Ethan Hawke has visited several local businesses in Louisville over the past two months. | Photo by Highland Morning

By now, you’ve probably heard the celebrity buzz that multi-hyphenate Ethan Hawke — best known for his roles in “Training Day” and “Dead Poets Society” — has been sighted in Louisville on multiple occasions.

The four-time Oscar nominee is in town shooting a movie about writer Flannery O’Conner’s life — and with all the stardom floating around, we thought we’d take a behind-the-scenes look at the movie, filming locations, and a few local businesses he has visited so far.

🎥 Filming locations

Since last summer, Hawke has been scouting locations to shoot his movie. Here are a few confirmed and unconfirmed filming sights.

St. James Court
Status: Confirmed

On Friday, Jan. 13 film crews and old-timey cars were seen in one of Louisville’s most famous neighborhoods, Old Louisville’s St. James court, which is known for being the largest contiguous collection of Victorian mansions in the US. Some of the shooting also took place in one of the court’s homes.

Old Shelby County jail
Status: Unconfirmed

Known locally as the “White Rock Motel,” this jail built in 1892 was of interest to Hawke back in October. He also toured the historic courthouse there, too.

Louisville Zoo
Status: Unconfirmed

Another potential filming location could be our zoo. Hawke also scouted this location in July.

🔭 Hawke sightings

No binoculars were needed to spot Hawke visiting these three local restaurants.

Morning Fork, 1722 Frankfort Ave.
Spotted: Sunday, Dec. 11

In December, Hawke ate at this Clifton-area brunch spot and managed to snap a couple of selfies with staff, too.

Four Pegs Smokehouse & Bar, 1053 Goss Ave.
Spotted: Saturday, Jan. 14

Hawke took a trip to Germantown to eat a veggie burger at this 1876 landmark-turned-BBQ joint. He also took a photo with the owner, Chris Williams.

Highland Morning, 1416 Bardtown Rd.
Spotted: Monday, Jan. 16

This guy really loves his breakfast. Hawke made a visit to another breakfast staple on Monday. Again, taking the time to for a photo opp with its staff.

MAYA HAWKE + UMA THURMAN SPOTTED TOO

QUESTION

Where would you tell Ethan Hawke to visit in Louisville next?

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EVENTS

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Thursday, Jan. 19

The Everybody Band with Love Jones and The Get Down | Thursday, Jan. 19 | 8 p.m. | Headliners Music Hall, 1386 Lexington Rd., Louisville | $12 |Support Eastern Kentucky flood relief efforts at this concert showcasing Kentucky musicians like Scott Carney and Lacey Guthrie.

Friday, Jan. 20

The Local Seltzery One-Year-Anniversary | Friday, Jan. 20 | 5:30-8:30 p.m. | The Local Seltzery, 828 E. Main St., Louisville | Free to attend | Celebrate this seltzer bar’s birthday with buy one get one free drink specials, music, food, and giveaways.
Louisville Palace Movie Night: Labyrinth (1986) | Friday, Jan. 20 | 8 p.m. | Louisville Palace, 625 S. 4th St., Louisville | $14 | See this 1986 silver screen classic starring David Bowie.

Saturday, Jan. 21

Introduction to Adobe Creative Suite | Saturday, Jan. 21 | 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. | South Central Library, 7300 Jefferson Blvd., Louisville | Free; Registration required | Learn the basics of this digital creative tool used to in variety of mediums.
Wardrobe Refresh Market | Saturday, Jan. 21 | 3-7 p.m. | TEN20 Craft Brewery, 1020 E. Washington St., Louisville | $5-$35 | Shop from 20 vendors or donate and swap clothing at this pop-up event with Hard Time Collective and Somebody Society.

Sunday, Jan. 22

Hot Buns Brunch Pop-up | Sunday, Jan. 22 | 11 a.m.-3 p.m. | Square Cut, 741 Oak St., Louisville | Free to attend | Dig into hot buns and Filipino brunch dishes while listening to hip hop jams.

Wednesday, Jan. 25

2023 Discover Boating® Louisville Boat, RV & Sportshow | Wednesday, Jan. 25 | 5-9 p.m. | Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillip’s Lane South Wing A, B & C, Louisville | $14 | Check out the latest in boating sports at this five-day tradeshow.

We have a calendar filled with events and activities you can plan for in advance. Click the button below to bookmark ideas for upcoming date nights, family outings, and time with friends.

100+ MORE EVENTS

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Athletic Brewing Jan 2023 Mini Article (Cropped)

Every beer is non-alcoholic (0.5% ABV or less). | Photo by Athletic Brewing Company

You might even have more fun.

