FRANKFORT, Ky. — Liberty Hall Historic Site will host its major fundraiser, Bourbon & Browns, at 6 p.m. Saturday, April 25 at the Orlando Brown House, 202 Wilkinson Street, in downtown Frankfort.
Now in its eighth year, Bourbon & Browns has grossed close to $300,000 to support ongoing education and preservation at Liberty Hall, a National Historic Landmark. Bourbon and Browns has become a premier springtime event in downtown Frankfort and the anchor of the Kentucky Distilled Weekend. Partygoers will enjoy a beautiful spring evening in the LHHS gardens on the banks of the Kentucky River.
This year’s honorary chair is Estill Curtis Pennington, art historian of Old Kentucky. A Bourbon County native, Pennington is an honors graduate of the University of Kentucky. He pursued graduate studies at the University of Georgia, the Smithsonian Program at George Washington University and Bedford College, London.
For the past 30 years, he has been actively involved in the study of painting in the South. He has served in curatorial capacities for the Archives of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art and as founding curator of the Morris Museum of Art’s Southern Collection.
Pennington’s publications have won several awards including from the Kentucky Historical Society. He has been recognized by the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts with the Barbara Carson Distinguished Scholar Award.
A VIP pre-event for $500-plus sponsors will be held at 5 p.m. VIPs will meet rare spirits expert Joseph Hyman, Skinner Auctions, and taste whiskey from the 1940s and 50s from Hyman’s private collection.
The Swells of Lexington will perform jazz and swing tunes. A Full Plate from Louisville will cater a buffet-style meal to include a green salad (with blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sunflower seeds, feta, and blueberry basil dressing on the side), cucumber and tomato salad, parmesan pesto pea and pine nut salad, dijon-marinated green beans, and corn muffins. The main course will be spinach & boursin cheese stuffed chicken breast served with a white wine mushroom veloutè & parmesan sauce. Bourbon-inspired desserts include bourbon balls, pots de crème with bourbon, and meringues with curd and berries.
All guests will receive tasting tickets with admission for a unique “build your own” bourbon flight experience at the Distillers Showcase, featuring Baker-Bird Distillery and Winery, Buffalo Trace, Bulleit, Jefferson’s Bourbon and Woodford Reserve.
Live auction items up for grabs this year include a week-long stay at a French Villa in the Dordogne region. Les Bourdeillettes sleeps 8-10 people and is located in the countryside on a 75-acre farm in southwest France, about three hours from Paris. The winning bidder can choose any week in 2021 or 2022 for their French getaway! Silent auction items include an overnight stay at Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, a Marvin Finn sculpture, a DrunkWood Bourbon Barrel Tray, a Wilson julep cup, a Carlisle Collection silk scarf, and a night’s stay in a suite at 21c Louisville that includes a $100 Proof on Main gift certificate.
Out of town visitors may reserve a room at the Capital Plaza Hotel for a discounted price of $129/night. To book, use the name “Liberty Hall” to receive the discount. The hotel is a five minute walk from the venue.
Tickets are $100 per person and can be purchased online at https://libertyhall.org/ or by calling (502) 227-2560.Â
The event is hosted with support from Jerry and Linda Bruckheimer, Kentucky Monthly, and Mrs. Milly Ann Stewart.
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