Join us for Late Night Thursday: Classic Christmas!

This night is shaping up to be a classic at the Frazier! The Frazier’s Stories in Mind team will share stories of traditions of Christmas past in Kentucky. Enjoy choral performances from Male High School’s Choir and the Panpipe Flute Choir, tastings (and bottle engravings!) led by Angel’s Envy, Bearno’s pizza, and more.

Free Admission Sponsored by Passport by Molina Healthcare

Family Activations Sponsored by Louisville Downtown Partnership

Join us for Free Family Day Sponsored by Passport by Molina Healthcare!

Come one, come all, to enjoy the holidays as family! Enjoy free admission to the Frazier Museum for a day of multicultural holiday activities, a chance to get your picture taken with Santa and the Grinch, delicious food from Con Aji y Cafe, Folklorico dance, and more! Last year, over 800 smiling guests turned out to explore the museum and enjoy our Free Family Day.

The holiday exhibition Lights on Main is a partnership offered between the Frazier and I Would Rather Be Reading.

Join us for Ugly Sweater Night (Free Admission) Sponsored by Passport by Molina Healthcare!

Don your ugly sweater (we know you’ve got one!) and help us celebrate literacy nonprofit I Would Rather Be Reading and the many families they help support. We’ll have an Ugly Sweater Contest as well as singalongs, Bourbon tastings, and Bearno’s pizza.

Step into a magical winter wonderland with your family that brings together history, literacy, community, and holiday fun! This winter the Frazier Museum will be partnering with the non-profit I’d Rather Be Reading to offer 3 floors full of trees decorated by community partners, organizations, individuals, and families.

Join us for Late Night Thursday: Kentucky Christmas, Y’all!

The Frazier is where the world meets Kentucky, so we’re devoting this night to everything great about the Commonwealth—from Kentucky Y’All authors to Bourbon and Bearno’s pizza, as well as live music by homegrown folk music act Buzzard Rock String Band.

Gather ‘round for holiday cheer, with cocktails flowing and friends so near,

Rob Samuels leads the way through three fine tastings on display,

Honey tasting, sweet and bright, custom screen printing to your delight,

Dip ornaments in wax, the red so gleaming, holiday spirit’s truly beaming,

(Custom art to take, how stark!)

Passed appetizers all around, flavor notes that do astound,

Perfect pairings, what a sight, on this merry, festive night!

Food and drinks with warmth abound, so let the spirit spread around,

Join the fun, enjoy the chatter, guests will never want to scatter,

(Cheers and thanks to Maker’s Mark!)

Fa la la, la la la, la la la, ’tis the Spirit of the Season bright!

Be among the first to experience the holiday magic at Lights on Main, presented by I Would Rather Be Reading and the Frazier History Museum! On view through January 6, this dazzling winter wonderland showcases 100 uniquely themed Christmas trees, each beautifully decorated by local businesses. You'll also get an exclusive first look at this year’s award-winning trees, recognized in categories like Most Lou Spirit, Best Company Branding, Most Festive, Most Spirited, and Most Unique.

Snacks and treats available for purchase from local favorites, including Bearno's Pizza, RK Bluegrass, The Peach Cobbler Factory, and The Popcorn Bro. A cash bar will be open, and live music from Mrs. Claus and the Stocking Stuffers will keep the holiday spirit going. Capture memories in our photo booth, enjoy complimentary tastings from Noble Funk, Hop Atomica, and Monk’s Road, and don’t forget to visit the museum gift shop for unique holiday gifts. Celebrate the season with us at the Frazier History Museum! 

Sportsmen and Bourbon lovers take aim! The Owsley Brown Frazier Classic sporting clay tournament is an exclusive yet competitive lifestyle experience celebrating Kentucky history and the founding of the Frazier History Museum. Shooters of all skill levels are welcome!

We are proud to announce our first musical members-only experience at the Frazier History Museum. At “Blues in the Bluegrass,” Frazier members will discover the history of Blues in the Bluegrass State, the lasting impact of the Blues on modern popular music, and Kentucky’s contributions to the genre. Attendees will have the opportunity to learn the basics of Blues structure and the musical characteristics that define its style and form as they try their hand at a group performance of a 12-bar blues number with the Frazier house band, The Ox Breeches. Special guest speaker Michael Jones will be joined by the Frazier’s Mick Sullivan and Kent Klarer to guide the audience through an engaging look at this distinctly American artform with global influence. As an engagement device, and a unique spin on this project, each audience member will be given a 10-hole diatonic harmonica, and musical examples will be performed on stage by the Frazier’s talented staff performers. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the content through active participation.

