Things to Do in Okolona

Baseball in Louisville dates back to 1876 when the Louisville Grays began playing as part of the National League. Soon after the turn of the 20th century, minor league baseball arrived in Derby City and for 70 years, the Louisville Colonels commanded it. Their departure in 1972, however, led to a period of inactivity, as well as a period of unemployed umpires roaming the city shouting "SAFE!" at landing birds. Ten years later, baseball returned with the arrival of the Louisville Redbirds, who eventually became the RiverBats in 1998, and simply the Bats in 2002. Over the years this franchise has spent time as the affiliate of three big league teams: the St. Louis Cardinals, the Milwaukee Brewers, and its current affiliate, the Cincinnati Reds.

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.

A solitary moan drifts across a 15,000-square-foot warehouse. Lights flicker, and performers with horns, tattered clothes, and fake wounds surge through The Devil’s Attic. Guests scatter in terror across cinema-quality sets populated by professional actors in makeup that lends to an environment reminiscent of a childhood nightmare or the time you got lost in the clown-art section of a museum. The scarred, bloody ghouls and sinister monsters offer scares suitable for humans aged 12 and older.

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.

Crossing the Ohio River on the north side of Louisville, it’s impossible not to notice the glassy façade of the KFC Yum! Center right on the river, a gleaming, $238 million cathedral to the University of Louisville’s flagship sport: basketball. Perennial powerhouses in both the men’s and women’s competition, Louisville showcases its fast-paced brand of basketball to one of the most loyal fanbases and student bodies in the country. While hoops may be king—the men’s basketball squad has won the school its two only NCAA Championships—the Cardinals take pride in a host of distinguished sports, including a football team that won both the Big East Conference and the Orange Bowl in 2006, leading the basketball team to briefly experiment with wearing helmets and cleats.

A member of the Smithsonian Affiliate Membership Program and the American Association of Museums, the Frazier History Museum houses interactive temporary exhibits and permanent galleries filled with artifacts and stories representing more than 1,000 years of human history. The 100,000-square-foot facility harbors two permanent collections⎯the Frazier Museum Collection, featuring American and international artifacts, and the British Royal Armouries. The American History exhibit showcases artifacts from early colonial settlement up through 1900, including the ivory-handled Colt pistols of General George Armstrong Custer and the original “Big Stick” of President Theodore Roosevelt, which turned out to be an especially sturdy wizard's wand.