Athletic Brewing Company makes non-alcoholic beer you can drink without sacrificing feeling your best. It tastes great, has all the variety from IPAs to goldens, and has even won awards. (Read: Even beer snobs think it’s good.)

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NEWS NOTES

Weather

61º | Mostly sunny and windy | 13% chance of rain

Opening

The taproom of Lexington-based brewery Pivot Brewing is softly opening its doors at 1753 Bardstown Rd. this week. Get a sip of what’s to come today, Jan. 19, 4-10 p.m. and Friday, Jan. 20, 4-11 p.m. Pivot prides itself on making beers and ciders via solar power. 🍻

Sports

The Derby City Distillers is the latest team to join the The Basketball League, a men’s minor league basketball organization. The Distillers’ first home game is on Wednesday, March 8 against the Cincinnati Warriors at the Kentucky Country Day School — where all their home games will be played. Tickets are $20. 🏀

Civic

Due to less yard waste generation during the winter months, Metro Public Works has adjusted its collection schedule to every other week through mid-March. The Recycle Coach calendar has been updated. If you have more yard waste than normal, you can drop it off for free at the Waste Reduction Center.

Number

$500,000. That’s how much funding West End development nonprofit OneWest has received from The Rockefeller Foundation. The grant will go toward The Plan Room, an accelerator program that supports Black, minority, and women-owned businesses in the construction industry — and will increase the number of companies served from 20 to 40.

Edu

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) wants to hear from its students, teachers, and parents via its annual Comprehensive School Survey — open through Thursday, March 30. The survey collects answers anonymously and JCPS uses the data to inform policy decisions. Last year, 75% of parents said they were “very satisfied with JCPS.” (Louisville Public Media)

Theater

The Louisville premiere of the satirical play “H*TLER’S TASTERS’’ will take place at The Kentucky Center Thursday, Feb. 2-Sunday, Feb. 12. The Off-Broadway show tells the little known history of the girls chosen to test Hitler’s food to confirm it was safe and will be performed by the original eight actors. 🍴

Louisvillian

Stopher Elementary School student Karsen Taylor hit the big time. The fifth grader landed a spot in the national touring show “Hits! The Musical” out of 7,000 people to audition. Karsen will perform in 48 states alongside her 29 person cast — including a show at The Brown in April. (WHAS11)

Concert

The Louisville Orchestra will embark on a two-year musical journey across the bluegrass beginning this May. “In Harmony — The Commonwealth Tour of the Louisville Orchestra” will include full and intimate setting orchestra performances in 20+ communities for free, as well as outreach and educational programming. 🎻

Shop

Pro tip: Becoming a Kroger Boost member comes with perks like free grocery delivery, double fuel points, and specialty savings. Learn more and join. 🛒 *

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TRY THIS

Bust out your best James Bond moves

Move across a light up floor in the game Grid avoiding certain colors. | Photo via Activate Games

We recently ventured to Activate Louisville, a high-tech digital gaming arcade where “Mission Impossible” meets “The Hunger Games.”

Located at 2510 Hurstbourne Gem Ln., this gaming experience brings arcade-style games to life and puts the “active” in “activate.” We’re definitely wearing knee pads next time.

Inside, there are 11 private rooms decked out with lasers and glowing floors — each one hosting a different physically and mentally challenging game to be played as a team of 2-6.

Each game has several play options, difficulty levels to choose from, and lasts around three minutes. Plus, the days of long-trailing paper arcade tickets and tokens are gone. Your wristband keeps track of your score and progress. Plus, it activates each game with a simple touch.

Here were our top three games:

Hide — a problem solving sequence game where you also have to hide from giant eyeballs
Climb – scale across a slightly inclined wall with glowing handholds
Pipes — put a ball in the correct glowing pipe while navigating a divided room

Activate costs $25 per player for a 75-minute session. Get activated.

THE WRAP

Today’s issue was written by Katie.

Editor’s pick: I’ve been watching HBO Max’s new rock climbing competition series “The Climb” — which features Louisville climber Cat Runner.

After watching the first episode, I realized I crossed paths with the rock climbing star at Red River Gorge this past summer.

We were both climbing at the Chaos wall — he of course was climbing much more difficult routes and had a small crowd watching from a distance in awe.

Missed yesterday’s newsletter? Louisville’s first pickleball eatertainment venue gets a name.

Connect with us.

Editorial: Katie Molck, Britt Thorson, Emily Shea, Jessalin Heins-Nagamoto, Dayten Rose, Sarah Leonhardt, Katie Smith | Send us a scoop, question, or feedback.

Sales: Mandey Lee | Advertise with us.

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