Free Family Day Sunday, History of Toys Performance, 1942 Pearl Harbor Song Sheet Music, and More
Lights on Main Free Family Day Sponsored by Passport by Molina Healthcare flyer.
The holiday season is now upon us! 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 amidst all the hustle and bustle.
You may have seen us on WAVE News this morning promoting our upcoming Lights on Main FREE Family Day on Sunday, December 14—made possible through generous sponsorship from Passport by Molina Healthcare. We are so excited to have partnered with I Would Rather Be Reading to host this Family Day, and we’ve planned a lot of fun activities and vendors that are sure to get you in the holiday spirit.
With hundreds of guests in attendance at our Lights on Main Free Family Day every year, we hope to make this the biggest yet! Come visit and take a picture with Santa Claus himself, meet the Grinch, and watch a live presentation all about toys in the Frazier’s theater by author and children’s history podcaster Mick Sullivan. Once again, admission will be FREE for this event from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., so mark your calendars and come celebrate with us this Sunday!
And, don’t forget: this year’s Winter Break Camp has a Lights on Main theme, too. Campers will make crafts to gift to friends and family, hone their wrapping skills, and more! We offer day camps on December 22–23 and 29–31. Register now while spots remain!
In today’s Frazier Weekly issue, Mick previews his performance on the history of toys, Simon teases next week’s Lights on Main Late Night Thursday, and our colleagues recommend gifts in the Museum Shop. Andy plugs our Wild Turkeys program and fiber artist Azucena Trejo highlights her piece in our Aflora exhibition. Plus, Rachel spotlights a new donation to the museum—sheet music with ties to the attack on Pearl Harbor—and finally an upcoming program on one man’s efforts to keep his family’s legacy alive.
Thank you for reading.
Tori Kennedy
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Frazier Kentucky History Museum
This Week in the Museum
Frazier to Debut Toy Tales: Playing with History Sunday
Mick Sullivan shows a Teddy Bear during a performance of Toy Tales in the Frazier’s Brown-Forman Theatre, November 24, 2025.
A lot of toys have shaped our world over the years and many have fascinating stories behind them. For example, we can thank coal furnaces in homes for the development of Play-Doh. But the biggest thanks (as always) goes to an elementary school teacher who saw a new potential in the putty designed to clean coal dust off wallpaper.
This December, we’ve added a new theatre experience called Toy Tales: Playing with History. Beyond Play-Doh, we’ll share everything from Abraham Lincoln’s impact on board game development to the Toy Hall of Fame’s favorite selections.
Students on field trips have already enjoyed the live story and video presentation. It’s great for all ages, so on our December 14 Free Family Day, I’ll debut the experience for the general public at 10:30 a.m. and again at 12:30 p.m.
I hope you’ll join us for what will be a day of fun. You might be moved to consider the depths of your toy box!
Mick Sullivan
Curator of Guest Experience
Pizza, Bourbon, and Music: Don’t Miss the Lights on Main Late Night Thursday!
2025 Lights on Main Late Night Thursday flyer.
A choir performs at a past Lights on Main Late Night event, December 20, 2023.
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 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
Museum Shop: Staff-Picked Holiday Gifts from Heidi, Brett, and Kate
Staff-picked holiday gifts in the Frazier’s Museum Shop, 2025.
Looking for unique gifts with a Kentucky vibe? Want to support Kentucky’s largest history museum? Look no further—the Frazier’s Museum Shop has you covered.
Our staffers rounded up a few of their favorite finds to make your holiday shopping a breeze. Got any Star Wars fans on your list? Heidi loves our “May the Force Be with Y’all” shirt and matching socks. Brett recommends a deep dive into local lore with a book that tells the story of Louisville through its most historic graves. And Kate’s pick is a sassy Southern tea towel that’s the perfect fit for just about anyone.
Shop local, shop Kentucky, and support the Frazier while you’re at it!
Wild Turkey Tickets Getting Plucked
Wild Turkeys: Russell Family Tasting & Barrel Pick flyer.
Hey all, our upcoming program Wild Turkeys: Russell Family Tasting & Barrel Pick is another reminder that when you are onto a good thing, it doesn’t take long for folks to figure it out.
As the energy around the big holiday event builds, both tickets and bottles for the December 18 program are growing scarce. Out of 200 available seats, only about two dozen remain.