Calling all history buffs and beer enthusiasts! Join us for an unforgettable evening of tasting, learning, and celebrating one of the world’s oldest and most beloved beverages: beer.

From the history of buildings on Main Street to a key site of Bloody Monday, an unusual and now-long-gone fountain, and beyond, Mick will share key moments and uncover hidden details in the landscape that are perfect for both visitors and lifelong residents. Many of the stories covered, including key Underground Railroad sites, are closely related to objects and stories displayed at the Frazier.

From the history of buildings on Main Street to a key site of Bloody Monday, an unusual and now-long-gone fountain, and beyond, Mick will share key moments and uncover hidden details in the landscape that are perfect for both visitors and lifelong residents. Many of the stories covered, including key Underground Railroad sites, are closely related to objects and stories displayed at the Frazier.

Former Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker returns to the Frazier for a special reading from his just-released book Load In Nine Times. He’ll bring the voices of the United States Colored Troops to life as he reads select poems inside our Commonwealth exhibition at the Frazier.

Eighteen of his poems are displayed in our exhibition, coupled with photos and archival documents that helped inspire them—a project that began with Reckoning, Inc.

The Frazier’s curator Amanda Briede will join the intimate gathering to give context to those photos and documents.

Steve Phan from Camp Nelson National Monument will share the history of the Kentucky site that evolved into a massive recruitment and training center for United States Colored troops.

Space inside the exhibition is very limited, so act quickly to purchase your tickets.

Frank X Walker will sell and sign copies of his book starting at 7 p.m. The book signing is open to anyone, even if you weren’t able to purchase a ticket for the special reading.

L’s up as we welcome Coach Pat Kelsey to the Frazier History Museum on Tuesday, September 17. Another Cardinals chapter begins as Coach Kelsey prepares for his debut this fall, declaring U of L basketball is back!

Join us on Saturday Sept 14 for a Community & Family Day! Everyone is invited to enjoy free admission to the museum from 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM. You can explore the galleries, take part in family-friendly activities and games, and talk to local authors and illustrators about their published books.

Step into an era of opulence and clandestine revelry and kick off Bourbon Heritage Month at Michter’s Speakeasy, a Prohibition-Era party, at the Frazier History Museum. On September 5 from 7 - 9:30pm, let us whisk you away to the intoxicating world of the Roaring Twenties, where the giggle water flows as freely as the Charleston.

The Summer Beer Fest at Frazier is back and we’re celebrating the 20th anniversary or the Frazier History Museum! If you love drinking tasty craft beers, festivals, and you’re ready to hang out with friends listening to music and having fun — the Summer Beer Fest at Frazier is on tap. With over 200 specialty beers, food, live music, and Kentucky pride spilling over with each tasting, this promises to be one of the largest beer-tasting events in Kentucky. So grab a group and secure your tickets today to hang out with the best barley brewers and most creative brewski drinkers around. We can’t wait to party with you again this year!

Let’s see where the river takes us. This week, we’ll explore the history, creatures, and lore of the Ohio River. We’ll look at life on the water, from shantyboats and pirate ships to Tori Murden’s transatlantic row boat. And we’ll look at life in the water, from giant catfish to the prehistoric creatures that lived in the ancient oceans that once covered Kentucky. With visits to our friends at the Belle of Louisville and the Science Center, this camp is sure to be a splash.

Sold Out!

Please join us for a screening of the documentary Fleeting Reality featuring multiple Pulitzer Prize–winning photographers from the Courier Journal. Each of their pictures tells its own story, some funny, some tragic, but always interesting.

Behind every success there lies a great many do-overs. And often the failures are just as interesting! This week is dedicated to the failures that occurred on a spectacular level. From terrible inventions, stolen ideas, and military flops to hoaxes, fakes, and bumbling criminals, join us as we celebrate some of history’s most epic fails.

