May is party month in Lexington, celebrating the city’s diversity and history
Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history - some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
Lexington will celebrate its unique communities in May as part of the celebration of the city’s 250-year history.
From Black Leadership Awards to world fashion and dancing to recalling when French nobility visited the city, there’s a wide variety of events this month highlighting all the different communities that make Lexington special.
“This month, we are celebrating the uniqueness that enriches our community,” Mayor Linda Gorton said. “Lexington is a city where everyone is welcomed and embraced.”
May is the month, the mayor said, where visitors and residents alike can “learn more about the different cultures that call Lexington home.”
One of the big events will be the much-anticipated DiverCity Festival, which will return this month to bring together cultures and entertainment. The festival, from noon-7 p.m. May 24 at the Courthouse Plaza on North Limestone, will feature at least 45 live performances, more than 70 cultural and business booths and a wide selection of food from all over the world.
The event is free and open to the public.
The Lexington History Museum partnered earlier this month with Friendship International Lexington, a gathering place for women of all ages and nations to come together and share an evening of international fashion and culture May 4.
The museum will also host an evening of International Fashion and Dancing from 4-6 p.m. May 17. Organized by Preeti Gupta, the event will feature traditional fashion from India, Mexico and China, as well as a presentation of classical, folk and Bollywood Indian dances performed by Lexingtonians with roots in India.
The event is free, but registration is required.
On May 13, the Black Prosperity Initiative will honor Black community leaders creating lasting change throughout Lexington at its 2025 Grassroots Black Leadership Awards. This year’s honorees include Tanya Clark and Dora Hudson, founders of the West End Community Empowerment Project; Christine Elizabeth Smith, executive director of Seedleaf Inc.; and Rebecca Webb, co-founder and executive director of Community Inspired Lexington.
The event at DV8 Kitchen’s East End location is free and open to the public.
An exhibition celebrating the history of Lexington’s LGBTQ community will open on May 24. The exhibit, “Queer, Here, & Everywhere: The Roots of Kentucky’s LGBTQ History” will be on display at the Lexington Public Library, Central Branch from May 24-June 26.
Highlighting key moments and figures in Lexington’s LGBTQ community — from Sweet Evening Breeze’s drag performances to the passage of the Fairness Ordinance in 1999.
Organizers said they “hope to foster a greater sense of belonging for LGBTQ individuals in Lexington, while also promoting understanding and appreciation among the broader population.”
And looking back at the city’s history, the city will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Lexington.
Born Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, the Marquis de Lafayette, was a French military officer and politician who joined the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War.
Some may remember Daveed Diggs’ portrayal of him in the Broadway musical “Hamilton.”
After America won its independence, Lafayette went home to France, where he was appointed to the Assembly of Notables and helped write the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, a French version of the American Declaration of Independence.
In 1824, President James Monroe and Congress invited Lafayette to visit the United States to celebrate the country’s 50th anniversary. Starting in New York City on Aug. 15, Lafayette traveled the country, going through Boston and Philadelphia and on to the rest of the country.
Originally, Lafayette was only supposed to visit the original 13 states over four months, but his stay stretched to visiting all 24 states over 16 months.
On May 10, after visiting The Hermitage, Gen. Andrew Jackson’s home in Tennessee, his ship, the Mechanic, sank. All of the passengers on board reached shore, but Lafayette lost property and money as a result.
However, the next day, the party was picked up by the passing steamboat Paragon that was going in the opposite direction. The captain insisted on turning around and taking Lafayette to Louisville.
Between May 11 and May 14, Lafayette visited Louisville and Frankfort where he was wined and dined. On May 15, he spent the night at the home of Major John Keene in Lexington, and between May 16-17, he attended a military parade, visited the Lexington Female Academy and spoke at Transylvania University.
In Lexington, he was greeted by crowds of people, many of whom were Revolutionary War veterans who wanted to share war stories with him.
Keeneland Library, in partnership with Transylvania University and Lexington History Museum, will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Lafayette’s visit to Lexington, Kentucky, with a community reception at Keene Place on May 15 at 3 p.m. Tickets for the event are $20 each and available on Keeneland’s site.
Lexington will also celebrate the bicentennial of his visit with two events on Friday, May 16. A marker honoring his visit will be dedicated at Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, between 10-11 a.m. that morning, while a ceremony placing a marker in Gratz Park will be held at 3 p.m.
Diversity Month ambassador Christian Motley said the month reflects the city’s history in a special way.
“This May, as we honor Lexington’s 250th anniversary, we celebrate the rich story of this place — the people, cultures, and diverse experiences that have shaped what makes our city great,” he said.
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 9:00 AM.