Who's In Town: National Archery in the Schools National Tournament

The National Archery in the Schools Program started in Kentucky in 2002 and has worked to advocate adding competitive archery into schools' PE programs ever since. They provide 4th-12th grade curricula that follow National Physical Education Standards to schools and mentor and recruit coaches of International Style Target Archery.

And they're in town from May 11 - 12 for their National Tournament.  I asked John Gautier of the NASP a few questions about their visit.

And let's just get this out of the way, I did not fall down on my job as your favorite blogger (or second favorite?... third?... just 'area blogger'?). I asked the folks from the National Archery in the Schools National Competition if the HUNGER GAMES was driving kids in droves to the sport of archery.  Jon's response, "We feel that NASP has contributed to the popularity of Archery, so the exact opposite of what the media announces. Archery has been around for a very long time and NASP has been in the works for just over 10 years." I'm not sure what that means. Does he mean that the NASP has made archery so popular that Suzanne Collins included it as Katniss's hobby?

The rest of the interview was equally... terse... But still, it sounds like a fantastic-- HUGE-- event! And, what a spectacle it probably is. It's at the Expo Center. I'm sorry I can't give you more information but their website is also... clear as mud.

LOU: What goes on during the tournament? Can you give us a brief overview of the event?

Gautier: The Nationals is a culminating event. NASP archers from all over the US have competed at the Regional & State level tournaments and advanced to the Nationals. The NASP World tournament at ESPN's Wide World of Sports follows this event in October each year and draws NASP archers & teams from the US, Canada, New Zealand & South Africa.

LOU: The website refers to the event as "Where Olympic Journeys Begin"-- just how close are the medal-winners to earning a spot on the Olympic team?

We have partnered with the US Olympic Committee to help promote the 2012 Olympics, NASP archers have a very good chance of advancing in Archery as they are receiving an excellent start with NASP.

LOU:  How many competitors do you expect? How many people total?

A. Over 8,100 NASP Student Archers

LOU:  Can the public attend this event? If so, what would be the most exciting time for someone to attend?
A. Yes, it is open to the public, there is a nominal gate fee per person per day. The most exciting time would at anytime, however the very last competitive flight that leads up to the Scholarship shoot off will be feature as well as the awards ceremony.

WHO'S IN TOWN?: KY State Rabbit Breeders Association Kentucky Cup

MINI-BUNNY (click photo for source)

For the second installment of Loueyville's new series WHO'S IN TOWN? the more important answer to the question is this:


BUNNIES!! Lots and lots of sweet, little, cute, cuddly, soft, fuzzy bunny rabbits. These aren't even your run-of-the-mill cutie-patootie bunnies-- these are champion bunnies. These are gold-medal-worthy bunnies.

What a soothing, delightful alternative to the sometimes nerve-jangling Thunder over Louisville airshow, huh? Go out to the fair grounds and see some bunnies? Sounds like a good plan to me.

The Kentucky Cup is from 8am-4pm and is open to the public at the West Pavilion of the Expo Center.

I had some questions about the Kentucky Cup, and Christy Frey-- vice-president of the Kentucky State Rabbit Breeders Association was nice enough to answer them.

LOU: The Expo Center's calendar lists the event as the "Kentucky State Mini Rabbit Breeders Convention." And that confused me. I assumed it was a convention of "mini-rabbit" breeders. But from your website I take it to mean it's a "mini-convention." Can you clear this up for me? Also, there is such things as mini-rabbits, right?

CHRISTY FREY: You are correct about the name. It is the KSRBA Mini Convention. We are also calling it the Kentucky Cup. The smallest breed of rabbit is the Netherland Dwarf and Brititannia Petite. Their maximum weight is 2 1/2 lbs. The largest rabbits are the Flemish Giants, Giant Angoras, French Lops and Checkered Giants. Their maximum weight can be over 20 lbs.


What goes on during the Convention? Can you give us a brief overview of the event?

During the show, American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA) sanctioned judges will be judging one breed at a time to see which rabbit is the closest to that breeds standard. There is 47 unique breeds recognized by the ARBA. Hopefully we will have many of these breeds at the show. These 47 breeds are distinguished by color, size, and many other characteristics.


How many breeders do you expect? How many rabbits? 

We do not have an exact number, but we are expecting many rabbits and exhibitors from many different states.


Why did you choose Louisville for this event?

We chose Louisville for the location. It is centrally located in KY and has I-64 & I-65. Also the fairgrounds has an excellent facility. We have been advertising the Thunder over Louisville and other tours of famous places around Louisville for the exhibitors to look into doing. The show will be starting at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. It should run late into the afternoon.


Welcome to town Rabbit breeders (and more importantly, your RABBITS!!)! Enjoy Louisville. The KSRBA website is here: http://www.ksrba.webs.com/


Want to know more about the WHO'S IN TOWN? series on Loueyville? Click here. Our last installment was about Handbell Ringers. Read that here.

WHO'S IN TOWN? Handbell Ringers April 12-15

When I saw that the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers Area V Spring Festival-- aka "Bellebration"-- was coming to Louisville next weekend, my little head went kablooey! What the...? Who ARE these people? How can there be such a thing? I was delighted... "delighted"doesn't even begin to cover it. I am endlessly fascinated with people who are devoted to obscure things.

