If you're looking for an event to add to your Derby festivities, look no further than the Pimento…read moreCheese Social. After being tipped off by a savvy friend, I scored tickets to this year's Pinento Cheese Social at the Stitzel-Weller distillery. Hosted at the home of Old Fitzgerald, the Pimento Cheese Social includes drinks, eats (pimento cheese-based), and big-band music in a lively outdoor setting under a large party tent. We arrived on time and were quickly greeted by a valet who moved our car to a spot off-site. After a brief introduction to the property, we grabbed a drink from the back of a teardrop trailer -- a Pimento Punch for me and an Old Fashioned for my friend. Next up were snacks. Royals Hot Chicken served up sandwiches on a buttermilk biscuit with a smear of -- you guessed it -- pimento cheese and jalapeño jelly. It was a long wait, but worth it for the tasty bite. Also present were pimento cheese cones from Garage Bar, pimento cheese spread on a soft pretzel from Monnik Beer Co, and Spirited Praline Cakes from Mert's Cakes. Non-food-wise, I was also tempted by Julep candles to buy a Derby-themed bougie. As the evening wore on, we swayed to tunes provided by the Billy Goat Strut Review -- they had an infectious, throwback feel to their music that made me want to dance the Charleston like I was at an old speakeasy. We ducked into the visitors' center at one point to sample some new varieties of Bulleit bourbon, before meandering back outside to wrap up the evening. All-in-all, I had a blast! It's a highly re ended addition to anyone's Derby week festivities and something that I look forward to repeating next year.

This is my favorite beer festival, from the location to crowd and beer offers. In July it is always…read moregoing to be a scorcher and I have to mentally prepare for that, but it also pushes me to try different offerings like ciders and sour ales. This year several vendors had waters on hand for the crowd and it was appreciated. The event is 4 hours and it's easy to stay the entire time. Between snacks and food trucks plus areas to sit and lounge, the time passes quickly. A storm came through this year which sadly affected the crowd, band playing, and our time there but we were so happy still with our experience. Love the Groupon deals this festival offers. They also host a lot of free tickets and events leading up to the festival. Great time! Recommend you out this on your summer rotation.

This was my first time attending the JTown Summer Beer Fest. I happened to win a pair of tickets…read morethrough Yelp, and I had such a good time! It was situated right behind 3rd Turn Brewing, and it was actually much larger than I initially thought it was going to be, and there were so many different craft breweries represented here. There was a lot to choose from, and I don't even think we got to them all! I do wish that there was more seating options. We had to end up sitting on a curb to eat, and it was pretty hot out so it would've been nice to sit in the shade.

The Bourbon Women Sip-osium Conference was amazing! I didn't have a chance to partake in all of the…read moreevents throughout the weekend, but I still loved it. Bourbon Women is a group for ladies who love bourbon and want to learn more about it. Attending a Bourbon Women event is all about exploring bourbon and the culture that surrounds it, all while bringing women of all age groups together to share in their love of bourbon. And this event was a perfect example of exactly what Bourbon Women stands for. The event was held at the Brown Hotel and included receptions, bourbon workshops, distillery excursions, and more. On Friday I attended the "Bourbon & Bites" meet and greet reception, and it was great! There was delicious food from the Brown Hotel, a Michter's Distillery tasting, a Kentucky Peerless Distilling tasting (with a complimentary glass!), and an amazing cocktail from Four Roses. The following day I lead a walking tour from the hotel to Art Eatables and the Jim Beam Urban Stillhouse, and it was fantastic! We had a chance to sample delicious chocolates from Art Eatables, create a custom cocktail at Jim Beam, and then learn about the entire Jim Beam family and have a bourbon tasting, including Baker's and Knob Creek. The event was awesome and I hope to have a chance to attend again in the future. If you're considering a Bourbon Women membership, or attending any of their events, I highly recommend it!

BourbonVille is such a fun event! I had never attended before this year when the event was held at…read moreThe Frazier, but it was an awesome venue for it! The location offered four floors of bourbon tasting, cocktails, food, and shopping; plus you could take in the Frazier exhibits along the way! Not only was there plenty of bourbon, but other spirits were represented as well. I saw some gin, tequila, and Louisville's local urban winery - Old 502! If you're looking for a fun Kentucky Derby Festival event to attend, I definitely recommend BourbonVille!

The Keg Fest of Ales is a really great beer festival!…read more Aside from it being across the river in Southern Indiana, here are some of the highlights: -It is a bit spread out. There is some breathing room and on various levels in and around the amphitheater. -They allow chairs in so you can sit and enjoy your brews in some shade. -An awesome, varied selection of beers! -They have a SOUR TRUCK! And entire station dedicated to sour beers. Bless you, Fest of Ales. BLESS YOU!! And thank you. As long as the weather isn't the literal worst, attending this event with be pretty wonderful! They always have a great selection of beers, several food trucks and a bunch of sponsor/non-beer vendor booths to break up the afternoon. A notable thing about this festival is that you don't get a tally card for how many drinks/samples you can get. I *actually* think this encourages more responsible drinking! You just taste what you want as you want it. People aren't rushing to get all the drinks they can get and fill out their tasting sheet! I have been to several different beer festivals, and it seems like it is often a race and challenge to 'complete' your card. Somehow....doing away with the cards might have helped! At least, my experience with the people around me is that they seemed more sober. It is a fun reason to cross the river, get your drink on, and be reminded that New Albany is a pretty cute lil' town!

