Home of the Innocents Big Ol' Backyard BBQ
This Saturday, Louisville's Home of the Innocents will host their 8th annual Big Ol’ Backyard BBQ. Proceeds from the event benefit the children and families served by Home of the Innocents.
Home of the Innocents has been helping kids in crisis since 1880. The Home offers 84 distinct residential and community-based services to 3,900 vulnerable children and their families from throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana. Home of the Innocents provides care to children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected, medically fragile children, and children with autism and other behavioral disorders. The Home also operates Open Arms Children’s Health – a one-stop full service pediatric medical practice offering integrated care, including medical, dental, hearing, vision, radiology, pharmacy, and behavioral health services. Home of the Innocents is a private, nonprofit agency licensed in Kentucky and Indiana, accredited by the Council on Accreditation, and has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
If you ever have a chance to visit Home of the Innocents, you'll be simply amazed by the commitment this organize has to its residents. It is truly an amazing place, and this fundraising event sounds like an awesome way to lend support!
The menu will include barbecued ribs grilled by John Cliff and JBS/Swift, barbecued chicken and sides prepared by Chef Laurent Geroli (Brown Hotel) and other local chefs, ice cream from Comfy Cow, gelato by Proof and other desserts from Kern’s Kitchen.
Activities include a Bounce Town with inflatables and a Wild Wild Activity Zone which features arts and crafts, activities provided by the Kentucky Science Center, petting zoo and face painting. There's also a Family Face-Off with corn hole, ladder golf, basketball and other games for the whole family as well as live music by The Remedy, a BBQ Cook-off for professional and amateur teams.( Please contact 502-596-1025 for more information, and a Western wear costume contest for all ages.
Admission cost is:
Adults: $50
Seniors, first responders, military, college students: $30
Students (11-18): $20
Youngins’ 10 & under: Free
Reserved table of 8: $500
You can purchase tickets online at www.homeoftheinnocents.org/bbq or by calling 502.596.1025.
The Belle of Louisville
The other day, we took a ride on the Belle of Louisville as part of my beau's office event.
I hadn't taken the Belle cruise since high school, and it turned out to be way more fun than I remembered. (Perhaps the enhanced beverage selection played a role in this determination...) Nonetheless, it was a beautiful night for the trip.
The Kentucky flag.
Now, I'm not exactly sure what makes a boat a "Mississippi River-style steamboat", but the Belle is the oldest operating one in the world.
Designed in 1914 as a ferry, the Belle is a distinctive feature of Louisville's riverfront.
After stops in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the Belle was purchased at auction by the Louisville Metro Government in 1962, then underwent a massive rebuilding process.
Louisville's skyline
In addition to the events, tours, and cruises that the Belle offers, the boat also takes part in Steamboat races, especially around Derby.
If you haven't been on the Belle in a while, it really is more fun than you recall. The views of Louisville are absolutely stunning, and it's just a fun little glimpse of the past!
The Belle of Louisville celebrates her 100th birthday next October. Visit Belle's 100 for information about the special birthday events!
Story Magazine Website Release Party
I recently had the opportunity to attend the most delightful party!
As my beau and I left the party, we caught a glimpse of the most gorgeous sunset. It was a great end to a fun day!
Our friends at Story Magazine unveiled their new website at the Green Building in Louisville's trendy NuLu District. It was great to catch up with Story's publisher, Julie Wilson. I even saw our very first HerKentucky Business interviewee, Carolyn Hannan of Bourbon and Beans!
 |
| Gorgeous table at the Story party |
Are y'all reading Story Magazine? You certainly should be. They always have a unique perspective on Kentucky life. I love any media that doesn't reduce us to dichotomies like hillbillies vs. debutantes, or coal miners vs. thoroughbred owners. Julie has done a fantastic job of breaking down those stereotypes and showing some great glimpses into Kentucky life.
2013 Rallies to Improve Birth
A series of rallies are taking place across the Commonwealth today as part of an international movement to improve the childbirth process for women and children. The 2013 Rally to Improve Birth will take place at10 a.m. local time in Lexington, Louisville, Pikeville and Bowling Green. The rallies' purpose is to call for safer, evidence-based birth practices.
