“I myself am finding the whole thing rather intoxicating. Our little town, the site of an international sports event like this. You have no idea how much wrangling it took to get them here. I lobbied the coordinators for weeks. It was a lot of ouzo and karaoke.”
—Taylor Doose, Gilmore Girls
For 35 years, Ace has celebrated our region’s autumnal glory with our annual Fall Guide — that time of year when we might enjoy the extremes of Summer, Fall, and Winter all in the span of one day — that time of year when we don’t have to choose between football, basketball, or horses because there’s ample time to enjoy all of them — sometimes all in one day.
*As always, times and dates are subject to change. Confirm with the venue.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
ART
SEP 12 Dis/Belief opens at Transy’s Morlan Gallery
SEP 15 Gallery Hop, participating galleries
SEP 17 Nature Hop (visit LexingtonKY.gov)
OCT 6 St. James Court Art Show 2023, Louisville
OCT 6 Curator Tour, UK Art Museum
OCT 21 Fall Bazaar, Country Boy Brewing
OCT 25 Artist Conversation with Janine Antoni, UK Art Museum
OCT 26 The Otherworldly Gaze: Women Redefining Surrealist Art opens at Transy’s Morlan Gallery
NOV 17 Gallery Hop, participating galleries
Nature Hop is a way for our community to enjoy the natural areas of Fayette County. Participation in Nature Hop activities is free and open to the public. Nature Hop is designed to:
- Raise awareness of nature in our urban environment;
- Encourage Lexingtonians and their visitors to experience natural spaces in new ways;
- Publicize natural areas in Lexington that can serve for passive recreation
COMEDY
SEP 12 Dave Chappelle, Rupp Arena
SEP 21 Tim Dillon, Lexington Opera House. Click here for tix.
SEP 28 Kevin James, Lexington Opera House
SEP 29 Trae Crowder, Lexington Opera House
SEP 30 Tom Segura, Comedy Off Broadway
OCT 9 John Hodgman, Lexington Opera House
OCT 19 Mary Lynn Rajskub, Comedy Off Broadway
OCT 21 Kentucky Comedy Festival
OCT 21 Jim Gaffigan, Louisville Palace
OCT 29 Darren Knight, Lexington Opera House
NOV 6 Bert Kreischer, Heritage Bank Center (Cinci)
NOV 12 Nurse Blake: Shock Advised Tour, Singletary Center
DEC 2 Fortune Feimster, The Brown Theatre (Louisville)
LIT
SEP 13 Bluegrass True Crime Book Club: Who Killed Betty Gail Brown, Downtown Library
SEP 14 Pagan Babies book launch + exhibit, 5 pm Institute 193
SEP 14 An Evening with Ron Davis, Carnegie Center
SEP 23 Madison Book Fest, Richmond
OCT 3 An Evening with Silas House, Sayre School
OCT 19 An Evening with George Saunders, Kentucky Theatre
OCT 21 The Kentucky Book Festival
NOV 4 Carnegie Classics: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, Carnegie Center
At the MOVIES
SEP 2 CatVideo Fest, Kentucky Theatre (benefiting Halfway Home Rescue)
SEP 5 The Goonies, LexLive
SEP 7 Henry Faulkner: Poetry in Paint, Kentucky Theatre
SEP 12 Twister, LexLive
SEP 16 Horror Movie Club, Death Becomes Her, Downtown Library
SEP 22 House (1977 Japanese Horror), Kentucky Theatre
SEP 26 Howl’s Moving Castle: Studio Ghibli Fest, Movie Tavern
SEP 28 Twelve Lions Film Festival, Kentucky Theatre
OCT 1 The Exorcist, 50th anniversary, Movie Tavern
OCT 21 Back to the Future Re-Release, Movie Tavern
OCT 22 The Birds 60th Anniversary, Movie Tavern
OCT 25 The Birds, Grand Theatre (Frankfort)
NOV 26 International Movie Club, Caramel, Downtown Library
DEC 16 Horror Movie Club, Gremlins, Downtown Library
SALONS
On three Sundays in September 2023, hosts will open their architecturally significant homes to celebrate art, music, and literature all while supporting the mission of Moveable Feast. Each event will be styled with entertainment, food, drinks, and up-close encounters with the arts. Attendance is kept to small numbers to help ensure a unique experience.
