$5 After 5 P.M., 1925 Wedding Dress, Last Call for BOGO Beer Fest Tickets, and More
Happy Monday, y’all!
Wrapping up a wet and somewhat wild spring, 2025 is now officially the wettest start in the 130-year recorded history of Kentucky weather.
On Friday, and right on cue, we flipped the calendar to a scorching summer season that often sends us all to swimming pools, splash parks, lakes, and, yes, air-conditioned attractions. Today, we’re highlighting a couple cool Frazier products for your consideration.
Kentucky African American Heritage Trail graphic.
First up, the Frazier is proud to be a stop on Kentucky’s brand new African American Heritage Trail, which Governor Andy Beshear announced Monday at the Muhammed Ali Center.
Here at the Frazier, guests will learn about inventor Garrett Morgan, chemist St. Elmo Brady, and pilot Willa Brown while also experiencing the poetry of Frank X Walker and the artistry of Ché Rhodes—all of whom have offered important and enormously impactful contributions to our shared Kentucky history.
The Frazier is proud to be Where the world meets (all of) Kentucky!
Also this week, our talented team of storytellers has dropped the latest Kentucky Wide podcast with stories in support of our exhibition Davis Jewelers’ Love & Marriage. You can get it wherever you listen to podcasts.
There are just a few more hours to take advantage of our Father’s Day–inspired BOGO on general admission tickets to the Frazier Summer Beer Fest. The buy-one-get-one-free promotion ends tonight at midnight.
Visitors explore the Frazier’s 120: Cool KY Counties exhibit, November 5, 2024. Credit: Clay Cook.
Finally, we’re excited to announce that the Frazier History Museum and Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory are teaming up for the $5 After 5 campaign. This summer, on the final Sunday of each month—June 29, July 27, and August 31—we will each offer $5 admission from 5 to 8 p.m.! Come tour our exhibitions on everything Kentucky—Kentucky history, counties, pop culture, Bourbon, KentuckyShow!, and more. We’re excited to extend our hours and invite all members of our community to enjoy a Sunday evening on historic Museum Row.
In today’s Frazier Weekly, Tish celebrates a Louisville couple’s 100th wedding anniversary, Rachel plugs our Marriage Equality and EthanAlmighty programs, Hayley recognizes our Friends of Frazier Giving Society members, Nicole checks in from the Ren Fair in Henry County, and Abby heads down the block to visit Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Tasting Room. Plus, Norton West Louisville Hospital CAO Corenza Townsend teases our July 15 community update and listening session.
Enjoy the heat, folks. It’s summer in Kentucky!
Andy Treinen
President & CEO
Frazier History Museum
This Week in the Museum
From the Collections: Agnes V. Kohne’s Wedding Dress, 1925
Louisville’s Arthur C. Lutz and Agnes V. Kohne pose on their wedding day, June 23, 1925.
This week from the collection we would like to highlight a piece currently on view in our Davis Jewelers’ Love & Marriage exhibition.
On June 23, 1925—one hundred years ago today!—Agnes V. Kohne of Decatur, Indiana, married Arthur C. Lutz of Louisville, Kentucky. They were married at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Decatur. They then took a honeymoon tour of the southern states and returned to Louisville to reside.
Agnes’s dress is made of cream silk crepe with a lace yoke, short sleeves, and four matching lace panels in the skirt. It features a two-and-a-half-inch-wide beaded panel down the front of the dress and a cape off the shoulders. Fun fact: most of the wedding dresses from the 1920s in our collection have a cap-like train that attaches at the shoulders and runs past the length of the dress.
For your viewing pleasure, we have Agnes and Arthur’s wedding photo. But we hope you will come down to the Frazier to see Agnes’s dress in person! You can find it on the Decades platform.
Tish Boyer
Registrar & Manager of Collections Engagement
Last Chance to Secure your Tickets to our Two Programs this Week!
Time is running out to sign up for two programs this week at the Frazier History Museum.
10 Years of Marriage Equality flyer.
Basketball, Bourbon & EthanAlmighty flyer.
As part of our Davis Jewelers’ Love & Marriage exhibition, we are holding a program titled 10 Years of Marriage Equality.
This week marks the tenth anniversary of the historic decision extending the right to marry to same sex couples nationwide.
Many of the key players including Kentucky plaintiffs and attorneys will join us. Click here to reserve your space.
And this Thursday, join us for Basketball, Bourbon & EthanAlmighty. It’s the perfect pairing of champions and “heart” when U of L legend Russ Smith takes the stage, along with EthanAlmighty and his human companion Jeff Callaway. Ethan overcame incredible odds and with Jeff teams up to spread kindness.
We’ll sample some of Russ Smith’s Bourbon line, including a particular batch that pays tribute to Ethan.
Click here to purchase your ticket to be part of this night of champions.
We hope to see you at the Frazier.
Rachel Platt
VP of Mission
Last Call for BOGO Deal on Frazier Summer Beer Fest Tickets!
2025 Frazier Summer Beer Fest BOGO graphic.
Last call, folks!