I immediately hit their website and read up on their many competitions, scholarships, youth initiatives. And the idea for this new series-- WHO'S IN TOWN?-- was born. Because if the handbell ringers had come and gone and I was none the wiser... I would have been bummed out.

And honestly, who knows how obscure the handbells really are? This season on the Zooey Deschanel show "The New Girl" an entire episode centered around a handbell competition. Maybe Zooey can do for the handbells what other Manic Pixie Dream Girls have gone for the ukulele.

I fired off an email to the Handbell Ringers to see if I could find out more about the upcoming Bellebration, and I got this fantastic response from Area 5 Secretary, Wendy Ransom.  

LOU: What goes on during Bellebration? Can you give us a brief overview of the event? 

WENDY: Bellebration is a handbell festival hosted by Area 5 of Handbell Musicians of America (There are 12 areas that make up the national organization).  Area 5 covers a five state area-Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Kentucky and West Virginia. Handbell choirs from all over the 5 states will gather in Louisville for a 2 day event featuring a combination of massed rehearsals and hands-on classes on various handbell techniques. Approximately 400 musicians are expected.

The event has two levels of handbell musicians. Tins who perform generally easier music and Coppers who perform more complex or difficult music. Each group has 2 unique pieces they perform on their own and then 3 pieces for the entire massed choir. The groups rotate through divisional rehearsal, massed rehearsal and then time in classes. Classes include topics such as, basic ringing technique, high bell technique including four in hand, bass bell technique, musicality, handbells in worship, and others. (note- bells range in size from approximately 2" in diameter weighing less than a pound to approximately 11" in diameter and weighing 11lbs. Different sizes have different techniques.)

Why did you choose Louisville? 

We aim to rotate the annual festivals around the 5 state area to make them accessible to members. We host 2 each spring and aim to host them in areas in opposite locations. Our other festival this year was held in Akron, Ohio on March 16 & 17. It is also a bit about price and what any given city has to offer in a convention center. The event is short. It begins on Friday at 4 and is over by 6pm on Saturday. Having dining options in the vicinity of a convention center is important due to the need for 400 people to get out, eat, and get back to the event in a relatively short amount of time. It is also nice to have an entertaining city for those who opt to stay over Saturday night and return home on Sunday.

Aside from your Bellebration events, what are you most looking forward to doing while you're in town? 

It has been a number of years since we hosted our event in Lousiville so we are looking forward to heading to a different city and a generally bigger one than our usual venues.

Are there any events associated with Bellebration that the public can attend? 

Yes our closing concert is open to the public. It is at 5:30pm on Saturday the 14th at the Kentucky International Convention Center. The concert will run approximately one hour. Seating is general seating and our concerts are usually well attended.

You can learn more about the guild at http://handbellmusicians.org/ and more specifically about Area 5  http://area5.handbellmusicians.org/

NEW SERIES: WHO'S IN TOWN?

I'm all about celebrating the awesomeness that is native to this under-appreciated city. But let's face it, we still have a little bit of an "image problem" when it comes to people who've never been here before.

When I was first brought to Louisville for a job interview, I-- no joke, no hyperbole-- was kind of hoping I would break my leg or something before the flight. I was certain I didn't want to move to Louisville and was kicking myself for even accepting the interview (hmmm... maybe I could break my leg by kicking myself?). My future employer made the mistake of housing me at a (very nice) hotel out by the Mall of St. Matthew and not giving me a car. I got to the hotel, called Roommate, and whined about how dreadful Louisville was.

The interview went well (obviously), and I dug the school and the kids. But when it came to the final interview of the day, I pretty much told my future boss exactly how awful I thought Louisville was. His response: "Oh God, no! Shelbyville Road is NOT Louisville"-- he promptly got on the phone and rented me a car, took me to dinner at Asiatique, and pointed me in the direction of Bardstown Road and Frankfort Ave.

We all know how that story ended.

So the other day when the Guy passed along an email from the Louisville Convention and Visitors' Bureau that lists all of the conventions and gatherings that are headed our way, I got really excited.

Lookit all these people who could potentially share my Louisville-conversion experience!  Lookit all these people who could fall in love and spread the good word of Louisville!

So I decided to start a new series highlighting some of the more interesting folks that are headed our way. I am so super excited about the first in the series: The American Handbell Ringers of Area 5. As soon as I decided to write this series I shot off an email interview to the Handbell ringers, and they got back to me in less than six hours.

Part of the point of this series is to give YOU Louisvillagers information about public aspects of these gatherings that YOU could attend-- for example, the Handbell Ringers give a public concert.  It's something fun and interesting for you to do AND, it gives YOU the opportunity to rub elbows with and spread the good word about Louisville to some out-of-towners.  Make sure you tell them to enjoy downtown, but to also get out into the neighborhoods. Send them to NULU. Send them to Bardstown Road. Send them to restaurants that aren't TGIFridays and Starbucks.

Let's all be Louisville evangelists!