SEP 24, 2023
Kevin Nance profiled the home of Elvis and Geneva Donaldson in Ace’s February 2022 power couple issue. When Caleb Ford built this Greek Revival house in 1841, it fronted Mill Street in Gratz Park. Around 1897 the house was reoriented toward Third Street. The house and garden will be open for the Salon on Sep 24, 2023. Ace contributing writer and photographer Kevin Nance will be presenting two book projects, Geneva’s Garden and Pagan Babies.
STAGE/THEATRE
SEP 14 Ladies of Liberty opens, Studio Players, The Carriage House
SEP 23 Love, Broadway benefit, Moondance
OCT 6 UK Opera Theatre presents Susannah
OCT 20 Pretty Woman The Musical, Lexington Opera House
OCT 20 Rocky Horror: The Stage Musical, Grand Theatre (Frankfort)
OCT 28 Kentucky Theatre Association Festival, Transy
OCT 31 Annie, EKU
NOV 4 All Things Equal, EKU
NOV 5 Stomp, Norton Center (Danville)
NOV 9 A Visit from Scarface opens, Studio Players, The Carriage House
NOV 9 UK Theatre presents Good
NOV 16 Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Lexington Opera House
NOV 16 UK Theatre presents Little Women
BIKE
SEP Cycle September (activities continue throughout the month)
SEP 29 Bourbon Country Burn, Kentucky Horse Park
NOV 5 Lex Glow Ride, Shillito Park
EAT + DRINK
“I was brought up to believe that Scotch whisky would need a tax preference to survive in competition with Kentucky bourbon.”
—Hugo Black
SEP 7 Harvest Fundraising Dinner, benefiting FoodChain, 21C
SEP 9 Kentucky Food Truck State Championship, Renfro Valley
SEP 9 38th Annual Mushroom Festival, Irvine
SEP 15 Spoonbread Festival, Berea
SEP 16 The 5th Annual Taste at the House, Bodley Bullock House
SEP 21 Anderson County Burgoo Festival, Lawrenceburg
SEP 21 The Chicken Festival, London
SEP 22 Marion County Ham Days, Lebanon
SEP 22 Morgan County Sorghum Festival, West Liberty
OCT 6 Bourbon on the Banks, Frankfort
September is National Bourbon Month. Toast responsibly.
FAIRS + FESTS
SEP 9 Lexington Water Lantern Festival, KY Horse Park
SEP 22 Oktoberfest, Christ the King
SEP 23 Festival Latino de Lexington, Downtown Lexington
SEP 29 Oktoberfest, Harrodsburg
OCT 13 Mary Queen Fall Festival, Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary
OCT 20 Scarefest, Central Bank Center
HOLIDAYS
OCT 21 Halloween Fest, Fort Boonesborough
OCT 29 Pumpkinmania at Transy
OCT 29 Halloween and Thriller Parade
NOV 1 Dia De Los Muertos, Living Arts and Science Center
NOV 6 Charlie Brown Christmas, EKU
TBA Lexington Christmas Tree Lighting
DEC 1 An Oak Ridge Boys Christmas, Renfro Valley
DEC 2 Celtic Women Christmas Tour, Norton Center (Danville)
DEC 10 Alltech’s Celebration of Song, KY Horse Park
DEC 22 The Nutcracker, EKU
To advertise in Ace’s Holiday Guides, call 859.225.4889.
HOME + GARDEN
SEP 16 Free Mulch Giveaway, Old Landfill Pad
OCT 28 Household Hazardous Waste Disposal, Old Landfill Pad
HORSE
“A bit like Cuba’s, Kentucky’s economy depends almost entirely on things that are good for you but are said to be bad for you: Cuba has sugar, rum and tobacco; and Kentucky has bourbon, tobacco, and horse racing. When you see the Derby run on TV, the cameras linger on opulence in hats and horseflesh, and the farms often look like rolling feudal estates, but if you go to Keeneland [sic] racetrack at Lexington you see…real, popular participation in the sport of kings.”
—Christopher Hitchens, Vanity Fair Magazine
SEP 8 Festival of the Horse, Georgetown
SEP 11 Keeneland September Yearling Sales begin
SEP 28 Keeneland Library Lecture Series, Patricia McQueen signs and discusses Secretariat’s Legacy
OCT 6 Keeneland’s Fall Meet begins
OCT 25 National Horse Show, KY Horse Park
OCT 27 Jockey Autograph Signing, Keeneland
NOV 4 Equine Festival, Shaker Village
NOV 17 Fall Festival Horse Show, KY Horse Park
LIVE MUSIC
Jazz on the Lawn
The Henry Clay Memorial Foundation invites the public to its annual Jazz on the Lawn concert on Sep 3, 2023.
