The Vince Carter Team Real Estate Blog

Last July, an 80-year-old Louisville neighborhood gem was resuscitated: Zanzabar, Louisville's  "newest music venue (slash) neighborhood pub." http://www.zanzabarlouisville.com/ After "countless hours massaging 80-year-old tile," the old restaurant opened with a new zest, attracting residents and visitors from all over. With a winning combination of comfort cuisine, atmosphere, and music, Zanzabar is sure to outlive its glory days of old.

With chef Jamie Jones on staff, the Zanzabar menu is a hit. They offer cafeteria-style lunchlines for lunch and dinner, plus "Zanwichez," "Soupz," "Saladz," "Appetizerz," "Sidez," and "Dessertz," plus "Entreéz" such as Peppercorn Crusted Ribeyes, Fish of the Day, Chicken Cynthia, and St. Joseph's Veggie Pasta. In addition to these uniquely tasty offerings, Zanzabar  also offers catering,  boxed lunches,  and a beer menu.

If good food isn't enough to satisfy your appetite, you'll be encouraged to know that Zanzabar is the place to enjoy some of the best rising regional bands and musicians. Featuring all kinds of music from bluegrass to jazz to rave, the Zbar  has a night out waiting for you. Upcoming shows include Adventure, Supertruck,  Fanfarlo,  DJ Glittertitz, Electric Six,  Lucky Pineapple, Prizzy Prizzy Please, David Vandervelde, Ghostfinger, and more-all in the month of April!

Transformed from a place in the past where students danced the night away drinking whiskey and wine to a place reborn thanks to a new generation, Zanzabar has the fresh atmosphere, menu, and entertainment lined up to ultimately guarantee its presence in Germantown for years to come. And as one of the few locally owned and operated joints in the neighborhood, it has the quaint feel and service necessary to guarantee that survival, gaining more and more loyal patrons each week. Check it out for yourself-you'll return again and again!

Brought to you by your Louisville living experts, The Vince Carter Team. For more information on Louisville dining, entertainment, or living opportunities, contact The Vince Carter Team.

The first Friday of every month presents an excellent entertainment to Louisville visitors and residents: The First Friday Trolley Hop.   The trolley hop began with "a vision of a committed group of people who believed in downtown and had faith in the drawing power of Louisville's art community." These people suggested using the historic TARC trolleys in Louisville to connect the galleries in the downtown art zone to provide a unique entertainment opportunity for Louisville visitors and residents. Thus began The Trolley Hop, the art-show-tourist-attraction-street-party-celebration of downtown Louisville that is "bringing new visitors and new life to the Main and Market corridor." http://www.firstfridaytrolleyhop.com/

The first First Friday Trolley Hop successfully drew 271 riders. Today, over 3,000 people attend a typical Trolley Hop. Clearly something unique is drawing these people to ride through this strip, rain or shine, each month in Louisville. For one, the Trolley Hop is free.  And it has a pretty great route. The galleries visited by the Trolley Hop are some of the best in Louisville, including:

21C Museum Hotel  
Actor's Theatre Gallery

Art Ecology 
Carr-Waite Studio 
Chapman-Friedman Gallery 
The Cressman Center for Visual Arts

David Schuster Creations 
E&S Gallery
Embroiders' Guild of America 
Flame Run
Frazier Internat'l History Museum
Green Building Gallery 
Garner / Furnish Studio
Glassworks 
Gallery at the Kentucky Center

Ky Museum of Art and Craft 
Koi Gallery
Mary Craik Gallery 
Paul Paletti Gallery
Pyro Gallery 
River Bend Winery Gallery 
Rouge Noir UofL Student Art League 
Steelskin Gallery 
Swanson Reed Contemporary 
Tim Faulkner Gallery
Wayside Expressions Gallery
Zephyr Gallery

The First Friday Trolley Hop takes place the first Friday of every month, rain or shine. It runs from 5-11pm. Most galleries close at 9pm, but restaurants, clubs, and shops are open later. You can board the hop at any stop, and there is free parking available at Slugger Field, Main Street at Jackson, and the 4^th Street Live parking garage after 6pm. http://www.firstfridaytrolleyhop.com/

Don't miss out on a great opportunity for some free Louisville entertainment!  If you are interested in living in this outstanding city, please contact The Vince Carter Team.

