thekaintuckeean – Page 71 – The Kaintuckeean

No Destination: UK Cheerleaders

World Equestrian Games 2010 - Opening Ceremony

UK Cheerleaders at the World Equestrian Games, Lexington, Ky.

The University of Kentucky has a great athletic tradition. Men’s basketball has seven national championships. It is, however, the cheerleaders who are the University’s greatest champions.

With 18 national championships, the UK Cheerleaders are the most storied program in the country. In fact, they’ve won 14 of the last 16 UCA championships. The trophy seems to have a permanent place in Lexington.

Last Friday night, the cheerleaders participated in the opening ceremonies of the World Equestrian Games. There performance was great and their Rockette-style moments (like that pictured above) were spectacular. But this picture also deserves some credit: I posted on flickr 242 WEG2010 photos which received 3,439 hits in the first 24 hours of being online and the picture above was (by far) the most popular. GO CATS!

World Equestrian Games Opening Ceremony

What a fantastic evening. More later, but I wanted to share my pictures. They are up on flickr and here is a slideshow of pictures. Great little story: Coach Calipari is introduced and approaching my spot in the stands. Then, the greatest – Muhammad Ali – is announced and follows. Before Calipari arrived before my section 203, row Z seat – my frickin batteries die. Fortunately, I planned ahead and switched out my camera’s batteries in record time. Here you go:

What a wonderful evening! As Kentuckians, we have so much to be proud of!

walkLEX: Spotlight Lexington

The World Equestrian Games are here!!! I’m getting ready to take off for the opening ceremonies, but wanted to first share with you Spotlight Lexington. A number of concerts, etc. will be held around downtown Lexington. Details are at LexingtonKY.gov. Today, I went to Farmer’s Market, CentrePasture and took in a lot of sites and sounds. I’ve posted a lot of pictures on flickr (check them out!) and took the following video of the UK Jazz Ensemble rehearsing before their public concert. Note the amazing temporary stage that has been erected in front of the Federal courthouse!

walkLEX: walkLEX

OK… so this may be cheating a little bit, but I just got the link to the great video montage below. Created by the Lexington Visitor’s Center, it is a video walking tour of downtown Lexington.

This is a must-do for those visiting Lexington, like all those who will soon be visiting from around the globe for the World Equestrian Games!

No Destination: Paramount Arts Center

Paramount Arts Center, Ashland, Ky.

Ashland’s Paramount Arts Center is an amazing facility with an incredibly full schedule – Broadway Live, concerts, classic films, and so much more. With a seating capacity of over 1,400, it is one of Kentucky’s largest indoor entertainment venues.

Planning for the Paramount began in 1928; the design was specifically for the popular silent films of the era. By the time the Paramount opened in 1931 (the first show, Silence, was a talkie), technology and entertainment demand had changed. So too had the national economy – the Depression was in full force. In fact, Paramount (the movie company) wanted to drop the project altogether but locals provided the support to go forward with the local project. Paramount’s reluctance to go forward is understandable – the company’s plan was to build one of these grand theaters in each of the fifty states (Ashland was chosen as it was then viewed as a locale with tremendous promise of growth and increased visibility).

Today, only twelve Paramount theaters remain. Other than the Ashland, Kentucky location, the theaters are in Denver, Colorado; Aurora, Illinois; Oakland, California; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Abilene, Texas; Bristol, Tennessee; Seattle, Washington; Charlottesville, Virginia; Anderson, Indiana; Austin, Texas; and Springfield, Massachusetts. Many (if not all) of these facilities closed for decades as multiplex movie houses became en vogue, only to be reopened after extensive upgrades and restoration.

This was the case with the Paramount Arts Center. It closed in 1971 as a movie house, but soon thereafter was reopened as an arts center. Extensive restorations continued for decades and the facility is as beautiful today as it was when it first opened nearly 80 years ago. I was lucky enough to be given an off-schedule tour of the facility during my quick trip through Ashland, but unfortunately my pictures don’t sufficiently show off the Paramount’s beauty. You can see them here on flickr.

UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr.

Lee Todd

UK President Lee Todd announced his retirement from his post this past week; he will stay on the job through June 2011. I went to UK for seven years – all of them during the Todd administration.

I recall a number of occasions walking through central campus near Whitehall and passing by the university president. At times I would initiate a ‘hello’ exchange; sometimes Dr. Todd would. In other words, President Todd respected the students. This was evident too by his 2001 decision to remove the large hedges around Maxwell Place (the president’s residence). In fact, the gate was opened and it became another route between central campus and Rose Street.

A native Kaintuckeean, a UK graduate, UK faculty member, entreprenuer, and UK President: President Lee Todd is a great Kentucky leader and one I thought deserved a little mention. Tom Eblen brings us this great anecdote about Kentucky’s legislative priorities regarding education from almost 200 years ago about another Kentucky college president:

When Transylvania University, now a private liberal arts college, was Kentucky’s state university in 1818, trustees hired a young up-and-coming Bostonian, Horace Holley, with a charge to make it great. He did, and for a few years Transylvania was being mentioned in the same breath as Harvard and Yale.