We love printed art and media, so this week we’ll deep dive into the world of comic books, manga, newspaper comics, and zines. (A zine, pronounced ‘zeen,’ is a self-published magazine or pamphlet that springs out of artistic passion and self-expression.) In true zine fashion, we’ll start by reading and then get busy creating. With help from visiting artists, campers will write, draw, print, and collage their own writing and art. And at the end of the week, we’ll print our own collection to share with the group.

Let’s see where the river takes us. This week, we’ll explore the history, creatures, and lore of the Ohio River. We’ll look at life on the water, from shantyboats and pirate ships to Tori Murden’s transatlantic row boat. And we’ll look at life in the water, from giant catfish to the prehistoric creatures that lived in the ancient oceans that once covered Kentucky. With visits to our friends at the Belle of Louisville and the Science Center, this camp is sure to be a splash.

Behind every success there lies a great many do-overs. And often the failures are just as interesting! This week is dedicated to the failures that occurred on a spectacular level. From terrible inventions, stolen ideas, and military flops to hoaxes, fakes, and bumbling criminals, join us as we celebrate some of history’s most epic fails

Experience the rich flavors of James B Beam and legacy of the First Family of Bourbon at the Frazier on June 11th.

In a prelude to Father’s Day, Fred and Freddie Noe will take you on an adventure telling legendary tales about the eight generations that have made up James B Beam and what it means to Fred to pass the master distiller torch to Freddie. This event wouldn’t be complete without Fred and Freddie leading a guided tasting of James B Beam’s best Bourbons – including Frazier’s Knob Creek Single Barrel – and exquisite food from The Kitchen Table, Beam’s new Clermont restaurant.

Bring your father or favorite Bourbon connoisseur to fall into flavors with the largest Bourbon brand in the world at the Frazier, the Official Starting Point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Do you have what it takes to be in charge at the Frazier? We’ll spend this week learning what goes into all the ways our museum engages with the public. We’ll uncover behind-the-scenes secrets by taking basement-to-boardroom tours and by meeting with staff members in different museum departments. Each camper will work solo or in teams to create what we in the biz call an “engagement:” a historic interpretation, a game or craft, or a tour of their favorite exhibit. Campers will spend the week perfecting it before they run the show on Friday for the public–and for invited parents.

Come take “The Journey” with us and see how Kentuckiana played a central role in the Underground Railroad as freedom seekers looked to flee bondage, including Thornton and Lucie Blackburn. This walking tour is free and will start in front of the Frazier History Museum.  It will cover 4 stops on a two-mile route with immersive storytelling from our staff members.

We will gather at 9:30 a.m. with tours happening at 9:40 and 9:50 a.m. Each tour is limited to 20 people.  The final stop will be at “On the Banks of Freedom” installation behind the floodwall near the Frazier.

You’ll be just in time for a special unveiling and program at 11 a.m. by our partner IDEAS xLab called “In Our Elders’ Footprints,” a new (Un)Known Project installation featuring over 20 sets of footprints from Black Louisville elders including activists, educators, and civil rights leaders.

These events are supported by the Louisville Metro Government Juneteenth Jubilee Commission.

We’ll kick off summer with creative energy. Each day this week we’ll focus on a different art discipline–painting, sculpture, music, theater, and film. We’ll host visiting artists for hands-on experiences, learn about the history and cultural influence of specific artists and art movements, and take mini-field trips around the block to explore Main Street art sites and museums.

This is a day camp - join us for one day or all five!

He will tell you John Boy Walton, a country boy who wanted to be a writer, was his hero. Silas House was living that same life in Southeastern Kentucky, and when a teacher told him he was a writer, he believed her as she had believed in him.

With his many novels, Silas House is among the strongest voices of Southern writers. He is a New York Times bestselling author, a Grammy finalist, Kentucky’s current poet laureate, and a faculty member at both Berea College and Spalding University’s Master of Fine Arts in Writing program, from which he received his degree. His working-class upbringing and deep roots in Appalachia helped shape him. And it wasn’t always easy as a gay man. Even so, you won’t find a greater advocate for Kentucky.

Come hear Silas House tell his own story in his most eloquent voice.

You will learn. You will be moved. You will be inspired.