Each year in Louisville, the American Heart Association plans a gala, the Crystal Heart Gala, in hopes of raising thousands of dollars to fight Heart disease in America.  This year's gala tomorrow night is sure to set new records in dollars donated, a hopeful step toward curing heart disease.

The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency to help reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke. At each Crystal Heart Gala, survivors or surviving family members of heart disease share their stories in hopes of inspiring others to become a part of the solution to this terrible epidemic in America. This year's gala features the story of a nine-year-old girl who was born with a congenital heart defect, the number-one killer of babies in their first year of life. In fact, heart disease is second only to accidents as the number-one killer of kids under age fifteen-a sobering statistic.

So in hopes of changing these numbers, the American Heart Association is funding research-over $1.3 million in research at the University of Louisville, and over $3 million at the University of Kentucky.  Donation events such as the Crystal Heart Gala help make the research to fight and cure heart disease possible.

This year's Crystal Heart Gala features a full night's line up of entertainment, drinks, dinner, and auctioning to serve its donors well. Cocktails begin at 6p.m. and include the Maker's Mark, Brown-Forman, and Jim Beam specialty bourbon bars, followed by dinner at 8p.m. After dinner, dancing begins with the Endless Summer Band leading the way.

Aside from the food and entertainment, the American Heart Association's Crystal Heart Gala features an incredible array of auction items. The live auction includes a vacation in Maui,  a pearl necklace from Seng Jewelers worth $5,000, a Ladies' Day in Chicago to see Oprah, and boxing gloves signed by Muhammad Ali, among other items. The bid board auction boasts a package worth $26,800 from Persimmon Ridge Golf Course, and a family vacation to Orlando Florida in addition to a few other great packages. And finally, the silent auction offers over fifty items and packages. These items are a fantastic way to enjoy the night, take something home, and still make an impact to fight heart disease in America.

Attending the American Heart Association's Crystal Heart Gala is not the only way to make a difference. You can log-on today to make a donation to the AHA, or donate specifically to the Open Your Heart  appeal that will happen at the gala by logging on to http://www.heart.org/louisvillekyheartball, clicking the Open Your Heart tab, and making a gift online.

Louisville residents are some of the most generous and caring people in the country. To find your dream home and become a part of the community that serves others and fights for positive changes in this country, contact The Vince Carter Team.

Actor's Theatre offers Louisville drama at its best. Now in its 46^th season, the non-profit theatre is acclaimed for revitalizing American playwriting, "with over 300 Actors-debuted scripts now in publication." ( http://www.actorstheatre.org/about.htm )

According to its vision statement, Actor's Theatre "bring[s] people through theatre to celebrate, challenge, and explore who we are." ( http://www.actorstheatre.org/about.htm ) This exploration has birthed some of the best plays of our time, including The Gin Game, Crimes of the Heart, and Dinner with Friends. Plays like these have not only captured audiences but have also won Pulitzer Prize nominations, the Margo Jones Award, Shubert Foundation's James N. Vaughan Memorial Award, and a Tony Award.

Located on West Main Street in downtown Louisville, Actor's Theatre provides a great opportunity for Louisville entertainment. What could be better than dinner and a play? Whether it's season tickets to all of their productions or a one-time ticket purchase, Actor's Theatre is worth a visit.

But entertainment isn't all Actor's Theatre has to offer. As educators know, literature and live theatre often go hand in hand, intersecting along the way with History and other academic disciplines. For this reason, the theatre offers opportunities for educators and students to experience this outside-the-classroom learning setting firsthand through classroom programs, student matinees, teacher/student resources, community outreach, and more.

The current season of plays at Actor's Theatre includes Lookingglass Alice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Christmas Story, Crime and Punishment, Ella, The Cherry Sisters Revisited, Dracula,   A Christmas Carol, and Greater Tuna. Additionally this year, Actor's is featuring the 34^th Humana Festival of New American Plays, providing an opportunity for patrons to experience the debuts of all types of new plays-from comedies and dramas to "plays that forge new theatrical territory." ( http://www.actorstheatre.org/season.htm )

And if performance or season tickets to Actor's Theatre aren't in your budget, they offer a variety of free performances by the Apprentice/Intern Company.

Actor's Theatre has a date night waiting for you. Entertainment opportunities like this are yet another reason Louisville is an excellent place to live.  For more details on living in Louisville, please contact The Vince Carter Team.