City: Louisville, KY

Category: Annual Events & Festivals

Description: The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, most commonly referred to as “Shakespeare in the Park” in Old Louisville, is a cultural event that features free theater performances every summer in Central Park. What started as the Carriage House Players in 1949 is today the oldest free professional and independently operating Shakespeare festival in the United States, and each year, some 15,000 visitors enjoy the festival’s Shakespeare performances. The shows are free because the festival stands by the firm belief that “art is for everyone—rich, poor, educated, illiterate, healthy, or disabled,” and today, it is one of the most popular annual events in the Old Louisville neighborhood. Every year in June and July theatergoers can enjoy classics such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream amid the spectacular backdrop of America’s grandest Victorian neighborhood. For information about upcoming performances, visit their Web site at www.kyshakes.org.