There’s a new player in town—and she’s partnering with the Frazier to make downtown Louisville a more vibrant, exciting, accessible, and welcoming place. You can bet on it!

Derby City Gaming Downtown opens this week, bringing a top-shelf entertainment experience to the people living, working, and playing in the heart of our city. It has secured Corporate Membership to the Frazier to ensure its employees full access to the museum any time. For all of you, Derby City Gaming has sponsored a free admission day later this month.

That’s right: on Wednesday, December 27, in the middle of our Lights on Main community celebration, everyone and anyone who comes to the Frazier after 5 p.m. gets in for free. Thanks, Derby City!

Lights on Main is a partnership with our friends at I Would Rather be Reading and will be on view through January 8, 2024. Walmart is sponsoring a free day on Sunday, December 17. Click here for details about extended hours on Wednesdays and all the great programming that goes along with it. In today’s Frazier Weekly, Ashley Dearinger shares a bit more about how I Would Rather be Reading is a gift to hundreds of Kentucky kiddos. Click here to learn more about Derby City Gaming.

Also in this Frazier Weekly, Hayley Harlow Rankin introduces our staff singers, the Frazier Madrigals. Sippin’ with Stephen features Angel’s Envy and Greg Schoenbaechler looks back at a day celebrated enthusiastically by all our partners on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®, Repeal Day. There’s a toast to holiday cheer and then Rachel Platt gets all wrapped up in quilts.

I sure do hope you enjoy.

This Week in the Museum

Derby City Gaming Opens in Heart of Downtown Louisville

Derby City Gaming Downtown is Churchill Downs Incorporated’s brand new Historical Racing Machine (HRM) entertainment facility. Located in the heart of downtown Louisville, the property will be CDI’s sixth HRM facility in the state of Kentucky and one of twenty-seven properties across thirteen states.

This brand new Historical Racing Machine (HRM) entertainment facility is a total investment of $90 million. CDI also focused efforts to identify and contract with women- and minority-owned businesses, with current totals exceeding aggressive goals and recording over a $14 million spend with MBE and WBE subcontracting services. DCG Downtown will generate 150+ permanent jobs and generated 450 construction jobs over the course of the project. There are nearly 500 state-of-the-art HRMs on property—featuring some of the most popular and fan favorite themes on the market. DCG Downtown offers guests three unique food and beverage locations.

First Turn Sports Bar, located on the main level of the property, will be host to live weekend entertainment and DCG Downtown’s Race & Sports Book. Trophy Bar Bourbon & Cigars, located in the lower level of the property, offers guests the chance to experience the finest Bourbons, hand-rolled cigars, and an outdoor cigar smoking patio. Fascinator Wine Bar, also located in the lower level of the property, invites guests to sip and savor offerings from a well-curated wine list and enjoy delectable charcuterie boards in an intimate atmosphere.

Located on the main level of the property, and with a separate street entrance, the Kentucky Derby Gift Shop will offer Kentucky Derby, DCG Downtown, and a collection of other merchandise for purchase. The gift shop is open to guests of all ages. With on-site parking located on the upper level of the property, there will be two hundred on-site parking spaces. The First Turn Sports Bar & Stage will host live entertainment every Friday and Saturday night. DCG Downtown will offer both sports and simulcast wagering to guests through the on-property Race & Sports Book located in First Turn Sports Bar & Stage.

Evan Landherr
Director of Marketing, Derby City Gaming
Guest Contributor

Join Us for the First Lights on Main Late Night Wednesday, December 6

We are lit here at the Frazier. Let me explain: we’re lit up with dozens of Christmas trees for our Lights on Main exhibition here at the museum!

We kicked it off Friday night with an open party. Now the exhibition is up until January 8 for you to enjoy! In addition to regular hours at the museum to see the beautiful display, we’re going to be open extended hours each Wednesday night, from 5 to 8 p.m., for you to take it all in. A reminder that our partnership is with I Would Rather be Reading, a nonprofit organization that provides equitable literacy support to children and their families.

So join us this Wednesday, December 6, for our first late night Wednesday. You’ll pay $10 to join us after 5 p.m. and we’ll have a full slate of activities for you and your family to enjoy along with the decorated trees. There will be special marketplace vendors (read more in our next article) along with Angel’s Envy with Bourbon tastings, performances by the Panpipe Flute Choir, and special songs by our own Frazier Madrigals.

