Featured Events in Danville in May, 2025 (August Updated)

The Great American Brass Band Festival is a free, family event held in beautiful Danville, Kentucky on the campus of Centre College every year. This is our 31st year and every year has been made possible by the generous donations of our sponsors, donors and volunteers. Join us to keep the festival free for everyone!. This event showcases products like jewelry & metalwork painting, drawing, printmaking, 2-D mixed media, photography, & digital art wood, furniture, & clay etc. in the Consumer & Carnivals industry. Information Source: The Great American Brass Band Festival | expotobi

Welcome to the On The River Music Festival ! Get ready for a day filled with live music, good vibes, Food trucks and great company. Join us by the river for a lineup of talented artists ready to put on a show. Pack your picnic blanket, grab your friends, and come enjoy the day under the sun. Don't forget to bring your dancing shoes - you'll need them! We gon have a great time. See you there! Information Source: B13 Ent Group | eventbrite

This class is for “confident” beginners or intermediate level ONLY. You must be able to operate your own sewing machine. Cost is $25.00 per person and includes a kit with fabric. You MUST register via Eventbrite by scanning QR code below. When registering please list your favorite color for fabric purposes. Please register at least one week before class. Questions? Call (859) 236-4484. Information Source: Cynara Perez-Switzer | eventbrite

Rakestraw Books is delighted to welcome bestselling novelist Shelby Van Pelt as we celebrate the paperback publication of Remarkably Bright Creatures . She will be joined in conversation by novelist Simon Van Booy ( Sipsworth ) on Thursday, 15 May 2025 at 7 PM. It's going to be a marvelous evening that book group readers will not want to miss. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a charming, witty and compulsively readable exploration of friendship, reckoning, and hope that traces a widow's unlikely connection with a giant Pacific octopus. After Tova Sullivan’s husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she’s been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn’t dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors—until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova’s son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it’s too late. Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel is a gentle reminder that sometimes taking a hard look at the past can help uncover a future that once felt impossible. Join us for a powerful conversation between two Rakestraw favorites about aging, loss, and the healing power of friendship. Both Shelby Van Pelt and Simon Van Booy will sign books following the event. This ticket is a two for one . You get to bring a friend, but you will only pay for one paperback copy of Remarkably Bright Creatures . We will have additional books for sale. ****UPDATE 4/25/25: This event will now take place at Danville Congregational Church.**** -- About Sipsworth : Following the loss of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. She retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit: "Each day was an impersonation of the one before with only a slight shuffle--as though even for death there is a queue." Then, one cold winter night, a chance encounter with a mouse sets Helen on a surprising journey. Over the course of two weeks in a small English town, this reclusive widow discovers an unexpected reason to live. Sipsworth is a reminder that there is always reason for hope. No matter what we have planned for ourselves, sometimes life has plans of its own. With profound compassion, Simon Van Booy illuminates not only a deep friendship forged between two lonely creatures, but the reverberations of goodness that ripple out from that unique bond. Information Source: Rakestraw Books "The Bookstore in Danville" | eventbrite

Imani Winds is the 2024 GRAMMY® winner in the Classical Compendium category for Jeff Scott’s “Passion for Bach and Coltrane” released on their recently formed record label, Imani Winds Media. Celebrating over a quarter century of music making, the three time GRAMMY® nominated group has led both a revolution and evolution of the wind quintet through their dynamic playing, adventurous programming, imaginative collaborations and outreach endeavors that have inspired audiences of all ages and backgrounds. The ensemble’s playlist embraces traditional chamber music repertoire, and newly commissioned works from voices that reflect historical events and the times in which we currently live.  Recent and upcoming projects include a Jessie Montgomery composition inspired by her great-grandfather’s migration from the American south to the north, a work by Carlos Simon celebrating iconic figures of the African American community and a new sextet by Viet Cuong. These works and more have been commissioned as a part of the Legacy Commissioning Project . Reflecting on the issues of mass incarceration, Imani Winds 11th studio recording, “Belonging” by and with Andy Akiho will be released Summer 2024. Twenty-seven seasons of full-time touring has brought Imani Winds to virtually every major chamber music series, performing arts center, and summer festival in the U.S. They regularly perform in prominent venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center and have a presence at festivals such as Chamber Music Northwest, Chautauqua Institution and Banff Centre. Imani Winds thoughtfully curates unique residencies that include performances, workshops, and masterclasses to thousands of students each year at institutions such as the University of Chicago, Eastman School of Music and Duke University. In 2021, Imani Winds released their 9th studio album, “Bruits” on Bright Shiny Things Records , which received a 2022 GRAMMY® nomination for “Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance.” Gramophone states, “the ensemble’s hot rapport churns with conviction throughout.” Imani Winds has recordings on Koch International Classics and E1 Music, including their 2006 GRAMMY® nominated recording, “The Classical Underground”. They have also recorded for Naxos and Blue Note and released an acclaimed arrangement of Stravinsky’s "Rite of Spring" on Warner Classics. They are regularly heard on all media platforms including NPR, American Public Media, the BBC, SiriusXM, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. To date, one of Imani Winds’ most humbling recognitions is a permanent presence in the classical music section of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC. Information Source: Danville Concert Association | eventbrite

Come join us to make this ADORABLE, 6 1/2" x 5" sewing machine pin cushion pictured above! Saturday, May 24 th , 10:00a-2:00p . Kits with fabric and supplies will be provided. Cost is only $20.00 . Remember to bring a lunch/snacks since this class will take around 4 hours. This is a “confident beginner” level project. You must be able to operate your own sewing machine. Ages 18+. Limited availability, register today! Please register at least one week before class. Questions? Call (859) 236-4484. Information Source: Cynara Perez-Switzer | eventbrite

Ever find the perfect top in the right color, but two sizes too big? Do you ever want to change the length of sleeves or narrow a pant leg? There are many manageable changes that a person with some sewing knowledge and the will to be creative can make to a garment for better fit or better style. We will break down some of these changes and how-to’s in this workshop. Cost is $7.00. Limited space. Please register at least one week before class. Questions? Call (859) 236-4484. Information Source: Cynara Perez-Switzer | eventbrite

Ever find the perfect top in the right color, but two sizes too big? Do you ever want to change the length of sleeves or narrow a pant leg? There are many manageable changes that a person with some sewing knowledge and the will to be creative can make to a garment for better fit or better style. We will break down some of these changes and how-to’s in this workshop. Cost is $7.00. Limited space. Please register at least one week before class. Questions? Call (859) 236-4484. Information Source: Cynara Perez-Switzer | eventbrite