Aflora Latinx Art Exhibition, Bourbon Through Bluegrass Tasting Experiences, Lamar Jackson Practice Jersey, and More
Good Monday morning!
Here at the Frazier, especially in the Collections and Exhibitions department, we are getting excited for Aflora, an exhibition in partnership with La Casita Center that features eighteen local Latinx artists. While Aflora has been on display at the Speed Art Museum and the Muhammad Ali Center in previous years, this installation features all new artworks and several new artists, curated by Ada Asenjo.
It is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to a few of those artists this morning.
Mariposa y Capullo / Butterfly and Cocoon by Sebastian Duverge, 2025.
Los Guardianes / The Guardians by Norma Drish, 2023.
Sebastian Duverge’s parents immigrated from the Dominican Republic to New York City and moved to Louisville, Kentucky, when he was a child. Although Sebastian doesn’t communicate as much with his words, he is English/Spanish bilingual. He principally communicates through his art. His piece Mariposa y Capullo / Butterfly and Cocoon is a mosaic of watercolor tile.
Norma Drish was born in the US Virgin Islands where she was raised by Puerto Rican parents. She is a self-taught visual artist whose work explores memory, culture, nature, and identity through a mix of traditional and experimental techniques. Norma is a teaching artist with the Little Loomhouse where she shares her love of art with children and the community. One of her pieces in the show is an oil painting titled Los Guardianes / The Guardians. It is inspired by the Mocko Jumbie, a towering figure rooted in West African tradition, that found new life in the Virgin Islands during and after the time of slavery as a spiritual protector and cultural symbol of strength, celebration, and survival.
Be sure to save the date for the opening of this incredible exhibition on Saturday, September 13, from 10 a.m. 2 p.m. In partnership with La Casita Center, the opening will be part of a free family day full of activities—including artist talks, music, dance, food, and kids’ activities. It is sure to be a fun day for the whole family and a vibrant celebration of Latinx heritage in Louisville.
In today’s Frazier Weekly issue, Bernie Lubbers teases his upcoming Bourbon Through Bluegrass tasting experiences, Mindy Johnson previews the Frazier’s final late-night Sunday ($5 admission after 5 p.m.!), and new Education Team member Tori Kennedy In today’s Frazier Weekly, Bernie Lubbers teases his Bourbon Through Bluegrass tasting experiences. Plus, we’ve got one final Late Night Sunday ($5 admission after 5 p.m.!), a Fall Break Camp, and more.
Let’s make it a great week!
Amanda Briede
Sr. Curator of Exhibitions
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
Frazier to Roll Out Bourbon Through Bluegrass Tasting Experiences this Fall
Bourbon Through Bluegrass graphic.
Bernie Lubbers and Steve Cooley lead a Bourbon Through Bluegrass tasting experience in the Frazier’s Speakeasy, July 16, 2025.
It’s a concert, a comedy show, a history lesson, and a high-end Bourbon tasting all wrapped in one. Call me crazy, but I also believe it is the most creative, the most entertaining, and the most engaging tasting experience in Kentucky. It is presented by a bluegrass legend who has played with Bill Monroe and a Whiskey Professor who literally wrote the book on Bottled-in-Bond. Bourbon Through Bluegrass starts at the Frazier History Museum in two weeks! For more on the experience, I’ll turn it over to Bernie Lubbers.—Andy Treinen, President & CEO
The Frazier is debuting an exciting new Bourbon tasting next month! Called Bourbon Through Bluegrass, this tasting experience will take place every Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, from September 8 to December 22.
Bourbon Through Bluegrass will bring the history and stories of the evolution of Bourbon alive by pairing those stories with not only appropriate whiskeys but live bluegrass music!
Hosted and led by me, Bernie Lubbers, a.k.a. the Whiskey Professor, and my buddy, bluegrass veteran Steve Cooley, this live musical Bourbon experience will bring Kentucky’s native spirit to life—literally. As the stories of Bourbon’s past unfold, I will pair them with the appropriate Kentucky whiskeys that sync up with that history. We’ll further pair these tastings with live renditions of the Kentucky music that shaped a culture by myself and Steve.