Our Father’s Day promotion—a Buy-One-Get-One-Free deal on GA (General Admission) tickets to this year’s Frazier Summer Beer Fest—has run its course. The offer ends TONIGHT at 11:59 p.m.
Museum Shop: Louisville Camping Mugs
Louisville camping mugs sold in the Frazier’s Museum Shop and online.
Perfect for summer camping, glamping, or just sipping on the porch, these metal camp mugs are sturdy, stylish, and full of Louisville pride. Whether you’re enjoying a cool morning in the backyard or a warm evening in the woods, this is the mug you’ll want by your side. Each mug—the “Someone in Louisville Loves Me” mug and the “Hugs from Louisville” mug—is available at the Frazier’s Museum Shop and online.
Celebrating the 2024–25 Friends of Frazier Giving Society
Friends of Frazier Giving Society graphic.
At the heart of the Frazier History Museum is a belief in the power of stories to connect, inspire, and preserve the past for future generations. That belief was embodied by our founder, Owsley Brown Frazier—a passionate collector whose vision brought centuries of world history to Louisville when the museum opened its doors in 2004. Today, we continue his legacy by telling the stories of Kentucky: its people, its places, and its profound impact on the nation and the world.
None of this work would be possible without the dedication of our Friends of Frazier Giving Society.
This cherished group of supporters represents our closest circle—individuals and families who are deeply committed to the mission of the museum and the spirit of philanthropy that Owsley Brown Frazier exemplified. As stewards of community and history, our Giving Society members provide critical annual support that sustains exhibitions and collections care, educational programming, community outreach, and the museum’s continued evolution as a space where history lives.
It is with heartfelt gratitude that we recognize and thank the 2024–25 Friends of Frazier Giving Society:
Visionary Circle
· J. McCauley and Eileen Brown
· Jim and Cat Joy
· Joseph Magliocco
· Charles W. Stewart
· Lindy B. Street
Honor Circle
· Walter T. Crutcher
· Bruce Farrer
· Heather and Marshall Farrer
· Cordt Huneke
· Jim Ramsey, In Memory of Owsley Brown Frazier
· Keith Williams
Ambassador Circle
· James and Susan Armagno
· Amelia Frazier Theobald
· Larry and Tracey Lowe
· John and Sara McCall
· Scott Neil
· Sharon and Henry Potter
· Cory Skolnick and Megan Sullivan
· Todd and Beth Spencer
· Kerry and Debbie Stemler
· William A. Stone
· Pamela and Paul Thompson
Leadership Circle
· Dan and Bunny Abbott
· Charles Barret Birnsteel
· J. Mark and Maria Dorsey
· Penelope Peavler and Charles Grass
· William and Anne Hinkebein
· Anne Jewell
· Christine and John Johnson
· Charles and Leah Joy
· Matt and Elizabeth McCall
· Debra and Ronald Murphy
· John and Lee Receveur
· Kim Stawski
· Andy and Wendy Treinen
· Julian P. Van Winkle
· Jess and Delores Yowell
Patron Circle
· Joseph and Linda Baker
· Kevin Borland
· Sally Van Winkle Campbell
· Ruth Cloudman
· JP Davis
· Joe and Holly Gathright, In Honor of Walter Crutcher
· Vickie Yates Brown Glisson and Dr. Shawn Glisson
· Clarence and Bettie Glover
· Jane Haase
· James D. Jackson
· Michael Hasken and Ann Oldfather
· Mary Korfhage
· Steven Kubiatowski
· Debra and Philip Lichtenfels
· John and Andrea Neichter
· Russell and Terri Saunders
· Dace Brown and William ‘King’ Stubbs
To each of our Friends of Frazier: thank you. Your generosity fuels our mission and ensures that Kentucky’s stories continue to be preserved and shared with pride and purpose.
If you would like to learn more about joining the Friends of Frazier Giving Society, please visit fraziermuseum.org/givingsociety or contact me at (502) 753-1693 or hharlow@fraziermuseum.org.
Thank you for helping keep history alive.
Hayley Harlow
Sr. Manager of Fundraising
Travel to the Past at Kentucky Renaissance Fair in Eminence, Henry County
120: Cool KY Counties graphic.
The Frazier’s Nicole Clay joins friends at the 2025 Kentucky Renaissance Fair in Eminence, Henry County, June 14, 2025.
Our 120: Cool Counties exhibit features historical stories from all across the state of Kentucky. We want our visitors to be able to access the past right at their fingertips.
But just an hour east of the Frazier—in Henry County, Kentucky—there exists a portal that can actually transport you to another world. The sounds of armored knights battling fill the air, and if you have a keen eye you might spot a fairy or two.
Ok, I might be embellishing a thing or two. But it certainly feels as if you’ve been transported to another world when you enter the Kentucky Renaissance Fair.
For the last twenty years, the Kentucky Ren Fair has been inviting people to step back in time to the world of Robert the Bruce, who ruled Scotland from 1306 to 1329. While the fair may be based in history, it’s a wonderful mix of fantasy and history and even a spot of sci-fi.
