WorldFest will take place this weekend for its 15th year, with four days of international food, music, dance and culture starting September 1 at the downtown Belvedere. Hours are Friday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. and Monday 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

70 local and regional entertainers will offer a variety of music, dance styles and beats, ranging from African drumming to reggae to Indian, Celtic, Arabic, Latin, Caribbean music and more. More than 100 vendors will participate, with 30-plus food vendors serving a global sampling of cuisine and culture.

The festival includes a naturalization ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, where more than 300 immigrants will become full U.S. citizens and a colorful Parade of Cultures at noon on Saturday.

For more information about WorldFest, visit www.worldfestlouisville.com. Let them know if you plan to attend, via the Facebook event page. And don’t forget to follow WorldFest on Twitter and Instagram @AroundLou! A You Tube Video about WorldFest is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCB8oEAXHBQ

There will be no residential garbage, recycling or yard waste collection within the Louisville Metro Urban Services District (former Louisville city limits) on Monday September 4 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. Collection through the week will be delayed by one day beginning with the regular Monday pickups occurring on Tuesday.

Garbage pickup in St. Matthews will also be delayed because of the holiday.

Other District 9 residents who rely on private haulers for garbage, recycling and yard waste collection should consult those haulers about holiday collection schedules.

Also, Jefferson County staffed recycling, hazardous waste and waste reduction facilities will be closed on Saturday September 2 in recognition of the holiday and closed on Monday as usual.

Thousands of cyclists, walkers, canoeists and kayakers will hit the streets and the Ohio River on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, for the 26th Hike, Bike & Paddle at Waterfront Park.

Subway Restaurants is proud to once again be the title sponsor of the events. It will be distributing $2.50 gift cards to participants that can be used on their next visit to Subway. 

Paddlers will begin their adventurous five-mile course at 10 a.m., taking their canoes and kayaks through the McAlpine Locks and Dam to the Jaycees Boat Ramp in New Albany. Participants will launch their canoes or kayaks at the ramp located at the Harbor Lawn of Waterfront Park.

For cyclists, a 9.5-mile route will leave Waterfront Park and go west through the Portland Stroll District and head back to Waterfront Park. Turnoffs will provide cycling routes as short as two miles.

The hiking route, which is wheelchair-accessible, will take walkers west along the waterfront, along portions of the Riverwalk and wharf to 10th Street and back. Walkers can bring their dogs on the hike, but must keep them on a leash and pick up waste, as required by law.

More than 50 vendors and information booths will open at 8:30 a.m. at Waterfront Park.  Patrons will have the opportunity to try their hand at stand-up paddle boarding until 1 p.m.

Yoga, Tai Chi and Zumba demonstrations will be offered, along with group participation. Beginning at 8:30 a.m. there will be 3,000 free T-shirts for those who arrive early and complete a brief survey. The Brain Injury Association will distribute 500 helmets to riders who don’t have one. Neil Huffman Subaru will be giving away a free bicycle and kayak at the event. 

Participants are encouraged to be “green” and bring their own water bottles which they will be able to fill at Waterfront Park and at various water stations along the routes, as part of Louisville Water’s Pure Tap To Go.

To view interactive route maps and for more information, go to hikebikeandpaddle.org.

Already know you’re coming? RSVP on the Facebook event page. And don’t forget to follow the event on Twitter and Instagram @AroundLou! A You Tube video about Hike, Bike and Paddle is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD003JoFDxk

Please mark your calendars for the 18th Annual Back to School Block Party at the Mary T. Meagher Aquatic Center, 201 Reservoir Park, on Friday, September 8th from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.  Enjoy FREE Mellow Mushroom pizza, swimming, door prizes and family fun!  Make a child ID with LMPD.

Click here to view our flyer and see a list of sponsors for the event! Youth door prizes are still being accepted. If you are interested in making a donation please contact the office at 574-3908 or email Kyle Ethridge. 

Thank you to sponsors who have already committed door prizes: A Reader’s Corner, Blue Dog Bakery , Carmichael’s Bookstore, Comfy Cow, Crescent Hill Trading Company, Heine Brothers' Coffee, Just Creations, Margaret's Consignments, McDonalds, Metro Parks, North End Café and Red Hog Butcher.

Work will get underway during the week of September 4, a week earlier than previously planned, on a $630,000 package of safety improvements for a section of Lexington Road. The earlier start on the installation of new cross drains is to help ensure the project will be completed in time to avoid interfering with the October 21 Urban Bourbon Half Marathon that will pass through the area.

The Lexington Road segment between Payne Street and Grinstead Drive will be converted from the current design of two travel lanes in each direction to one travel lane in each direction plus dedicated turn lanes. Portions of Lexington Road have had high accident rates. For example, the intersection of Lexington Road and Payne Street has had twice as many accidents as would be expected at a similarly configured intersection.

The new configuration is intended to improve traffic flow and reduce accidents, as previously demonstrated by similar projects across Louisville. The road will be repaved and buffered bike lanes will be added on both sides. Drainage will also be improved.

The project is part of the 2015 Lexington Road Corridor Transportation Plan and the broader Move Louisville multi-modal transportation plan that seeks to improve all facets of the city's transportation network for all of its users. Learn more about the Lexington Road Safety Project.

Click here to view a WDRB video news story on the project.