We will also highlight Kentucky musicians such as Arnold Shultz, Clayton McMichen, Merle Travis, and Bill Monroe. Attendees will get to hear us play their songs and learn about their influence on the worldwide music scene kept alive today by artists like Alison Krauss and Billy Strings.
People will hear it, taste it, and feel it: live music being played on legendary instruments, paired with historic spirits. It’s not just a tasting—it’s a multi-sensory celebration of Kentucky’s roots. Only in Kentucky. Only in Louisville. Only at the Frazier!
Bernie Lubbers
Global Whiskey Ambassador, Heaven Hill
Guest Contributor
Enjoy $5 Admission this Sunday, August 31, from 5 to 8 P.M.!
Visitors explore the Frazier History Museum, November 5, 2024.
If you have Labor Day off and want something to do on the Sunday night prior to the holiday, we have the answer—and at a bargain price.
Sunday, August 31, is the final Sunday of our $5 admission as we stay open late from 5 to 8 p.m.
The Frazier History Museum teamed up with the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory for the special late-night hours and pricing on historic museum row to give you quite the two-fer!
Bring the family and any out-of-town guests and enjoy the long holiday weekend with everything cool about Kentucky and baseball!
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
Frazier’s Tori Kennedy Announces 2025 Fall Break Camp Theme!
All Tricks, Some Treats: 2025 Fall Break Camp flyer.
Hi everyone! My name is Tori, and I am so excited to be the new Manager of Youth and Family Programs here at the Frazier. I grew up right outside of Louisville in Bullitt County then went to Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky, where I got my degree in history.
I am so honored and grateful to be officially part of the team at the Frazier. I have wanted to work here since interning in the curatorial department a few years ago. Over the past couple of years, I have been able to engage with students through educational programming across several local cultural institutions. By doing so, my passion for working with kids and helping them learn has only grown. Through my role, I can’t wait to help with camps, organize annual Family Days, and assist with field trips. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me! My email is tkennedy@fraziermuseum.org.
It is also my pleasure to announce our 2025 Fall Break Camp! As an avid fan of fall and the Halloween season, I’m happy to say that the theme for this year’s fall break camp is on brand for the time of year—and sure to mystify your campers!
The Frazier’s All Tricks, Some Treats! 2025 Fall Break Camp will take place September 29–October 3. Registration will be pay by the day, and camp will be geared towards kids in grades 1–5. Grab your top hat and magic wand, as we will explore all things mystical and magical (or magic-adjacent, that is!). Discover the secrets behind some of the world’s most well-known magic tricks, create your own illusions, and even learn about a famous clairvoyant born and raised right here in Kentucky! I can’t wait to meet your campers, so join in on the fun this fall break and register your kiddos here!
Tori Kennedy
Manager of Youth & Family Programs
Was Joe Guyon the Greatest All-Around Athlete in Louisville History?
Joe Guyton: Louisville’s Forgotten Sports Hero flyer.
You never know where the next program idea will come from! Lucky me, I was contacted by local attorney Greg King who had a story to tell me about someone he called a forgotten Louisville sports hero. That story about Joe Guyon captivated me—and chances are it will you, too. So, join us September 16 to learn more about the greatest sports story you’ve never heard. Click here to reserve your spot. The program is free thanks to the generosity of St. X High School, but reservations are required. And keep reading to hear how Greg King’s pitch led to this wonderful program.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission
If like me you happen to have grown up in Louisville during the 1960s, there is a reasonable chance at some point you were introduced to a Mr. Joe Guyon. Billing himself as “Injun Joe,” Guyon would regularly appear before area classrooms, scout troops, and my own Buechel Little League to talk about his Native American heritage. We had absolutely no idea, for a brief moment in time, we were in the presence of sports history and greatness, or that his life chronology read like a who’s who of early American athletic heroes.
On a lark, I began researching Guyon’s story a few years ago and found it absolutely fascinating. Born in 1892, raised on the Chippewa White Earth Reservation, fully immersed in Native American language and customs, Guyon would go on to star at the highest echelon of both college and professional sports. Playing halfback under coach Glen “Pop” Warner (one of the two fathers of modern American football), Guyon would lead tiny Carlise Indian College to the number two collegiate football ranking. He would subsequently transfer to Georgia Tech University, where he would lead the Yellow Jackets to the 1917 National Championship. Tech’s coach, the legendary John Heisman, for whom the Heisman Trophy is named, would later state that “Guyon is the best man I ever coached” and rate him among the top three or four college players of all time.
