When we are looking for new festivals to attend, we try to look for unique experiences and venues. I mean of course we want to go to basically every festival ever, but that’s not not financially or physically feasible. Each member of the LTFL team has both the freedom and the opportunity to suggest and attend festivals that appeal to them. This year, my personal focus has been on trying to attend festivals that are new in some way. By that I mean: a new festival altogether, a place we haven’t been to before, or a festival that I have been thinking about attending for some time. Even then, I have had to make attempts to narrow down the focus and remind myself that I cannot be everywhere at once. Though of course with festivals, I want to be.
All of this long intro is intended to explain, that when we set our sights on a festival – that means there is something we think is unique or special about it. This is particularly true in the case of Forecastle Festival, which takes place July 12 – 14 in Louisville, Kentucky.
We aren’t paid spokespeople, we do this for the fun of it – in case you were wondering. And let me tell you . . . Forecastle looks fun.
First of all there is an awesome, eclectic lineup – that really has something for everyone.
We talked about the lineup a bit here when it came out, and have a post coming with music as the only focus – so we wont spend much time on it in this post, except to say that we are still really excited about it.
But every festival has music – so that’s why you have to dig a little deeper and talk to people who have been about what the experience will be like.
So . . . Forecastle has BOURBON and we are in all caps on that because there is both a lot of Bourbon and great quality. After all, the festival is taking place in the heart of bourbon country. Forecastle features an experience called the Bourbon Lodge. Here the festival partners with the Kentucky Bourbon Trail to bring an immersive bourbon experience to festival goers. The Lodge features tastings, activities, and culinary events all focused on Kentucky Bourbon. The lodge will feature dozens of bourbons to taste, including rare finds and small batch specials. If you are a bourbon lover or want to be, this looks like a can’t miss. If it is tastings you are after, master distillers from many of the brands that are available will be onsite to provide tastings on the Bourbon Lodge’s patio throughout the festival weekend. Yes this means you can sample bourbon and potentially learn a ton about it from the people who distill it themselves.
The Bourbon Lodge isn’t the only special setup on site at Forecastle, you can also elevate your experience with an add-on ticket allowing you entry to the Yacht Club. This is a good time to explain why the venue itself makes Forecastle special (I promise this tangent will make sense in a second). The festival is set at Louisville’s Waterfront Park, mixing the city’s urban backdrop with a setting on the banks of the Ohio River. According to the internet (which means it must be true) Waterfront Park is one of the top ten urban parks in the country and has more than a million visitors each year.
So with that said, back to the whole Yacht Club thing – the Yacht Club actually involves access to a multi-level steamboat that is docked at the festival. It provides a super – unique setting for special access bars, air-conditioning and the all important festival need – “exclusive restrooms.” But seriously, how fun does it sound to sip a drink on a steamboat while a festival is going on in the background. (See pics below from the website)
There’s a lot more we want to talk about from Forecastle – but for now, let’s take a look at one more thing. The Party Cove. So first of all, the page for Party Cove is currently showing that they are doing mermaid auditions and there appears to be lots of glitter. If you weren’t already intrigued, completely sold or both….fine we’ll tell you more. Below we have posted a lineup and a couple of pics from the official website, but this is basically the place to party, dance, get glittery and rock out to local artists and DJs in a shady cove.
There are so many reasons why Forecastle is on our shortlist this summer, and we will definitely be back soon to talk about a few more.