Cultural Pass Returns, Dark Arts on Sippin’ with Stephen, Norton West Louisville Hospital Follow-up, and More
Today we honor and recognize the many US military personnel who have lost their lives serving our country. What an incredible sacrifice.
Today also marks the unofficial start of summer. The weather is warming up, daylight is stretching longer into the evening, and school is either rounding up or out for the year. As you look for engaging ways to spend the summer season, we’d love to see you here at the Frazier!
Our new exhibitions Davis Jewelers’ Love & Marriage and Documenting Kentucky: Three Photographic Surveys are sights to behold. Plus, we have a full calendar of summer camps, public programs, teacher trainings, and more.
A young visitor explores the Frazier’s Lewis & Clark Experience, November 5, 2024. Credit: Clay Cook.
We’re also excited to once again take part in the city’s Cultural Pass program. Cultural Pass offers young people ages 0–21 and their families in the Greater Louisville and Southern Indiana area access to cultural sites and programs at no cost from May 31 to August 10, 2025. At the Frazier Museum, the pass will provide free admission for the registered child and guardian on Sundays and Mondays throughout the designated dates. If you visit on a Monday, stop by the theatre at 11 a.m. for a multimedia performance about a nineteenth century man named John Banvard who painted the longest painting in the world right here in Louisville; and be sure to visit our interactive touch station at 1 p.m. Scavenger hunts will also be available to pick up on the first floor, seven days a week.
Lastly, hats off to all the dedicated and hard-working educators in our area for completing another school year. As a small token of appreciation, the Frazier is pleased to offer half-price admission to all local educators. Simply share a school ID or other identification upon arrival and the discount is yours. You’ve earned it.
In today’s Frazier Weekly, enjoy a Sippin’ with Stephen video on Toasted Mizunara Bourbon with Dark Arts’s Macaulay Minton, discover how Kentuckians have come together to help their neighbors, and learn about trailblazing bartender Dixie Demuth.
We hope to see you here over the summer! Don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions to education@fraziermuseum.org.
Megan Schanie
Sr. Manager of Educational Programs
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
Sippin’ with Stephen: Toasted Mizunara Bourbon with Dark Arts’s Macaulay Minton
As the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, the Frazier History Museum shares stories of the people, places, and producers of the Kentucky Bourbon industry. To learn more, visit our Kentucky Bourbon Trail® Welcome Center or tour our Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition.—Simon Meiners, Communications & Research Specialist
This episode of Sippin’ with Stephen features my good friend Macaulay Minton, Owner and Chief Alchemist at Dark Arts Whiskey House. Macaulay informs folks of the upcoming opening of the Dark Arts Whiskey House located in Lexington, Kentucky, and what all they will be offering to the public. We then taste and review his Dark Arts Bourbon Finished with Toasted Mizunara Oak Staves. For all things Dark Arts Whiskey House, please visit their website.
Stephen Yates
Community & Corporate Sales Manager
Frazier to Host Follow-up with Norton West Louisville Hospital
Bridging the Divide: Norton West Louisville Hospital: Community Update and Listening Session flyer.
Mark your calendars for your follow-up appointment with Norton West Louisville Hospital for July 15 here at the Frazier History Museum.
If you remember, we held another program with Norton team members in April 2024, about six months before the hospital officially opened its doors. Norton West Louisville Hospital became the first hospital to open its doors west of Ninth Street in 150 years.
Since opening last November, here are just a few numbers to consider: there have been more than 10,000 emergency room visits, thousands of prescriptions have been filled, 266 patients have been admitted to the hospital, and more than 4,200 neighbors have been helped through the Dare to Care Community Pantry.
So, join us on July 15 as we hold a Community Update and Listening Session with key players! Click here to learn more about the event and to sign up. It’s free, but registration is encouraged.
Norton Healthcare will also share employment opportunities. Did you know they are Louisville’s second largest employer?
We hope to see you here!
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
Curator’s Corner: 1950s State Map (to Celebrate Kentucky’s Birthday!)
Poster featuring Kentucky’s State Parks by the Kentucky Tourist and Travel Commission, 1950s.
Sign for Cave Land Motel in Cave City, Barren County, Kentucky, 2020. Credit: Carol Highsmith, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
For this issue of Frazier Weekly, I was asked to feature an item from our collection to celebrate Kentucky’s birthday—which is this Sunday, June 1!