The average American birth is billed at $30,000 (that's roughly twice the cost of birth in the hospital where Duchess Catherine delivered Prince George...) and the average Caesarean delivery is billed at $50,000. Says Dawn Thompson, president of ImprovingBirth.org, the mothers’ advocacy group organizing the rallies, “We’re in a true crisis, with the highest costs in the world and some of the worst health outcomes related to childbirth. “Nine out of 10 American women receive care that increases the risks of harm to them and their babies. We must do better.” (Kentucky’s C-section rate of 35.4% ranks it seventh highest in the nation for Cesarean rates,and more than double the 15% suggested by the World Health Organization as a highest recommended rate.)
Ms. Thompson notes that: "This movement isn't about natural birth vs. medicated birth. It's not about hospital birth vs. home birth or birth center birth. It's about women being capable of making safer, more informed decisions about their care and that of babies when they are given full and accurate information about their care options, including the potential harms, benefits, and alternatives."
To learn more about the Rallies to Improve Birth, check out the Improving Birth Facebook page.
To read about HerKentucky writer Sarah Stewart Holland's experiences with home birth, please visit her blog, bluegrass redhead.
Football Season is Here!!
Football starts tonight, y'all.
Real, live SEC football.
I have to admit that, when planning to attend an event tonight, a little part of me thought "Well, I can get back in plenty of time to watch Vandy-Ole Miss." But, you know, we can't put our Thursdays and Saturdays on hold from now through the end of the year, right? Well, of course we can. It's football season!
Now, my beau and I are HUGE Kentucky football fans. We've followed the team through ups and downs, and are interested to see what the Stoops era brings.
Tomorrow is College Colors Day. I love the idea that, all across the country, people are gearing up to cheer on their own favorite teams. For me, college colors will always mean Kentucky blue, but there are so many schools across the Commonwealth who are gearing up for big seasons. Personally, I never miss a chance to cheer for my parents' alma maters of Morehead and EKU. There's talk that Louisville is going to have a pretty good team as well. And who can ignore the fact that WKU has a colorful new coach?
Are y'all as excited for football season as I am? What colors are you wearing tomorrow?
The Hot Brown at Louisville's Cheddar Box Too
They're a matter of some debate here on HerKentucky, but I simply adore them. The ingredients? I mean, it's turkey, bacon, cheese and tomatoes. What's not to love?
And then, there's the story of the hot brown. I have to say, it rekindles my Scott and Zelda obsessions when I hear that Louisville's famous Brown Hotel first served the filling, warm, open-faced sandwich as a midnight meal for Jazz Age flappers and their beaux, providing the fuel by which they could Charleston the night away. Good Lord, it just makes me smile to type that.
 |
| Joan Crawford in Our Dancing Daughters. |
These days, hot brown is one of those quintessentially regional cuisines that you just have to try if you visit an area. Visitors to Central Kentucky just have to try a hot brown. And those of us who live here, well,we either love them or we hate them.
Now, I've tried appetizer hot browns and breakfast hot browns. I've had the eponymous sandwich from the Brown Hotel (always my favorite!), and I've followed their recipe to make my own. But, this weekend, I found a whole new adjective to describe the hot brown: "light."
The Cheddar Box Too! is located in the Chenowith Square shopping center in Louisville's St. Matthews neighborhood. It's a delightful little lunch nook -- a spinoff of one of those old-school delis that sells delicious pimiento cheeses, salads and baked goods. The hot brown was light and delicious, with farm-fresh tomatoes and a light hand on the mornay sauce. I had a side of baby field greens with house-made cherry balsamic vinaigrette, which made the meal decidedly more "ladies who lunch" than "flapper." I guess I'll put my Roaring Twenties daydreams aside for another day, but this was a really great sandwich.
Who serves your favorite hot brown?
Women's Equality Day
Today is Women's Equality Day. Designated by Congress in 1971, Women's Equality Day is the result of the passionate advocacy of the one-and-only Bella Abzug and is meant to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which granted women the right to vote.
