Things to Do in Lyndon

Designed by renowned architect David Pfaff, the 27-hole championship golf course at Quail Chase Golf Club splits into three par-36 courses that wind through the area's lush scotch pine, maple, oak, and dogwood trees. Limber up stiff clubs at the course’s practice facilities, which prep ungainly irons for an 18-hole run with bermuda-grass tees, a USGA practice putting green, and a reserved area for rehearsing pre-shot ritual baths. Golfers can strike through two of the club's three 9-hole courses, manipulating orbs past the angular detours of dogleg holes and around four water hazards during approximately 4.5 hours of play. Concealed cart paths obscure scenery-marring vehicles and help to keep play flowing by restricting fairway victory laps to every other shot.

In 1909, a group of local art enthusiasts banded together to foster a community appreciation for art and further the practice of creating art. More than three decades later, they moved from their home at the old Water Tower, and now fill their new space with workshops, classes, and exhibits. Louisville Visual Art Association remains dedicated to promoting local artists, artistic styles, and contemporary culture.

A team of instructors instills painting and sculpting skills in children of all ages with the Children's Fine Art Classes program, which lets kids hone their understanding of color and technique during nearly 40 classes and camps. They also teach adult art classes, and help economically and socially disadvantaged students exhibit their artwork through Open Doors. Six to eight annual exhibitions often showcase work from these programs, but may also display fabric and knit pieces from local artists, or house events such as custom plates, cups, and utensils fashioned by 16 national ceramics artists to recreate Salvador Dali’s themed dinner parties. Each year, staff also fill two galleries with up to 800 works from its children’s programs, and celebrate local restaurants and music at the annual Bacon Ball.

Awash in fog and neon lights, the labyrinthine ramps, walkways, and passageways of the multi-level LaserMatrix keep players on their toes. Laser battles play out throughout the more than 5,000-square foot arena, open year-round. In the arcade, guests earn prizes by defeating more than 30 games, including skeeball and Time Crisis 3, which depicts a post-apocalyptic world without daylight saving's time. Outside, single- and double-seated go-karts hug the twists and turns of the four-acre park's track. Slower competitions unfold at the miniature golf area, whose two 18-hole courses challenge golfers of all levels with curving greens and tricky hole placements.

After traveling the globe performing and racking up awards, world-champion dancer Brian Barakauskas returned to his native Louisville to pay homage to the city where he first learned to dance. At his studio, Dance Louisville, Barakauskas and his staff of professional instructors tap into their extensive dance backgrounds to help students reach their own dance goals, whether they want to compete professionally or simply learn a new salsa routine for an upcoming boardroom presentation. Pupils flit across a 2,400-square-foot floating dance floor during both private and group lessons as well as wedding-dance rehearsals.

Since 1815, Louisville Stoneware's artisans have been transforming natural stoneware clay, harvested from deposits in Kentucky and Indiana, into elaborate table fixtures through an awe-inspiring series of crafting techniques. Twenty pairs of skilled specialist hands conspire to mix, form, and paint each functional art piece before professional fire tamers arrange finished items in the factory kiln, which reaches 2,350 degrees, to melt glazes into a glassy, durable surface. Hundreds of stoneware possibilities emerge from this artistic inferno, filling the firm's shelves with bake ware and home decor. Personalized mugs commemorate special occasions, and birdhouses work to fill yards with the melodies of avian pop stars.

Alternatively, visitors can decorate their own stoneware using vibrant paints and included supplies. After customers finish their work, staff members glaze, fire, and verbally quiz creations to ready them for lifetimes atop fireplace mantels.

Nearly three decade ago, New Orleans transplant Sharon Potter became so enamored with her new hometown of Kentucky that she raised 1.2 million dollars to assemble and present her own 4,000-image slideshow, KentuckyShow!, which celebrated the state’s unique beauty, culture, and history. In 2003 Potter was approached by the Louisville Convention and Visitors Bureau about the possibility of updating the visual spectacle and rose to the challenge with the help of seasoned producer Donna Lawrence and graphic designer Julius Friedman. The updated 32-minute documentary now amazes audiences with new high-definition images of the Bluegrass State, as well as narration by Hollywood starlet Ashley Judd and director’s commentary by Kentucky’s state bird, the northern cardinal.

Today, local and out-of-state visitors—enjoying jaw-dropping views of Kentucky’s gorgeous landscape and meeting some of the commonwealth’s most memorable characters from past and present—come to the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts to feast their eyes on KentuckyShow!. Renée S. Gordon of the Philadelphia Sun referred to the majestic video tour as “an outstanding overview of the state’s multicultural history.”