Overwhelmed with choices, I decided on one of my favorite recent donations: a promotional poster from the 1950s that features all of Kentucky’s state parks. The poster declares: “Kentucky—Vacationland for Everyone.” I thought this was a perfect thing to feature as we all finalize (or begin) our summer travel plans. There are many things I love about this map, first and foremost being the beautiful vintage graphics. But I also love that the map features many other destinations and points of interest, not just state parks. For example, Bernheim Forest is on the map, as is the gold vault at Fort Knox. Racetracks at Latonia, Churchill Downs, and Keenland are all featured. This map truly highlights that there is something in Kentucky for everyone. Interestingly, no Bourbon distilleries are listed!
This map has an interesting history of its own. It hung in the lobby of the Cave Land Hotel in Cave City, Barren County, Kentucky. Mammoth Cave became a National Park in 1941, just as America’s highway system was expanding. By the 1950s, many American families owned their own automobiles, and they began to use them for vacationing. Roadside motels and hotels started to pop up, especially near popular tourist destinations such as Mammoth Cave. In the lobby of the hotel, this map would have encouraged vacationers to explore more of what Kentucky has to offer. This map was recently donated by Brenda Donselman Thomas, whose grandfather T. G. Combs built the hotel. The family’s residence was attached to the hotel and located behind the lobby. Brenda’s father, M. H. Donselman, and uncle, Clyde Combs, performed most of the management duties at the hotel. Though the family no longer owns it, Cave Land Motel is still in operation today.
Like the visitors to Cave Land Motel nearly seventy-five years ago, I hope this map helps encourage you to get out and explore Kentucky this summer!
Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions
Museum Shop: Handcrafted Military Service Lapel Pins
Handcrafted military service lapel pins sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop, May 22, 2025.
Just in time for Memorial Day and Father’s Day, honor the service of loved ones with beautifully crafted lapel pins representing the Navy, the Army, the Air Force, and the Marine Corps. Made in Kentucky from reclaimed Bourbon barrels by a small, veteran-founded and -run business, these pins are a meaningful tribute to those who’ve served. They’re available in the Museum Shop and online.
Kentuckians Come Together to Help our Neighbors
Detail of the path a tornado took through Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky, May 17–18, 2025. Credit: Freeman Kelly Dronography.
The images we’ve seen from Laurel and Pulaski Counties have been devastating following what has now been classified as an EF-4 tornado that killed at least nineteen people.
It was a monster tornado that was nearly a mile wide, and traveled on the ground for fifty-five miles, with wind speeds reaching 170 miles per hour.
The photograph of its path through the Daniel Boone National Forest is one we’ll never forget. There are so many other images of loss that have taken my breath away.
Kentucky has seen its share of tragedies in recent years with severe storms, tornadoes, and flooding.
And with each tragedy, the people of Kentucky always give me hope.
They have shown up to help recovery efforts with cleanup and to help feed and clothe those who have lost everything.
If you would like to help our neighbors in Laurel and Pulaski Counties, there is the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund to support survivors, including paying for funeral expenses for those lost in the disaster. You can click here to donate.
You can also click here to donate to the American Red Cross.
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
On the Trail with Abby: Wenzel Whiskey in Kenton County
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 History Museum, the Official Starting Point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®.
Guests ponder their pours during a Wenzel Whiskey interactive blending experience in Covington, Kenton County, Kentucky. Credit: Wenzel Whiskey.
We are staying on the northern edge of Kentucky this week as we learn about Covington’s one and only distillery: Wenzel Whiskey. Housed in a storied 1873 building (which previously operated as a soda and pickle factory), Wenzel has transformed a former rectifying house into a modern haven for whiskey enthusiasts. Though they are on the list of newcomers, Wenzel has quickly gained recognition since being founded in 2022. In a world where cask finishes are trending, their straight Bourbon finished in sherry casks took home the World Whiskies Awards’ Best Finished Bourbon for 2025.
Wenzel Whiskey offers more than just great pours: they also invite you to become part of the craft with their interactive whiskey blending experiences. Open to the public on Thursday evenings and weekends, guests are guided through the process of creating their own unique blend. Using pipettes, you’ll experiment with different ratios, homing in on a blend pleasing to your personal palate. Once satisfied, you can bottle your creation and purchase up to one hundred bottles of it.
Whether you’re a Bourbon aficionado or a curious newcomer, a visit to Wenzel Whiskey provides a memorable experience that marries Bourbon tradition and personal flair.
Abby Flanders
Administrative Chief of Engagement
Reusable Water Bottles Help Protect Our Environment
A local drinks from a Louisville Water–branded bottle.
A Louisville Water Pure Tap® filling station at the Frazier History Museum.
As we approach summer and we reach for that bottle or jug of water, make sure to think about what kind of container you are using! Our partnership with Louisville Water Company has been a blessing with water filling stations at the Frazier History Museum. Keep reading for eye-opening information on why it’s so important to “drink like a local.”—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission
Did you know that people in the US use about 1,500 disposable water bottles every second?