This ever-popular concert takes place on the back lawn of the mansion, where guests are encouraged to bring their lawn chairs, blankets, and picnics. Lee Carroll’s C The Beat will once again provide the evening’s entertainment. The Ashland estate is located at 120 Sycamore Road in Lexington.
CONCERTS, TOURS, MUSIC FESTIVALS
SEP 1 Ann Wilson (of Heart), Norton Center (Danville)
SEP 2 An Evening with Emmylou Harris, Renfro Valley
SEP 6 Guns N Roses, Rupp Arena
SEP 7 Robert Cray, Lexington Opera House
SEP 9 Bruce Hornsby, Lexington Opera House
SEP 9 KC & the Sunshine Band, Renfro Valley
SEP 14 Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Lexington Opera House
SEP 14 Bourbon and Beyond, Louisville
SEP 15 Parker McCollum, Rupp Arena
SEP 16 Toad the Wet Sprocket, Norton Center (Danville)
SEP 16 KY Heritage Jazz Festival, Shaker Village
SEP 16 Ichthus, Wilmore
SEP 20 Brothers Osborne, Lexington Opera House
SEP 22 Martina McBride, Renfro Valley
SEP 26 Jonas Brothers, Rupp Arena
SEP 30 Grasstoberfest, Winchester
OCT 6 Makaya McCraven, Singletary Center
OCT 6 Shovels & Rope, Lyric Theatre
OCT 10 Jelly Roll, Rupp Arena
OCT 10 Ruben and Clay, Singletary Center
OCT 14 Zach Williams, EKU
OCT 20 Jason Aldean, KFC Yum (Louisville)
OCT 27 Ricky Skaggs, Renfro Valley
OCT 28 Shania Twain, KFC Yum (Louisville)
OCT 29 Clint Black, Renfro Valley
NOV 4 Exile 60th Anniversary, Renfro Valley
NOV 7 George Thorogood and the Destroyers, Lexington Opera House
NOV 11 Pink, KFC Yum (Louisville)
NOV 14 The Eagles, Rupp Arena
NOV 18 Three Dog Night, EKU
NOV 25 Wynonna Judd, Louisville Palace
DEC 2 Andrea Bocelli, KFC Yum (Louisville)
DEC 3 Jack Harlow, Rupp Arena
DEC 30 Tyler Childers, Rupp Arena
DEC 31 Tyler Childers, Rupp Arena
SPORTS & ATHLETICS
Tailgating returns to the Bluegrass!
UK Football
SEP 2 UK vs Ball State at Commonwealth Stadium
SEP 9 UK vs EKU at Commonwealth Stadium
SEP 16 UK vs Akron at Commonwealth Stadium
SEP 23 UK vs Vandy
SEP 30 UK vs FL at Commonwealth Stadium
OCT 7 UK vs Georgia
SEP 16 UK vs Akron at Commonwealth Stadium
OCT 14 UK vs. Missouri at Commonwealth Stadium
OCT 28 UK vs TN at Commonwealth Stadium
NOV 4 UK vs Mississippi State
NOV 11 UK vs Alabama at Commonwealth Stadium
NOV 18 UK vs South Carolina
NOV 25 UK vs U of L at Louisville
UK BASKETBALL
TBA Big Blue Madness, Rupp Arena
RUN/WALK FOR IT
SEP 17 Iron Horse Half Marathon, Midway
OCT 6 Bourbon Chase, Clermont to Lexington
OCT 13 Monster Mash & Dash 5k Glow Run
OCT 14 Yes, Mamm 5k, RJ Corman’s Nicholasville
OCT 27 Black Cat Chase 5k, Frankfort
NOV 18 Southern Lights Stroll, KY Horse Park
DEC 9 Reindeer Ramble, Keeneland
ELECTION DATE REMINDERS
Don’t Forget to Vote!
OCT 10 Voter Registration Deadline, 4 pm
NOV 7 In-Person Polls Open, 6 am to 6 pm
Visit www.lexingtonky.gov/vote for early voting and absentee voting information.
This article appears on pages 7-11 of the September 2023 print edition of Ace. To subscribe to digital delivery of the print edition of Ace Magazine, click here.