The fair is a permanent fixture in my summer social calendar that my friends and I look forward to every year. The fair has something for everyone with all the amazing shows they put on, including my personal favorites: the Mud Show and the Joust. There are also tons of amazing vendors selling interesting wares. I may have bought a crown or two during my visits to the fair. My favorite thing about the fair is the people. While it’s not a requirement, many attendees choose to dress up—whether it a be a simple peasant blouse and skirt, a suit of armor, or a Starfleet uniform. My group goes as a motley crew made up of a sorceress, a pirate captain, a wench, and a trapped twenty-first-century time traveler. The fair is fun for all ages, so make that short drive to Eminence and step into another world.
The Kentucky Renaissance Fair runs on the weekends through July 20.
Nicole Clay
Education & Engagement Specialist
On the Trail with Abby: Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Louisville Tasting Room
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®.
Bardstown Bourbon Company’s Louisville Tasting Room. Credit: Joseph & Joseph Architects.
If you’ve wandered down Louisville’s Main Street lately, you may have spotted a sleek new tasting room. Bardstown Bourbon Company, with its major distilling operation in Bardstown, has opened an ultra-inviting tasting room on Whiskey Row—and it’s just steps from the Frazier History Museum.
Located at 730 West Main Street, Bardstown Bourbon’s downtown outpost feels more like a high-end cocktail lounge crossed with a lab for whiskey geeks. Implements include Bourbon, of course, but also augmented reality and immersive digital components. Sleek and modern, the space invites visitors to dive deep into the brand’s Origin, Discovery, and Collaborative Series through interactive tastings that feature digital storytelling, sensory pairings, and expert-led flights.
One standout experience is the Expedition Bardstown, where guests compare estate-distilled Bourbons and blends while learning about the distilling process and enjoying snack pairings. For those wanting to go even deeper, the Single Barrel Experience allows guests to sample and select premium picks without the pressure of purchasing an entire barrel.
Designed by Louisville’s own Joseph & Joseph Architects, the space pairs contemporary flair with the architectural charm of historic Whiskey Row. It’s open Tuesday through Saturday, with extended evening hours on Fridays. It’s a perfect spot for a post-work pour or a stop on your weekend Bourbon crawl.
Stuck at home? Take a digital 360 tour of Bardstown Bourbon’s Distillery to lift your spirits. I’ll leave the Bourbon pairing up to you.
Abby Flanders
Administrative Chief of Engagement
Bridging the Divide
Sign Up for Norton West Louisville Hospital Community Update and Listening Session
Renee Murphy hugs Russ Cox at Norton West Louisville Hospital news conference, November 8, 2024. Credit: Norton Healthcare.
Norton West Louisville Hospital Community Update and Listening Session flyer.
It was a day that will stay with me forever: the official opening “ceremony” of Norton West Louisville Hospital on November 8. It’s the first hospital to be built west of Ninth Street in 150 years. It was a perfect sunny day, and the atmosphere was electric that something important was happening here. And it was. My former colleague Renee Murphy of Norton Healthcare was part of that day, getting special recognition for her role in the opening. The CEO of Norton Healthcare, Russ Cox, stirred the crowd with his message of change, as did Corenza Townsend, the Chief Administrative Officer. Join us as we host a program on July 15 to see what impact the hospital is making. Click here for reservations. And to get a preview of that impact, here’s Corenza Townsend.—Rachel Platt, VP of Mission
Ten thousand emergency room visits. More than 4,000 neighbors served in the food pantry. One thousand three hundred primary care appointments. I am reminded of the impact of Norton West Louisville Hospital daily. Seeing the care provided and the lives saved on a site that hadn’t been developed in years is the ultimate message to the community that promise is possible. The first hospital built west of Ninth Street in more than 150 years, opened on November 11, 2024. We loved when people would shout to us “11/11” in anticipation of the hospital coming to the community. Since the hospital’s opening, some patients have been connected with a specialist for the first time, some patients decided it was time to seek primary care after not having a medical home for years, and other patients have come to the hospital traveling to the West End for the first time. This is truly a community hospital. From those served to those who provided input, we set out on a journey together and the hospital stands because we worked collaboratively every step of the way.
The culture at Norton West Louisville Hospital is visible to every visitor. It doesn’t feel like a traditional hospital. One patient has even described a feeling of excitement when she has an appointment. The energy in the facility is as high today as it was on 11/11. The right team is in place ready to care for you. Some are from neighborhoods west of Ninth and others drive an hour in to be a part of true change. Skilled surgeons are performing innovative procedures in our state-of-the-art operating rooms. And we are just getting started.
I have never been more excited in my healthcare career. If you’d told me five years ago I’d be leading this hospital in our community, I would have beamed with pride. Now that it’s a reality, that smile hasn’t faded and the joy continues to grow. It is a hospital and sometimes there are hard days for our staff and patients, but we all know our why. It’s brought us together and I believe it will lead to improved health outcomes for years to come.
Corenza Townsend
Chief Administrative Officer, Norton West Louisville Hospital
Guest Contributor