Recently having moved to New Albany, I have been trying to explore this charming town. I have been…read morefinding that New Albany hosts some great events such as this one. The Keg Fest of Ale took place at the Riverfront Amphitheater which offers Indiana's view of the Ohio River. It was a nice warm day and there were were occasional breezes which felt great while sipping beer, listening to music, and walking down the riverfront. I have been to many beer festivals before and I have to say this was one of my favorite ones. The view by the river, the spread out festival tents was a nice break from being cramped up next to people who maybe have had too much to drink, and the company I had was really really nice. Plus there was a Yelp booth there of course and Kasen and Kathy were manning it so major yay! There were over 200 breweries there and some new tappings which led to long lines but surprisingly all the lines moved quickly. All a result of the festival being spread out so that's a major plus. So much beer. I tried. I really did try. But I doubt I even tried half of the beers that were offered there. I did get to try some favorites there and I tasted a lot of new ones. I love craft beers and the amazing creative names that breweries come up with. Some of the names just draw you in so hey it works. I especially recall liking a summer shandy from a Northern Michican brewery called Shorts. I tried seeing if this was available at a liquor store after the event but it was not. I hope this company expands as it was one of my favorites out of all the beers I sampled. This event is one I'll have to plan to go to each year. And hey it's for charity! Beer and charity. Enough said. Any other reasons to wonder if this even is worth it? Okay well they also have some food trucks and this year they had one which sold tater tots. I immediately respect any place who offers tater tots, bringing a classic nostalgic food item into an only adult festival. The tater tots took me back to elementary school which was such an easy fun time. Except there wasn't beer. So tater tots and beer combined, AMAZING (Spongebob voice) experience! Seriously, everything about this festival was great. The weather, the company I was with, the food, the event location, and I love how this event didn't have to deal with any vouchers or punch cards. It was just pay, get a wristband and drink whatever you choose. SO much easier than other events, especially after having tasted a dozen or so beers. At this least in this event it's just a matter if you can hand over your event tasting glass and ask for whatever beer you want to sample. I give this event a big 5 stars. Great event in New Albany, Indiana. Already looking forward to next year!

After meeting a friend at Safai for coffee, I made a pot stop at the Open Air Fair. I enjoyed it…read morelast year and picked up a few gifts for family and teachers. This year it seemed to have less booths and several of them were related to pampered chef, premier jewelry, etc whereas I prefer browsing handmade items. A couple of food trucks and radio station were also there but because the number of booths is on the low side, I'm sure their main customers are the sellers. After 10-15 minutes I had already walked through, and that was with a stop to speak to a Dress for Success rep. I know overseeing an event is no small task. I wish more advertising I'd seen more advertising throughout the community. Today is also the Highlands Festival and it would've been nice for their sellers to capture that crowd too.

Another year in the books and this Beer Fest never ceases to amaze me. It seems to get better…read moreevery year. VIP is the way to go for the awesome swag bags. Those bags contain coupons for certain restaurants, koozies and other goodies. They really outdid themselves this year with the tasting glasses that resembled Stanley cups. As always I never had a favorite beer from here there is too many to choose from. They had Ohio Valley Wrestling and Vinyl Richie for entertainment again this year. Other than the rain (had my rain poncho the whole time) I had an awesome time. Looking forward to the next year as always.

Wow, has it really been that long since my first visit? I had the opportunity to come back to…read moreTailspin this year. Our tickets were general admission. VIP is available, which is an additional hour in a smaller crowd plus food and a goodie bag. Loved the socks I spotted. Oh, and special area for porta pots. There's no lack of beer or food trucks. During the last hour some folks are running out of options but that makes sense if folks are coming back for extra rounds of their fav. The variety of beers was also great. Bands were great and there were some vendors selling candy as well as a raffle auction. This event takes place during the winter season and it is almost always frigid weather. During my first visit there were tented areas that provided shelter from winds and temps - we may have also gotten to use the hangar. That's no longer the case and that means only the strong can make it through the event. Heavy coats, gloves, hats ... all are a must. I was surprised we didn't see heat lamps for a quick warm up, and especially for those working the event. Not sure this is my favorite beer fest based on this year's experience but would always recommend it.

This year I visited the Courier-Journal Wine & Food Experience for the first time, and I was…read moreabsolutely blown away! The amount of food and drink at this event is crazy! And, you don't only get to sample tons of food and drink, many vendors give you items to take home. How awesome is that?! There are so many amazing local restaurants at this event, plus many alcohol vendors, stores, and international companies there offering samples and take-home goodies. Plus there are really awesome speakers and demonstrations to check out. If you're looking for an amazing food and dining event, the Courier-Journal Wine & Food Experience is definitely it! I plan to attend this event again, as many times as possible, in the future!

This year was amazing! I won tickets free from Yelp and had a blast! The food and drinks were…read moreincredible and we loved watching Alex Guarnaschelli cook and hear her answer questions. Norton Commons is an incredible place and I would love to go back next year!