A Metro trap located near Grinstead Drive has yielded both very high trap numbers and, more importantly, tested positive for West Nile Virus. The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness has taken steps to reduce the mosquito population in this area by treating catch basins with larvicide and fogging with adulticide. Sign up here for fogging alerts: https://louisvilleky.gov/government/health-wellness/mosquito-fogging.  There are also many things residents can do to help prevent or reduce mosquito borne vector disease:

What works to prevent mosquitoes?

• Eliminate all standing water:
• Change bird bath every 3-5 days
• Keep gutters clean and free of debris
• Pour out water from flowerpots and planters
• Don't let water stand in baby pools
• Repair leaky pipes
• Drill holes in tires or cover
• Empty water from buckets and other containers in yard

Other suggestions include:

• Wear long sleeves and long pants
• Apply insect repellant according to label instructions
• Utilize box fan to thwart mosquito flight/bite
• Keep doors and windows closed or erect screens
• Commercial Pesticide barrier sprays
• Residential pesticide sprays and mosquito dunks

What does NOT work to prevent mosquitoes?

• Bug zappers
• Mosquito plants
• Martin houses
• Bat houses
• Ultra-sonic devices
• Dryer sheets
• Skin So Soft

The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness asks YOU to help us help you in preventing mosquito borne vector disease!

Thousands of Louisvillians will be on bicycles this weekend for Hike, Bike & Paddle.  It's a good time to check out Louisville's new bike share program, LouVelo.

The bikes are located at 27 solar-powered stations throughout Downtown and Old Louisville, with the closest station to D9 being at East Washington and Cabel, near Copper & Kings Distillery.  

LouVelo bikes feature an upright riding position, fenders, and a comfort saddle. Anyone can jump on a LouVelo bike and easily pedal across town. LouVelo members can access any of the 300+ bikes though a station kiosk, a smart phone or with their membership card. Checking out a bike is quick and easy, and returning it is as simple as parking the bike in the dock.  Bikes can be returned to any station in the system.  They are available for $3.50 for 30 minutes, pay-as-you-go, or on monthly or annual plans.

Check it out at at https://louvelo.com/! 

We’d like to feature your sustainability story - a resident or business doing good things for the environment.  Riding the bus, bicycling, walking, gardening and more - our eNews will feature practices which can benefit all of us.  Send your story to Bill Hollander or Kyle Ethridge. 

Investment Property Advisors, a real estate development company, is currently working on development plans to create a mixed-use community to be located at 4156 Shelbyville Road in the City of St. Matthews, presently occupied by Tafel Motors automobile sales and service.  This site is the location of the Mercedes Benz dealership. 

To address concerns that have been raised by neighbors, as plans are reviewed by the City of St. Matthews, the Company requested St. Matthews City Council to table a vote on the development plan and partial street closure of Church Way until there was more neighborhood input.

A public meeting will be held at the St. Matthews Community Center located at 310 Ten Pin Lane at 6:00 pm on September 5th.  The company says a moderating third party will be guiding questions and ideas for discussion.

If you are not able to come or if you have questions about the meeting, you can contact the developer at stockwell@ipadevelopment.net.

Photo: Insider Louisville

With MSD work surrounding the installation of a Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) basin between Mellwood and Drescher Bridge Avenues continuing,  I want to make sure everyone knows that Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center, and all associated businesses,  are open and in business! 

The CSO Basin work has impacted Mellwood Avenue over the past few months, with a one-lane closure and then a complete closure.  There is a new schedule for the next few months:

• Phase I work by MAC Construction will continue and Mellwood Avenue will remain closed west of the art center (between it and and Muncie Avenue) until September 7.

• Mellwood will then reopen to two-way traffic between September 8 and October 1.  This is being done to accommodate events in the area, including Mellwood’s 2017 September Art Fair on Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10.  Over 80 juried artists will be selling their work and there will be food, drink and other activities all day.  More information about the art fair is here:  https://www.mellwoodartcenter.com/september-art-fair.html.

• Phase II work (by another contractor, TSI Construction) will begin on October 2 and be completed by December 31.  Mellwood Avenue will be closed again during this period. 

The many businesses at the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center have remained open throughout the Mellwood Avenue road work and will remain open in the future.  That includes Mellwood Antiques (http://www.mellwoodantiques.com/),   Danny Mac’s Pizza (http://www.dannymacspizza.com/) and others.  Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center can be accessed from westbound Mellwood.  The art center can also be reached through Drescher Bridge Avenue off of Brownsboro Road to Thompson Avenue, where a left for two blocks will take you to the center. 

Please support these businesses, which have been impacted by the road closures, NOW by making your way safely through the detours.  And mark your calendars for the art fair on September 9 and 10, when Mellwood Avenue will be open! 

Registration for Metro Parks and Recreation fall athletic leagues has been extended and will now close tomorrow, Friday, September 1. League play will begin the week of September 11. Spots are still available for league play in basketball, softball, volleyball, flag football, kickball and dodgeball. For more information on schedules, sites and times, click here.

To pre-register for an Athletic League, participants can use this online form: Adult Leagues Pre-Registration. Payment can be made over the phone with credit card (Mastercard/Visa), or in person, by cash, check or credit card, at the Athletics Office located at the Metro Parks and Recreation Athletic Office at the Cyril Allgeier Community Center, 4101 Cadillac Court.

Payment must be made in full at the time of registration in order to reserve a team’s place for the season. Registrations after the deadline will be subject to a $35 late registration processing fee.  For more information, call 502/574-4515.