That’s nearly five and a half million bottles every hour, and according to GoGreen.org, about 80% of them end up in landfills where it can take up to 1,000 years for just one bottle to decompose.
But here’s a more encouraging statistic: Louisville Water Company has saved more than 7.5 million bottles from landfills with the community’s help.
That’s the number of reusable bottles that have been filled at Louisville Water’s 129 branded bottle-filling stations in the company’s own facilities and at its 21 partner locations throughout the city—from the Norton Healthcare Sports & Learning Center to the Frazier History Museum and Waterfront Botanical Gardens.
You can visit the Pure Tap® Around Town web page for an interactive map that shows all the locations in Louisville with the touchless bottle-fill stations. The web page says: “These popular businesses and attractions make it easy to drink like a local and stay hydrated.”
Louisville Water uses that phrase—“drink like a local”—a lot, but what does it really mean? According to the company, when you drink like a local, you drink water from the tap and from local bottle-fill stations because you know:
· You always have access to safe, high-quality water. Louisville Pure Tap undergoes 200+ daily tests to ensure quality.
· You always get great taste. Pure Tap was voted the “Best Tasting Tap Water in America” twice by the American Water Works Association, and it beats bottled water in blind taste tests. It also won the 2024 People’s Choice Award during the KY/TN Section of the Water Professionals Conference held in Louisville.
Another reason to avoid bottled water is to reduce the number of single-use bottles that are manufactured. It takes 17 million barrels of oil—enough to fuel a million cars for a year—to produce a year’s worth of plastic bottles. By choosing reusable bottles, you decrease the demand for these single-use plastics, leading to a reduction in the energy and raw materials needed for production.
Using reusable bottles also cuts down on the carbon footprint associated with the transportation of bottled water, which often travels long distances from production facilities to retailers, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
On top of all that, bottled water costs more than 1,500 times more than tap water, so when you choose Pure Tap in a reusable bottle, you’re not only helping protect our environment but also putting money back in your own pocket.
Louisville Water
Guest Contributor
History All Around Us
Trailblazing Bartender Dixie Demuth Honored with Louisville Historical Marker
The Dixie Demuth historical marker is unveiled in downtown Louisville, May 19, 2025.
At foreground, Peggy Noe Stevens leads a toast at the Dixie Demuth historical marker unveiling, May 19, 2025.
On May 19, the city unveiled a historical marker honoring Dixie Demuth—a bar owner who blazed a trail for women’s right to equal access in public establishments.
Mayor Craig Greenberg, Maker’s Mark Chairman Emeritus Bill Samuels Jr., and Dixie’s daughter Dinah Tichy spoke at the unveiling and press conference.
Born in Samuels, Nelson County, Kentucky, Dixie Demuth (1917–2020) owned and operated Dixie’s Elbow Room in downtown Louisville. The business faced repeated raids and citations for allowing women to sit at her bar. Demuth successfully challenged outdated state laws that prohibited women from sitting at bars and being served alcoholic beverages—restrictions that had remained in place long after similar laws were repealed elsewhere. Her landmark case reached the Kentucky Court of Appeals, where she successfully won her case.
Sponsored by Samuels, who is Demuth’s third cousin once removed, the marker is located on the sidewalk at 514 South Fifth Street in downtown Louisville—the site where Dixie’s Elbow Room once stood. It is the first produced by the Louisville Metro Historical Marker Program, a government initiative to commemorate significant people, places, and events that have shaped Louisville’s history.
“The Louisville Metro Historical Marker program will continue to expand, with additional markers planned throughout the city,” a press release from the Mayor’s office reads. “The public is encouraged to submit applications to help preserve the stories of Louisvillians, places, and events that have contributed to the city’s historical legacy. Applications will open June 2, 2025 and must be submitted either online or in-person by September 1, 2025. More information can be found on the Historical Marker Program website.”
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Chef Ouita Michel Docuseries You Belong Here Headed to Tribeca Film Festival
Still from You Belong Here, 2025.
Kentucky is always cookin’ when it comes to notable chefs making headlines.
Chef Ouita Michel, who along with her husband Chris founded the Holly Hill family of restaurants in Central Kentucky, is now in the spotlight.
The eight-part docuseries You Belong Here tells the story of Kentucky’s rich culture through the eyes of Chef Ouita. The docuseries will now be part of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on June 9.
It’s described as a crazy quilt of characters sharing stories, food, and memories, while sitting down to a common table.
It was filmed in several cities across the state by Macaroni Art, a Kentucky-based film company.
Congrats to all! I can’t wait to see it. Click here to learn more.
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