And if you’re a member (or want to become one that night), join our Tea Time with Tish: Hot Toddy Edition from 5 to 6 p.m. on the third floor. Our registrar and manager of collections engagement Tish Boyer will serve up a hot toddy and discuss what made cocktail parties such a thing in the 1950s and ’60s. Feel free to dress the part!

One last thing: if you visit during Lights on Main, remember to cast your vote for a favorite tree through Venmo, online, or with cash! One dollar equals one vote. Online and Venmo votes will type which votes go to what trees in the description. You can cast all votes to one tree or spread the love! Proceeds from fan favorite votes support I Would Rather be Reading and the Frazier History Museum. The winner will be announced in late December.

We hope to see you this Wednesday! Keep on reading to learn more about the special night.

Vendors for December 6’s Late Night Wednesday Pop-up Marketplace

The Frazier’s Lights on Main exhibition will help get you in the holiday spirit—and if you visit this Wednesday, 5 to 8 p.m., it may help you check some folks off your shopping list.

We’ll have a pop-up marketplace with several local vendors joining us with great gift ideas.

Let’s start with Noir 5 and Shona Casey. She’s turned her love of fashion and cosmetology into a natural body and bath product line that gets rave reviews.

Corie Brangers of Sunblind Fine Art + Wearables will be here with her brand of quirkiness with jewelry, pet portraits, and more! With her background as a mental health therapist, her creations are good for the soul.

Surekha Kulkarni is all about empowerment with Empowering Beads with her handcrafted jewelry. You’ll be an instant fan because of the look, but also because she donates all her profits.

Architect Wadia Newman will bring Louisville landmarks to life on spectacular glassware and prints. Cheers to that.

Speaking of cheers, Wandering Spirits will be selling with their line of handcrafted cocktail syrups and giftables for your bar.

And here’s a real honey of a gift: Honeybears with their line of products.

And then there’s Misc Goods with timeless, well-designed goods for your home, body, and life!

And we’re just getting started: there are more vendors to come on our next late night Wednesday, December 13.

Nonprofit I Would Rather be Reading Promotes Literacy in Louisville

The Frazier History Museum is proud to partner with I Would Rather be Reading for Lights on Main. Our mission of lifelong learning coupled with their mission of literacy is the perfect fit.

Founded in 2018 by Allison Ogle and myself, I Would Rather Be Reading has emerged as a beacon of hope and education in Louisville. The organization is dedicated to ensuring equitable access to trauma-responsive literacy support and social-emotional learning for children throughout the community. Our mission is to create a brighter future by providing free youth programming, literacy tutoring, and engaging enrichment activities that foster critical thinking and open doors to a world of opportunities.

At the core of our vision is the belief that literacy can illuminate diverse perspectives, creating a community where every child has the chance to thrive. Through our efforts, we aim to build a community where literacy is not just a skill but a powerful tool for personal growth.

The captivating Lights on Main exhibition at the Frazier History Museum serves as a vehicle to follow through with our mission, symbolizing the light that literacy brings to young minds. As we continue our journey, we invite the community to join us in creating a Louisville where every child has the opportunity to discover the joy of reading, explore their potential, and build a brighter future for us all.

For more information about our initiatives and to contribute to our cause, please visit iwouldratherbereading.org.

Sippin’ with Stephen: Angel’s Envy Cask Strength with Master Distiller Owen Martin

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 month’s holiday episode of Sippin’ with Stephen showcases Angel’s Envy Cask Strength release for both their Bourbon and Rye Whiskey. My guest, master distiller Owen Martin, discusses their most recent cask strength Bourbon as well as their first ever cask strength rye whiskey release. Owen informs Sippin’ with Stephen viewers about a new twist on how they finish their cask strength rye whiskey and I think viewers will be as excited to taste it as I was! Give the video a watch to find out additional tidbits regarding Angel’s Envy and how they can be a part of your Kentucky Bourbon Trail® experience.

An additional piece of information for Angel’s Envy fans: they will be the sponsoring distillery this Wednesday, December 6, as part of Lights on Main at the Frazier Museum. Come to the Frazier for extended hours of cocktails, tastings, and holiday cheer Wednesday from 5 to 8 p.m. Additionally, Angel’s Envy will have a bottle engraver on hand that evening to personalize any bottles of Angel’s Envy purchased at the Frazier that night. What a great way to personalize a wonderful holiday gift!

