21c Hotel to host Oaks brunch, Derby Eve party
The Original Makers Club, with Woodford Reserve, is hosting weekend parties for the Kentucky Oaks and Derby at the 21c Museum Hotel, 167 West Main Street in Lexington. It kicks off at 11 a.m. May 6 with the Oaks Garden Party & Brunch, a Mad Hatter Tea Party, for $125. Sip craft cocktails, listen to live music, and enjoy a Southern brunch by Lockbox chef Jonathan Searle on the street near the hotel before you leave for Churchill Downs in Louisville.
That evening, there is a Derby Eve party, Down the Rabbit Hole, beginning at 8 p.m., with hors d’oeurves and a live band. Tickets are $175, available online at Theoriginalmakersclub.com.
▪ The Paris Artwalk is 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, with works by local and regional artists at downtown businesses, live music and food. Rooster Brew, 609 Main Street, will have pork tenderloin sliders and local craft beer. (These run out fast, so don’t dawdle.) And Bour-Bon, 616 Main Street, will have light snacks and craft cocktails to go with the art.
▪ Centered Café has opened at CenteredLex yoga studio, 309 North Ashland Avenue. The café, which had been the former home of Caldo, re-opened Wednesday with healthy and mostly organic grab-and-go items, plus products from The Weekly Juicery, Magic Beans Coffee, Alive & Wild and Kentucky Kombucha. The café also plans to offer workshops and demos on health-conscious eating. Call 859-721-1841.
▪ Want to know more about where organic food comes from? The Organic Association of Kentucky is hosting a guided walking tour of the 550-acre Elmwood Stock Farm, 3520 Paris Pike in Georgetown, 1 to 4 p.m. April 26. Mac Stone will talk about the connection between food and health, visit the greenhouses, high tunnels, crop fields and livestock to talk about organic farming, pasture-raised meats and the nutrient-dense foods raised here. The cost is $5 for members; $10 for nonmembers. Advance registration is required on the association’s website, oak.wildapricot.org.
▪ Lexington Farmers Market, 241 Main Street, will have fresh asparagus, lamb, rhubarb, ranunculus, tulips, lilies, tomato and pepper plants, baby green garlic, potted herbs, hydroponic greens, pea shoots, eggs and much more seasonal produce and meats this weekend. Hours are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday; on Sunday at 348 Southland Drive, hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
▪ Bluegrass Farmers Market, 1837 Plaudit Place and 3070 Lakecrest Circle, also has fresh seasonal produce and more. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
▪ The Marriott Griffin Gate, 1800 Newtown Pike, has launched a bourbon cocktail contest that will travel around the country to culminate June 14 in New York. Griffin Gate bartender Ashley Sherrow won the Lexington Bourbon Battle and will compete for the Bourbon Battle title against winners in Portland, Calgary and Boston. Marriott also debuted its Maker’s Mark Private Select bourbon, the first bourbon custom-created by a Marriott Hotel. “The positive response from our guests has been overwhelming since we launched our custom bourbon last week,” said Theona Simbrat, general manager at Griffin Gate Marriott Resort and Spa.
▪ Bourbon Women, an organization for women who are passionate about bourbon and bourbon culture, will host a launch event 6 to 8:30 p.m. May 11 for the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati branch. The event, A Spirited Night, will be at New Riff Distilling, 24 Distillers Way in Newport. There will be tastings and cocktails featuring Michter’s, Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Old Forester and New Riff. Catering is by The Delish Dish. Tickets are $30 for members, $45 for nonmembers, bought in advance online at Bourbonwomen.org. Tickets also are available at the door, cash only, $40 for members and $55 for nonmembers. Guests who buy advance tickets will get a Bourbon Women swag bag.
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 9:38 AM with the headline "21c Hotel to host Oaks brunch, Derby Eve party."