Museum, who not only provided information but also connected the group with author Kim Michele Richardson and Kentucky Educational Television. These contacts provided valuable insights from which our artists drew inspiration.
The group decided to create a Little Library and place it in a remote area of the county in which they live. One of the participants, Hope McKee, designed the scenes that are on the library, and the participants painted the images. Borderless Arts connected with another local group that serves people with disabilities, Project 22, and the two groups worked together to create scrapbooks and poetry books that will be placed in the Little Library.
On November 22, a formal dedication of the Pack Horse Librarian Little Library was held at Cross Roads Church in Westmoreland, Tennessee. The event involved performances of dance and music by Borderless Arts and Project 22 participants, reading of poetry, and a ribbon cutting by the county and local mayors. Books for the new library were brought to the Little Library in appropriate ceremonial style on horseback.
Lori Kissinger
Director, Borderless Arts Tennessee
Guest Contributor