I wish all my viewers a happy holiday season. Cheers!

Stephen Yates
Community & Corporate Sales Manager

Frazier Madrigals to Sing “Silent Night” Every Wednesday in December

Join in the spirit of the season with the Frazier Madrigal Choir during Lights on Main!

Every Wednesday evening in December, a few musically inclined members of the Frazier staff, festively dubbed the “Frazier Madrigals,” will close out our extended nights of programming with a performance of “Silent Night” in the Great Hall at 7:45 p.m.

The Frazier Madrigals rehearse in the Frazier’s Gracious Room, November 30, 2023. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

Guests will be encouraged to join in the singing or simply enjoy listening to the timeless melody as the museum lights dim and the surrounding trees come to life. Our first extended evening will be this Wednesday, December 6, and feature Angel’s Envy Bourbon, a pop-up holiday marketplace, and a Panpipe Flute Choir. Read the full program lineup here.

We hope to see (and hear!) you there!

Museum Shop: Coffee Cup Earrings

Coffee cup earrings sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop and online. Credit: Frazier History Museum.

Elevate your holiday style with our Christmas coffee cup earrings—the perfect accessory for coffee aficionados! These lightweight, beaded earrings blend festive charm with a touch of whimsy. Shop online now and enjoy free shipping on orders $50 or more. Go big on style this season!

Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers Program to Feature Artist MJ Kinman

It is one of my most cherished possessions. When my father passed away, we gathered some of his favorite shirts, ties, and, yes, even boxers to be part of a quilt for each of us—my siblings and my mom—to have. We incorporated pictures of my mom and dad in the quilt as well, so he would always be with us, he would always be in our homes, and my parents in some sense would always be together. It’s the most personal form of family history I can imagine.

MJ Kinman is the quilt artist who worked her magic for my family. She will be one of three special guests for our Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers program on Sunday, January 14. Kinman along with “Sunshine Joe” Mallard, another quilt artist, will join author Linda LaPinta for a discussion on her new book, Kentucky Quilts and Quiltmakers: Three Centuries of Creativity, Community, and Commerce. Both Kinman and Mallard are featured in her book. I will save my wonderful connection to “Sunshine Joe” for another Frazier Weekly prior to the program. You can buy your tickets for the program here.

As LaPinta’s book cover says, quilts are much more than simple patchwork bed coverings and wall adornments. I can’t wait to dive into this discussion to learn more about their history and the stories they tell. I know the story mine tells. And with the recent passing of my mother, another story is unfolding for a second quilt in my home. I have her clothes ready.

Rachel Platt
VP of Mission

On this Date: Repeal of Prohibition, December 5, 1933

Cheers! That word likely echoed across America ninety years ago on December 5, 1933, with the repeal of Prohibition.

Detail of page A1 of the December 6, 1933, issue of the *Courier Journal*. Credit: *Courier Journal*.

Repeal Day allowed people to manufacture, distribute, sell, and buy alcohol in America. But there’s another reason to celebrate: repeal also created an outlet for our country to gain tax money and jobs in the middle of one of our country’s most difficult times, the Great Depression. Prohibition cost thousands of people jobs, and according to historian Michael Lerner, Prohibition cost the federal government a total of $11 billion in lost revenue, while costing over $300 million to enforce.

Thankfully for Kentuckians, we can celebrate Repeal Day as a day that allows many people in our beautiful state to thrive in jobs that are connected to the Bourbon industry and enjoy the occasional spirit. If you’d like to learn more about the repeal of Prohibition, visit the Spirit of Kentucky® exhibition at the Frazier.

Toast to Winter at Thursday’s Holiday Cheer: Bourbon and Beer Program

We’re ringing in the holidays with a Frazier Single Barrel of Town Branch Bourbon (a perfect gift) along with the newly released Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter. It’s a seasonal celebration with Lexington Brewing & Distilling Company, the only brewery-distillery on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Discover the artistry and craftsmanship behind each of these exceptional spirits as we explore the intricate process of aging and distilling and the important role a barrel plays. The tasting lineup includes Town Branch Frazier Single Barrel Bourbon, Town Branch Small Batch Bourbon, Town Branch Single Malt Whiskey, Ha’Penny Irish Whiskey, Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Cocoa Porter, and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Imperial Milk Stout.

Join us as we toast the season. To winter!

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