Kickstart the Fourth with free pie, ice cream on July 3

It isn’t too late to enter the Great American Pie Contest, the annual baking and pie-eating fest at the Fifth Third Bank Pavilion at Cheapside Park on July 3. To enter your pie, sign up at downtownlex.com by the end of Friday. There are two categories: made from scratch and semi-homemade, with awards also for prettiest pie. After the judging, the public gets to eat the pie and ice cream at noon.

▪  Going to the Fourth of July parade through downtown Lexington on Tuesday? Watch for the pontoon boat from the Chevy Chase Inn, 833 Euclid Ave. Co-owner Kevin Heathcoat said that when he and partners Will Pieratt and Bill Farmer bought CCI, they found a photo of the boat in a parade and vowed to do it again someday. “The CCI Navy” will be giving away koozies, beach balls, t-shirts, leis, candy and more.

And in the spirit of bringing back CCI traditions, the bar will host a Beach Party on July 8 in honor of Jimmy Buffett’s 50th appearance in Cincinnati. For many years CCI had a Jimmy Buffett Party on the week that Parrot Heads flocked to Cincinnati, Heathcoat said. “What better time to bring the party back than this year? We’ll have amazing music, food and fun! Grab your Hawaiian Shirt, floaties and beach gear and come join the party!” There will be prizes for best (and worst) dressed along with music from Johnny Buffett Herrington and Jimmy Cliff Fields. Tuk Tuk Sri Lankan Bites will be set up on the patio. The party starts at 8 p.m. with music from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m.

▪  Ramsey’s Diners (Zandale, Tates Creek, Andover and Harrodsburg Road locations) will again be closed on July 4th so that employees may participate in the annual July 4th downtown festivities where, before the parade, they will grill and give away more than 2,800 free ears from the first of this years Kentucky Proud corn crop. The Ramsey’s booth will be in front of Phoenix Park, kicking off of Ramsey’s Corn Daze (and ’maters too!) which will run July 5th through September at all locations.

▪  Start your July 4th holiday off with the All American Cocktail Dinner at J. Render’s, 3191 Beaumont Centre Circle on July 3. For $45 per person, you get three courses paired with three cocktails. First course is a Pork Belly Napoleon, Fried Green Tomato, Red Pepper Jelly, Smoked Pimento Cheese & Smoked Pork Belly paired with J. Render’s Signature Manhattan; second course is Country Style Ribs with Beer Cheese Whipped Smoked Grits and Collard Greens paired with Basil Backporch Sweet Tea; and third course is Peach Bourbon Cream Bread Pudding paired with Peach Bourbon Fizz. Food and drinks start at 7 p.m. with Bluegrass Music from 27 South from 8-10 p.m. Reservations are required by calling 859-533-9777.

▪  Azur, 3070 Lakecrest Circle, will kick off the holiday on Monday with a burger slider and craft beer special, in addition to the restaurant’s regular $5 Burger Night. You can get three unique sliders (pimento cheese and bacon; lobster, cream cheese and scallion; and fried green tomato, molasses barbecue and American cheese) along with three craft beer tastings from West Sixth and Country Boy for $15. There will also be half-price grilled oysters or oysters on the half shell all night.

▪  Noodle Nirvana, 315 Chestnut Street in Berea, just celebrated its first anniversary in business. The build-your-own-noodle bowl restaurant has raised more than $30,000 for its local non-profit partner, the New Opportunity School for Women. Noodle Nirvana is a fast casual restaurant that serves fresh, made-from-scratch Asian noodle bowls (with a side of world peace), according to its web site. It’s open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Call 859-358-8435 for more information.

▪  Captain D’s, fast casual seafood restaurant, has opened a new location in Mount Sterling at 488 Indian Mount Road. The new restaurant marks the brand’s 23rd location in the state and emphasizes Captain D’s continued development in Kentucky, with five additional locations slated to open over the next several years in Georgetown, Shelbyville, Shepherdsville, Owensboro and Danville, according to a news release.

▪  Jessamine Growers Farmers Market, 8 a.m. to noon Saturday behind City Hall at Main and Rice streets in Wilmore, will have locally grown blueberries, tomatoes, greens and other seasonal vegetables, local honey and eggs, vegetable garden transplants, cut flowers and perennials.

▪  Bluegrass Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Hamburg Liquor Barn, 1837 Plaudit Place, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday at Azur, 3070 Lakecrest Circle, will have white half runner beans, corn, heirloom tomatoes, potatoes, eggs, honey, jams, beef, pork and more.

▪  Nicholasville Farmers Market, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at 717 North Main Street, will have peaches, tomatoes,watermelons, sweet corn, lettuces, squash, green beans, cucumbers, carrots, beets, greens, candy onions, flowers jams and jellies, baked breads, black angus beef, specialty roasted coffees and items from Kentucky artisans.

▪  Lexington Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in Cheapside Park and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at Southland Drive, will have sweet corn, tomatoes, watermelon, cantaloupe, seasonal berries, squashes, cucumbers, lettuce and other greens, tomatoes, peaches, peppers, garlic, fresh breads, jams and jellies and pastured meats and eggs.

▪  Chevy Chase Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at 316 Ashland Avenue, has fresh seasonal local produce and pastured meats and eggs.

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 9:24 AM with the headline "Kickstart the Fourth with free pie, ice cream on July 3."