Adding to the excitement, every guest will also have free admission to our Lights on Main Late Night Thursday, featuring full museum access to our exhibitions and 100 beautifully decorated Christmas trees. There’s a school choir, musical performances, bottle engraving. and so much more from 5:30 8:30 p.m. that night.
Then our Wild Turkey ticketholders will get to hear Bruce Russell share stories of the family legacy that started with Jimmy Russell in 1954. There will be four tastings climaxing with the carefully selected barrel selection from the famous Camp Nelson Rickhouse F.
Live a little, come have a taste!
Andy Treinen
President & CEO
My Holocaust Legacy: A Blessing, Not a Burden Program on January 25
I received an email last August that got my attention. It was from Dr. Alex Kor in Indiana. He is the son of the late Eva and Mickey Kor, both Holocaust survivors who are no longer with us.
Since losing his parents in the past few years, Dr. Kor said he felt it was time to give his parents’ voice a new platform to continue their legacy. Dr. Kor and co-author Graham Honaker have written a book titled A Blessing, Not a Burden.
My Holocaust Legacy: A Blessing, Not a Burden flyer.
We invite you to join us at the Frazier Kentucky History Museum as we welcome both of the authors to a special program on January 25, My Holocaust Legacy: A Blessing, Not a Burden, just two days prior to International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Both Eva—Dr. Kor’s mother—and her twin sister Miriam were subjected to the inhumane experiments of Dr. Josef Mengele at Auschwitz. Dr. Kor will explore her journey to healing via forgiveness.
Both authors hope the book and our program will play a small role in combatting hate in our society while also motivating, inspiring, and informing audiences of all ages.
The program is in partnership with the Louisville Historical League and Carmichael’s Bookstore, who will sell copies of A Blessing, Not a Burden at the Frazier on January 25.
Click here to purchase tickets to the program, which is free with museum admission.
We hope to see you here.
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
Famed Sheet Music with Kentucky Ties Donated to the Frazier
Joe Arnold holds the sheet music he is donating to the Frazier, December 5, 2025. Credit: Wade Harris.
It’s a song my mother used to sing, which is not surprising for folks of the World War II generation: “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” Guess whose mother also knew that song well, who even had the original sheet music dating back to 1942? Joyce Arnold, the mother of my former colleague at WHAS-TV, Joe Arnold.
Our nation commemorated the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor yesterday, and it was last Friday that Joe generously donated the sheet music to our museum. What you may not know is the song that became an overnight sensation during World War II has Kentucky ties.
It was December 7, 1941, when a US Navy Chaplain aboard the USS New Orleans used those words, “praise the Lord and pass the ammunition,” as he urged the ship’s crew to pass the heavy shells by hand, because the ship lacked the power to hoist ammunition from below deck during the surprise attack.
That chaplain was thirty-three-year-old Howell Forgy, who was the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Murray, Calloway County, before he enlisted.
His words inspired the first popular song of World War II.
Joe Arnold not only donated his mother’s sheet music, but also carefully researched and put together a video story on Forgy. That video is now part of our 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit on our first floor. Watch Joe’s story of the famous song with Kentucky inspiration below.
The Frazier Kentucky History Museum is where the world meets Kentucky, and this is another example of those Kentucky connections.
Thank you, Joe!
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
Last Call for Thursday’s Lights on Main Winterfest Homeschool Day
Winterfest Homeschool Day graphic.
Later this week we are excited to welcome homeschool families from across Kentuckiana to our Lights on Main Winterfest Homeschool Day! This Thursday, December 11, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., families can enjoy exploring holiday trees on all three floors of the museum, as well as a selection of craft tables, including creating a Nutcracker scene, designing a tree holiday card, and more. They’ll also have two opportunities to view a brand-new theatre presentation centered around the history of some of the country’s most well-known toys. To round out the day, they can stop by a holiday-themed artifact touch station, enter a prize drawing, or visit a wide range of other engaging exhibitions on display.
If you homeschool your children, we’d love to see you on Thursday! To learn more, or to purchase tickets, click here.
Have questions? Please reach out the to the Frazier’s education team at education@fraziermuseum.org.
Megan Schanie
Sr. Manager of Educational Programs
On the Trail with Abby: Green River Distillery in Owensboro
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®.