In celebration of Women's Equality Day, the Kentucky Commission on Women is hosting screenings of the landmark PBS documentary Makers: Women Who Make America. Originally broadcast in February, the three-part three hour documentary profiles the fight for women's rights in the last half of the 20th Century and the women who played essential roles in that fight.
I was completely and totally inspired by the film and the conversations I've seen taking place since its original broadcast. For so long the women's movement was defined by those who opposed it. Feminists were "bra burners" and "femi-nazis" who thought women were superior to men. Hearing the stories of those of the front lines of the real feminist battles - battles for domestic violence shelters and equal pay and the right to play a game you love is not only refreshing but motivating in a way I find difficult to describe.
What I found particularly powerful was the way the total story of the women's movement is portrayed. The filmmakers do not shy away from those who opposed equal rights for women and - even more importantly - the new generation of women who have grown up with equal rights and now must face what this all really means on a personal and professional level.
Watch MAKERS: Women Who Make America on PBS. See more from Makers: Women Who Make America.
However, Makers is really so much more than a single documentary. The film itself is composed of interviews with many of the most important women in the world: Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Gloria Steinem, Marissa Mayer. The interviews with these "high profile game changers" are available online in what PBS calls a "digital and broadcast initiative." Hour after hour of women sharing their stories to inspire a new generation of women is powerful and empowering in a way a thousand Miley Cyruses and Robin Thickes can't undo.
So, celebrate Women's Equality Day! Go to a screening in your area:
August 26, 2013
Host: Morehead State University Student Activities
Location: 150 University Blvd., Morehead, KY 40351
Time: TBA (Tentatively scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in conjunction with another event)
Contact: Shante Hearst 606-783-2668 or Laken Gilbert 606-748-4864
Host: League of Women Voters of Louisville
Location: 115 S. Ewing, Louisville, KY 40206
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Pat Murrell 502-895-5218
Host: Midway College Student Affairs
Location: 512 E. Stephens Street, Anne Hart Raymond Building, Room 120/121, Midway, KY 40347
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Contact: Jessica Combess 859-846-5390
Host: Lexington Public Library
Location: 140 East Main Street (Central Library Farish Theater), Lexington, KY 40507
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Contact: AnnaMarie Cornett 859-231-5501
Host: Gateway Community & Technical College
Location: 525 Scott Blvd, (Gateway Urban/Metro Campus), Room 301, Covington, KY 41011
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Contact: Kathy Driggers 859-442-416
Host: KCW Commissioners Karkie Tackett, Joan Gregory, & Mary Ellen Elsbernd
Location: Campbell County Library, 1000 Highland Avenue, Ft. Thomas, KY 41075
Campbell County Library Event Flyer.docx
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Joan Gregory 859-802-8785 or Karkie Tackett 859-781-1844
Host: University of Kentucky 
UK Women's Equality Day Flyer.pdf
UK Women's Equality Day Flyer.pdf
Location: Main Building, Visitors Center
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Contact: Randolph Hollingsworth 859-257-3027
Host: KCTCS, WIN Committee and Women's and Gender Studies
Location: Downtown Campus Library (First Floor Activities Area), Louisville
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Contact: Jill Adams 502-213-2364
August 27
Host: Coalition of Labor Union Women MLWPC FLYER.doc 
Location: UAW Local 862, 3000 Fern Valley Road, Louisville, KY 40213
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Contact: Virginia Woodward 502-541-5526 or Vera Newton 502-364-3973
Panel of Scholars: Discussing the Status of Women Today—Local, State, National and Global Women's Equality Day 2013 - Tuesday.pdf
Women's Equality Day 2013 - Tuesday.pdf
Host: University of Kentucky
Location: Marksbury Building Auditorium
Time: Noon – 2 p.m.
Contact: RSVP 859-257-9293
Host: Women of Daviess County
Location: Ford Center, Owensboro Area Museum, 3870 W 2nd (60W), Owensboro, KY 42301
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Contact: Rachel Foster 270-314-1226
If there isn't one available near you, watch the documentary online and be inspired to become a maker yourself!
~ Sarah Stewart Holland