Guyon and his lifelong best friend, the immortal Jim Thorpe of Olympic track and field fame, would thereafter team up in the backfields of multiple early National Football League teams. In 1927, Guyon, playing both offense and defense, led the New York Giants to their first NFL Championship.
Locally, the Louisville Baseball Encyclopedia describes Guyon as a “near mythical outfielder with the 1920s Louisville Colonels” and “unquestionably the greatest all-round athlete ever to play Louisville baseball.” Based upon my research, I have concluded, considering the full depth and breadth of his sports experience, Guyon may well have been the greatest all-round athlete of any kind to have lived, played, died, and be buried in Louisville.
The above narrative only begins to scratch the surface. The man was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, just the fourth class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, and even (as a football coach during the 1930s) the St. Xavier High School Hall of Fame. Yet, sadly, few people have heard of or know anything about him.
Fortunately, the Frazier History Museum is working hard to correct that situation. Join us September 16 for Joe Guyon: Louisville’s Forgotten Sports Hero. Admission is free, but reservations are required.
Greg King
Attorney
Guest Contributor
From the Collections: Lamar Jackson Practice Jersey, 2015–17
University of Louisville football practice jersey worn by Lamar Jackson, 2015–17. On loan from the Louisville Sports Commission.
Let the games begin—and in some cases, they already have! For Western Kentucky University, the college football season kicked off on August 23. For the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky, their home openers are this Saturday. We love our sports at the Frazier History Museum, especially in the Competitive Kentucky gallery of our Cool Kentucky exhibition. Enjoy the season!—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission
In honor of the beginning of football season, we are sharing a piece on loan to us from the Louisville Sports Commission: a practice jersey Lamar Jackson wore when he played for the Louisville Cardinals, 2015–17. During his sophomore year, Jackson won the Heisman trophy. He was selected by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft and became their starting quarterback during his rookie year. We are so excited to have this piece back on loan! Though it won’t be up right away, look for it back on view in the Completive Kentucky gallery in our Cool Kentucky exhibition this fall.
Tish Boyer
Registrar & Manager of Collections Engagement
Party Like the Roaring Twenties at our September 4 Michter’s Speakeasy!
2025 Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier graphic.
Guests enjoy last year’s Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier, September 5, 2024.
Guests enjoy last year’s Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier, September 5, 2024.
Next week, our annual Michter’s Speakeasy at the Frazier returns!
Here’s what to expect.
First, the Lexington-based Gatsby Gang Jazz Band will entertain! Their musical repertoire includes jazz, lounge hits, and modern pop songs. Plus, Bravo Dance Studio will lead beginner-friendly dance lessons—so you can cut a rug without getting the jitters! Bravo specializes in making dance accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
In terms of spirits and cocktails, our neighbors at Michter’s Distillery will lead tastings! The lineup includes Michter’s Bourbon, Michter’s Barrel Strength Bourbon, Shenk’s Homestead Sour Mash Whiskey, and Bomberger’s Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Each guest will get one complimentary cocktail of their choice: a Peach Tea Julep or a French Seventy-five.
As for the food, RK Bluegrass is curating an Old Hollywood Station! Enjoy mushrooms, tricolor peppers, asparagus, heirloom carrots, bruschetta, spinach artichoke and smoked salmon dips, and a variety of tea sandwiches—including benedictine, pimento cheese, and chicken salad.
So get gussied up 1920s-style and join us next Thursday! Secure your tickets here.
I’ll save you a dance!
Simon Meiners
Communications & Research Specialist
Kentucky’s Watermelon and Honey Festivals Returning in Late August
Though summer is almost over, there is still plenty to do this weekend in Kentucky. So clear your schedules for two of our state’s sweetest festivals. It’s time to get those faces messy and hands sticky!
And don’t forget: you can learn more about Kentucky’s local traditions in the Frazier’s 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit.
Detail of Monroe County Watermelon Festival.
Map of Kentucky with Monroe County highlighted.
