Festivals and events covering all four seasons showcase the best Louisville has to offer. Not only is Louisville the host city of America’s longest-running annual sporting event with the Kentucky Derby - the 150th edition having just been held in May – it also celebrates its history and culture via an array of festivals held throughout the year. Find innovative bourbon distilleries and craft breweries, along with a wealth of creative talent covering music, theatre and the Arts. Sprinkle in annual LGBTQ+ events and world class sporting events and you’ll have to plenty of opportunity to get a taste of in Kentucky’s most captivating city.
Known as the world’s largest music, food and bourbon festival: Bourbon & Beyond welcomes some of the world’s greatest talent to the stage (and kitchen) every September. Whilst world renowned musical artists rock the stage, the spirit of bourbon lives on through immersive culinary experiences helmed by local master chefs, designed to heighten your senses.
Hot on the heels of Bourbon & Beyond comes one of America’s largest rock festival gatherings. Louder Than Life celebrates its 10th anniversary in September 2024 with some of the biggest names in rock performing at Louisville’s Highland Festival Grounds. Slipknot, Motley Crue, and Korn will headline an incredible 4-day line-up of over 140 artists.
Bourbon & Belonging is a brand new, festival coming to Kentucky this October, with Louisville right at the heart of the celebrations. The first week-long event of its kind in the US, the bourbon-focus festivities invite LGBTQ+ travellers from around the world to experience Kentucky’s rich Bourbon culture.
Louisville is also the proud birthplace and home of many legendary icons. Arguably the greatest boxer of all-time - Muhammed Ali, the greatest two-minutes in sport – the Kentucky Derby, and the world’s greatest baseball bat (as used by Babe Ruth) - the Louisville Slugger, were all born out of Bourbon City.
Finally let’s not forget where it all started - on historic Whiskey Row. A compact 1.7 mile strip of major bourbon distilleries and bars that continue to produce some of the world’s best whiskies and cocktails. The iconic ‘Old Fashioned’ cocktail was invented in Louisville but is now world renowned. And although bourbon has historically been “sipped”, it is now progressively used as an integral ingredient by the city’s creative chefs to fire the flavour into their culinary creations.
With events, festivals, and plenty of flavour to be found throughout the year, it’s no wonder Louisville is known as one of “the best festival cities” in the U.S.
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