Exterior of Green River Distillery in Owensboro, Daviess County, Kentucky.
Green River Distilling’s story is another great revival on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Founded in 1885 and still known as “the Whiskey Without Regrets,” Green River was a national name, even serving as the “official whiskey” of the US Marine Hospital for eighteen years, a time before fire and Prohibition took the brand out of commission.
The distillery began reconstruction in 2014, preserving as much of the original site as possible. Their Straight Bourbon is approachable and warm, echoing a charm that made Green River famous more than a century ago. You can even toast to the past with a sampling of their 1885 Bourbon!
But the story doesn’t stop in Owensboro. Green River has also extended its hospitality to Louisville with a satellite tasting room on Main Street, just a stone’s throw from the Frazier! It’s a cozy and beautiful outpost where travelers and locals alike can sample the lineup without leaving downtown.
Whether you’re experiencing the revival firsthand in Owensboro or slipping into their Louisville tasting room for a quick pour, Green River offers two excellent stops on the Bourbon Trail®.
Abby Flanders
Administrative Chief of Engagement
Coghill, Surfside Trees Nab “Most Festive” and “Most Unique” Awards
Coghill Communications founder and CEO Erica Coghill holds up her award beside the Coghill tree in the Lights on Main exhibition at the Frazier, December 4, 2025.
The Surfside tree on display in the Lights on Main exhibition at the Frazier, December 4, 2025.
At Thursday’s Lights on Main Opening Night Party, a panel of judges announced the winners in a variety of categories. We’ll highlight those winners over the course of December.
Congratulations to Coghill Communications and Surfside! Those two sponsors won the awards for, respectively, the Most Festive tree and the Most Unique tree. Coghill used classic tinsel, multicolored baubles, and a plush Grinch with a bedazzled gift in lieu of a star. Surfside leaned into their beach vibe with floaties, flip flops, and pink flamingos.
And don’t forget: there’s a Fan Favorite tree award—so you can click here to vote for your favorite tree! A $1 donation counts as one vote, $2 counts as two votes, etc. The tree with the most votes wins the award for Fan Favorite! The winner will be announced January 4.
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Bridging the Divide
Aflora Artist Spotlight: Azucena Trejo
A fiber artwork titled La miniskirt by Azucena Trejo, September 13, 2025. On display in the Aflora exhibition at the Frazier Kentucky History Museum.
The Frazier Kentucky History Museum recently partnered with La Casita Center for an exhibition showcasing the works of Latinx artists. Named Aflora (meaning “flourish”), the exhibition is a testament to the resilience and vibrancy of Latinx culture. The following is the second in a series of articles written by the artists themselves, giving additional context and meaning to these incredible pieces. Running through March 3, the Aflora exhibition would be a festive addition to anyone’s holiday plans!—Jason Berkowitz, Engagement Specialist
My work often originates from a song lyric, a phrase from a movie, something interesting from a conversation, or something that makes me ponder. The pondering sustains time and develops in research that often percolates over years before getting to the end result of an artwork.
I spent my winter break with my extended family in Guatemala in 1998. As a young adult, I was seeking connection to my roots.
I asked my uncles to share with me something that I wouldn’t know about my parents. They crossed looks and told me that my mother’s teenage nickname was “la miniskirt.”
The notion of an object to be assigned as an identifier reminded me of, and also had me pondering, the illustrative parallels between loteria (mexican bingo) and tarot cards.
It also got me to think about the maternal ancestral ties within fiberwork in Latin American countries and also how women in Guatemala resisted the generational status quo by persevering to maintain the household by selling fiberworks. The assigned designation that surrounds a nickname can be loaded with context or perceived tales. Without knowing what they were, I can only make assumptions.
What resulted was La miniskirt, an autobiographical object, as a stand-in for resilience for both mother and daughter, and consideration of what is often perceived or designated by others can be opportunities for change and perseverance.
Azucena Trejo (she/her/ella) is an interdisciplinary artist working in installation, photography, fiber, video, and sound. Her work continues to be exhibited nationally in both solo and group exhibitions. Trejo graduated from the University of North Texas with a BA in Photojournalism and received her MFA in Studio Art at Maryland Institute College of Art.
Azucena Trejo
Artist
Guest Contributor