Monroe County’s Watermelon Festival (August 30, 2025)
Have you ever wanted to throw a watermelon out of a plane? If so, the Watermelon Festival in Monroe County has you covered! Yes, you heard me right. Now in its sixth year, the Annual Watermelon Drop at the Tompkinsville-Monroe Airport is very much a tradition born of humanity’s desire to watch melons “go splat.” Visitors will have the opportunity to scratch this itch by throwing entire watermelons from a passenger plane. Those closest to the target receive both a placard and, more importantly, a story to share with friends and family for years to come. I assume a few of you are already making calls.
For those of you who would prefer to be less Gallagher (Google it, kids) and more grounded, there are still a ton of things to do, see, and eat during the forty-sixth Annual Watermelon Festival. Nearly 8,000 visitors are expected to attend—many returning home to reunite with friends and family. And, of course, watermelons will take center stage with a smorgasbord of events scheduled to amaze and entertain. Competitions will be held for the largest, as well as best-decorated, watermelons. There will also be arts and crafts, a dog show, a quilt show, a baby show, and a pageant, along with over a hundred food and vendor booths. Several live performances are also scheduled, so bring your dancing shoes and perhaps a change of shirt!
2025 Breathitt County Honey Festival graphic.
Map of Kentucky with Breathitt County highlighted.
Breathitt County’s Honey Festival (August 29–September 1, 2025)
In 1977, a group of Breathitt County residents were looking for ways to promote their centuries-long tradition of beekeeping. In fact, the county had been the leading producer of honey in Kentucky for most of the nineteenth century. To celebrate this heritage, “Mount Swappin’ Day” was created. Initially held at Breathitt County High School, the event also allowed local artists and craftspeople to sell their goods and share their expertise with others. According to Mayor Laura Thomas, beekeeping, craftsmanship, quilt making, and various culinary and gardening traditions have been passed down locally for generations—with many residents able to trace their lineage as far back as the early 1800s. Indeed, it is said that “if you are born in these mountains, you may leave the mountains, but the values and love instilled . . . never leaves your heart.”
The following year, the event was renamed “the Breathitt County Honey Festival” and made an annual tradition. Every year on Labor Day weekend, thousands gather in downtown Jackson to hold family reunions, enjoy good food, dance to live music, and celebrate local traditions practiced for centuries. The homecomings are especially meaningful for those who “left the mountains to find work in bigger cities.” Visitors can also enjoy countless other activities, including: the Honey Festival Parade, 5k and 10k runs, a quilt show, local and regional foods (such as the famous Breathitt County 4-H corndog), numerous vendors, and performances by bluegrass acts the Mountain Laurels, the Cold River Band, and the Bibelhauser Brothers. The festival ends with a community-wide church service on Sunday—a fitting conclusion to an extraordinary weekend. Bee there or bee square!
Jason Berkowitz
Engagement Specialist
On the Trail with Abby: Boone County Distilling Co. in Independence
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®.
Exterior of Boone County Distilling Co. in Independence, Kentucky.
Our next stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail® blends modern craft with a spectral homage to the past. This distillery may proudly boast that it is “Made by Ghosts,” but their Bourbon is not scary! There’s nothing to fear about Boone County Distilling Co., located in—you guessed it!—Boone County, Kentucky.
The tagline “Made by Ghosts” nods to the spirits of early Boone County distillers whose legacy still lingers in the rolling hills. In the 1800s, this corner of Kentucky was home to one of the largest distilleries in the state, producing whiskey that was shipped down the Ohio River and beyond. Boone County Distilling Co. resurrects that story, paying tribute to those forgotten pioneers with every bottle they craft today.
Don’t miss the Founder’s Reserve Kentucky Bourbon, skillfully crafted in a 500-gallon copper pot still lovingly called the Bear—because, of course, the original founder William Snyder had a pet bear.
Visiting Boone County is a relaxed and down-to-earth experience. The tour takes you through the production process in an intimate way. You can see the stills up close, learn how they age their whiskey, and hear the stories of the “ghosts” who inspired the brand. The tasting room is warm and welcoming, perfect for sipping a pour while looking out at the countryside.
If you’re traveling the Bourbon Trail® and want a stop that’s both rooted in Kentucky history and BOOooming with fresh energy, pay this distillery a visit. As they like to joke, the only spirits there are drinkable!
Abby Flanders
Administrative Chief of Engagement