Despite phenomenal success, Holley was run off in 1827 by Kentuckians who didn’t appreciate the value of higher education, legislators that didn’t want to spend money on it and a governor who just wanted to build roads. Read more.

America’s First Zero Energy School

Artist’s Rendering

So, we haven’t seen it…but this is just downright cool. And something to make Kentucky proud!! America’s First Zero Energy School isn’t in California or Florida or Texas, it is in Richardsville, Kentucky (which is north of Bowling Green in Warren County). As Tom Eblen writes,

the 500 students and teachers of Richardsville Elementary will leave their 1930s building for a new one next door that is the latest in environmentally friendly 21st-century design. It will be the first school in Kentucky, and one of the first in the nation, to be “net-zero” — generating as much energy as it consumes.

Inhabitat has a good write up on the school with more pictures. Hopefully, we can visit Richardsville when we head out to western Kentucky!

No Destination: Carl D. Perkins Federal Courthouse

Carl D. Perkins Federal Building & Courthouse, Ashland, Ky.

Although Catlettsburg is the county seat of Boyd, it no longer houses a Federal courthouse for the Eastern District of Kentucky. The “Ashland Division” has existed since 1985 when the move was made from Catlettsburg to Ashland’s Carl D. Perkins Federal Building and Courthouse.

If you’ve accepted student loans, you’ve no doubt encountered Carl D. Perkins before. His “Perkins Loans” are a great help to struggling students. He served in the House of Representatives from 1949 until he died in 1984. The building constructed in his honor is very typical of a 1980s government building; utilitarian in design with clean lines and generous use of windows but void of either warmth or individualistic style.

Perkins worked tirelessly for the underprivileged, particularly those in eastern Kentucky. He brought many national leaders, including the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, to the area to gain support for efforts to improve the lives of Kentuckians. At the end of the video of Sen. Kennedy, Rep. Perkins is seen sitting next to the Senator.

walkLEX: Picnic with the Pops

Picnic with the Pops, Lexington, Ky.

This past Saturday, I intended to enjoy two of Lexington’s great annual functions. Regrettably, I only made it to one (note: the Woodland Arts Fair is not the subject of the post. I made it last year… and it is an awesome event that I have already put on my 2011 calendar!). I did, however, make it to Picnic with the Pops (also regrettably, I neglected to take my camera!).

It was my second Picnic with the Pops. This year, the Lexington Philharmonic performed many great pieces while Cirque de la Symphonie performed acrobatic marvels to the music. It was beautiful (Keeneland hosted the event, their first as the Horse Park couldn’t host in anticipation of the WEG). For more, you should read Rich Copley’s great review.

As I mentioned, I forgot to take my camera and I ignored my iPhone. Fortunately, LFUCG Councilmember Doug Martin (@DougMartin10th) OK’d my using the picture above (from his iPhone and both our apologies for quality!). His vantage point showed off our table – the one with the colorful spray ‘candles’ on the right – which was decorated. And our costumes matched! I’m Glad to not have an incriminating flickr link!

Newtown Pike Extension – VOTE!

The Kaintuckeean is for a moment cancelling its pledge to not discuss politics as we encourage readers to vote on the new name for Lexington’s Newtown Pike Extension.

Yes, in its infinite wisdom the city of Lexington has elected to leave naming rights of roads up to the citizenry. Perhaps we can improve on silly names like the Pink Pigeon Parkway? I digress, there are currently five options: Equestrian Blvd (this name belongs at Hamburg, perhaps a new name for the aforementioned PPP?); Millennium Rd (a boring, nondescript selection hearkening Y2K all over again); Oliver Lewis Way (a historic nod to an African American jockey who won the first Kentucky Derby); Mary Todd Lincoln Blvd (another historic shoutout to the former first lady); and Bolivar Street (the final extension will connect current Bolivar Street to Main Street).

Yes, we like the historic connections. But more importantly, Lexington is riddled with changing street names that causes confusion to visitors and residents alike. Examples:

Leestown Rd > W. Main > W. Vine > E. Vine > E. Main > Richmond
St. Ann > Fontaine > Euclid > Ave of Champions > Winslow
Nicholasville Rd > Limestone > Old Paris Pike > Paris Pike
Paris Pike > North Broadway > South Broadway > Harrodsburg

There are many, many more examples. So, Lexington. How about voting for Bolivar Street?? Sure, it isn’t my first choice (I’d have preferred North Newtown Pike and South Newtown Pike divided by Main Street and a renamed Bolivar Street to be the final block of S. Newtown Pike, but this is not to be.).

Vote for Bolivar Street to save residents and visitors alike another bit of confusion at what it to be a “grand” entrance to Lexington. You have until August 27, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. to vote at lexingtonky.gov. And if you don’t live in Lexington, that’s OK – you should still vote for Bolivar St!! You can thank me next time you come to town!