I finally got to see the inside of the castle in Woodford County — you know, the one on U.S. 60 that sat empty for eons, then burned and created a sensation a few years back.
Last Wednesday, the Central Kentucky Chapter of American Heart Association had a live auction and preview party to its Heart Ball at CastlePost, as the castle is now known.
When I got the invitation, well, I let my imagination run wild: the castle, the eye-popping stories I've heard since I was a teenager, ... .
Expecting damsels in distress, coats of arms and a suit of armor or two, I entered CastlePost through its 10-foot-tall front door. I was beginning to feel like Jack, of the beanstalk fame.
But the castle wasn't the dark, dank, drafty old castle of my ill-informed imagination. It is an elegant and warm palace hotel dripping with crystal chandeliers.
Walt Robertson of Fasig-Tipton was there to auction off a few incidentals to benefit the Heart Association and to get folks fired up for the big ball, on March 7 at The Lexington Center's Bluegrass Ballroom.
"This fund-raiser is so very important to us," said Joey Maggard, executive director of the association's local chapter. "It helps us raise money for our education, advocacy and research programs."
Vicki House and her husband, Lennie G. House, of Nurses Registry were signature sponsors and honorary chairs of the event. They said they have been involved with the Heart Ball for years.
"We're excited about it," she said.
She also was excited about CastlePost.
"It is absolutely stunning," she said, adding gleefully that she planned to bid on an auction package that included accommodations for six couples at CastlePost.
Ginny Howard and her husband, Neil Howard, general manager of Gainesway Farm, were co-chairs of this year's Heart Ball. They donated a dinner for 12 at Gainesway for the auction.
"It's certainly a worthy cause, and we're very excited to be a part of it," Neil said.
Ginny said of the Heart Ball, "It's going to be elegant, it's going to be special and people are going to be excited about coming because it's one of the first events of the Lexington season ... and I think it will be great fun for everybody."
And so it will, dahling!
Tuska Museum helps out
About a week before the Heart Association party, the Tuska Museum at the Breakers threw open its doors for a benefit for the Kentucky Pink Link, a program to help women fighting breast cancer navigate the challenges of treatment, insurance, transportation and other barriers.
Vicki Blevins of Kentucky Pink Link said her organization "is there to help women and their families with the traumatic experience of a diagnosis of breast cancer."
If you've never heard of the Tuska Museum at the Breakers, it's at the northwest corner of Old Park and Central avenues.
Elizabeth Revell, the museum's director of events, said the museum would donate 40 percent of all its sales that night to Kentucky Pink Link.
The museum was the home of the late artist and 32-year University of Kentucky professor John Tuska, a prolific creator of sculpture, ceramics, paintings, stained glass, paper art and all kinds of media.
"We need to keep this museum in Lexington. This is the legacy of John Tuska," Revell said.
Tuska was an amazing man. The volume of artwork he created is staggering.
I got to meet Tuska's grandson, Jason Tuska, at the event.
"We went to Grandpa's studio (at UK) as a kid and played with him in his studio," he said, "so it's definitely an honor to be able to touch all the pieces and share what he was doing. He's pretty amazing."
