This Weekend – The 5th Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky!

Well, another year and yet again I am not attending The Annual Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky that begins tomorrow; so I thought I would share the schedule so you all can be as depressed as I over what we shall be missing… you can watch this video to get into the spirit of things:

 

 The 5th  ANNUAL JANE AUSTEN FESTIVAL

JULY 21 & 22, 2012-10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. each day

Historic Locust Grove-561 Blankenbaker Lane, Louisville, KY 40207

Sponsored by: Jane Austen Society of North America, Greater Louisville

$10 admission each day

For more detailed information, please visit http://www.jasnalouisville.com/

or www.locustgrove.org

Locust Grove, a circa 1790 Georgian home and farm is just
six miles from downtown Louisville, KY.

Each day of the festival you can:

  •  Enjoy a Four-Course Afternoon Tea (several sittings each day),
  • Shop in the Regency Emporium inside and in the Shoppes of Meryton outside
    (fabric, patterns, bonnets, pre-made dresses, chemisettes, men’s waistcoats, trousers &
    tail coats, tea sets, tea, jewelry, antiquarian books, shawls, silhouette cuttings,
    miniatures painted & lots more!)
  • See a Regency Style Show,
  • Watch a bobbin lace making demonstration inside the historic home and
  • See Regency fashions on mannequins in each room of the second floor of the house.
  • The last tea of the day on Sunday is reserved as a special Children’s Tea with a menu to appeal to children.
    Perks include goodies such as a cup and saucer to take home.

Outside, under the tent hear interesting talks such as

* A Dangerous Indulgence:
Jane
Austen’s Illness and Her Doctors – this reviews possible causes of Jane Austen’s death,
her letters, the doctors that cared for her, and how updates in genetic mapping may
help us determine what caused her death. Also

*Austen-itis:
Sickness and Health in the Novels of Jane Austen –
reviews characters in the novels that suffer from illness (real and imagined).

*A one-woman theatrical performance about Fanny Kemble called,
Shame the Devil : An Audience with Fanny Kemble
will be performed under the Big Top Tent. Fanny Kemble
was a member of the famous English Kemble-Siddons acting dynasty
who married an American and moved to the American South.
She became active in the early anti-slavery movement.

*New this year, will be the Earl of Sandwich Tea Shop located near the Shoppes of
Meryton and the Big Top Tent with simple libations such as –
sandwiches, scones, cookies and drinks.

Meanwhile out on the Village Green you can expect to see:

*Side-Saddle Demonstration

*A Duel Between Gentlemen

*Tutorial on Fencing

*A Bare Knuckle Boxing Demonstration

Roving musician Jack Salt will entertain as will
Commonstock Entertainment with
shadow stories and their Potato Wagon of Wonders!

Workshops will involve learning about Tea
(Tea, Anyway you Steep it! and Play with your Leaves),
offered by Bingley’s Teas,

and How to Paint a Fan taught by Jenni Miller.

The Grand Ball will take place on Saturday evening at Spalding University in downtown
Louisville. The ball room is reminiscent of a Georgian Assembly Room. A practice
session will be held in the afternoon.

Admission is $10 each day which admits you to the Emporium, Shoppes, most
everything under the Big Top Tent and tours of the 1790 Georgian home (usually $8).

The Afternoon Tea is $20 per person, the workshops are $25 each, the theatrical
performance is $10 and the Grand Ball is $20 per person.

Advance reservations are highly recommended and begin on-line June 1st at

http://www.jasnalouisville.com

For those traveling from out-of-town, please contact Regional Coordinator Bonny Wise
 for a list of recommended B&Bs and hotels.

Answers to frequently asked questions: You do not have to be a member of the Jane
Austen Society of North America to attend the festival. Regency attire is not required,

but is admired!

2012 Festival T-shirts are available – shirt_order_form.pdf

Thank you for your interest and we look forward to seeing you!

[image from Princeton Tiger Magazine,
wherein you will find an essay on “Modern Applications of Dueling”]]

[Text from Bonnie Wise, JASNA-Louisville Regional Coordinator]

c2012

7 thoughts on “This Weekend – The 5th Jane Austen Festival in Louisville, Kentucky!

      • Deb, I would have responded sooner if I had brought my laptop. The festival was fantastic! I went both days and even though there were duplicates of events, they were still different. The people were amazingly nice!!! So many people showed up in period dress and the fashion show was delicious! Perhaps I’ve used too many exclamation marks and I should stop now? I’d be more than happy to share pictures.

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  1. Deb – I also attended, both days, and second ME’s feelings. I also took a fair number of pictures which I will be happy to share with you if you like. This was my first time at the Louisville Festival (the friends I travelled with are seasoned attendees, their third) and it was so well run, very easy to lose oneself in the period — I was amazed at how many dressed for the occasion — and I enjoyed learning to blend my own tea, paint a fan, and all manner of things. The fashion show was fabulous; and the lectures on illness in the novels and JA’s possible illness were stellar. It will not be my last attendance!

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    • Hi Tess! – sounds like a wonderful time – Melody has written a post and I will be putting that on here tomorrow – with pictures – if you have anything you would like to write as well I can do the same… let me know – will I see you in Hyde Park? – Hope so!
      Best,
      Deb

      Like

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