Margaret Littman

“Never been to Mississippi, and I see no reason to ever go,” went the sentiment I saw repeatedly on social media after the U.S. Senate runoff in the state last week. But travel enlarges us. It humanizes those and that which we fear.

Each May, about 168,000 locals and tourists stream into Churchill Downs to witness America’s greatest horse race, the Kentucky Derby. While the Derby is a must-do event, it’s also a time of year when hotels book up and attractions close because everyone else wants to see the Derby, too. Visiting the City of Beautiful Churches another time of year means you can take advantage of Louisville’s horse-racing traditions, but still see everything else that makes the city so awesome. Here’s our list of 10 things to do, see, eat and drink in Louisville over a long weekend.

Lipscomb and Fisk — both launching hospitality management education programs — plan to find out
It is a bit of an open secret: For all of Nashville’s “It City” culinary-scene chops, local restaurant service is not all that. Yes, restaurant food here is among the country’s best, from the variety of offerings to the quality. But service? Not so much. Servers are usually polite — hey, that’s the Southern way — but they may not know what it actually means to offer quality service.

In February 2017, Jocques Clemmons was killed by a police officer after a traffic stop and foot chase in the parking lot of James A. Cayce Homes in East Nashville.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department conducted an internal investigation of the incident and the Nashville District Attorney decided not to prosecute the officer responsible for Clemmons' death.
Clemmons was Black; the officer was white.

If Janett Liriano has her way, you won’t be using your FitBit much longer.
Liriano is CEO of Loomia, a New York-based firm at the intersection of tech and fashion. The company creates “intelligent drapeable circuits” that are soft enough to be embedded into textiles and can be safely washed and dried. Instead of wearing a step tracker on your wrist, it could be embedded into your running shoes.
That’s just the beginning of what these circuits can do. Those shoes might not just track your step...

“Ten years ago most people here did not know what this brown paste was,” says Anthony Brahimsha of the chickpea dip that is now nearly ubiquitous on menus in the U.S..
Born to Syrian parents, Brahimsha knew that hummus in the Middle East is much better than that found in American grocery stores. With the help of Mike McCloskey, owner of Select Milk Producers, the sixth largest dairy cooperative in the country, he developed a hummus called Prommus that is higher in protein –– three times that ...

It’s a funny story. Not funny strange, but funny ha ha. At least Mickey McConnell hopes it is.
McConnell spent most of his adult life — or, he jokes, what might pass as “adulting” these days — working in restaurants, particularly in restaurant management. It’s a gig he describes as “not a hard job, but a long job.” The late nights kept him from having much of a social life, and eventually he decided enough was enough. He wanted to spend more time with his songwriter wife Sarah Martin McConnel...

Melanie Faye grew up in Nashville, but she doesn’t credit Music City with her success. She credits Guitar Hero. Yes, that Guitar Hero, the video game that allows players to mimic the sounds and moves of their favorite stars. For Faye, it was Michael Jackson.
“I don’t think growing up in Nashville introduced me to guitar players,” Faye says. “My parents were chemists. I was not able to go to bars and see local shows. Guitar Hero introduced me to all this music I was not exposed to. Guitar Hero...

Saving the best for last. It’s a concept oft used for dessert. And, perhaps for that perfectly aged bottle of wine in your cellar. But for a visit to North Dakota? Yes, that too.

North Dakotans know their state doesn’t necessarily spring to mind when travelers brainstorm hot vacation destinations. But for many Americans, ticking off a visit to all 50 states is a point of pride, and you just can’t do it without North Dakota. So the state created a Best for Last Club that rewards visitors who finish their 50-state bucket list tour in North Dakota with swag.

Tunde Wey unveils the second phase of his project, part of Nashville Metro Arts’ Commission’s Build Better Tables program

There was a combination of excitement, interest and more than a little trepidation in the air July 19 at The Post East, where an audience of roughly 50 artists, architects, government workers and others had gathered. Chef Tunde Wey had emailed those with reservations to his H*t Chicken Sh**t event in advance letting them know that discomfort was on the menu.

The proposed name of a Jefferson Street cafe raises issues of gentrification, development and race. This isn’t really a story about a coffeehouse. It’s a story about semantics, and the different histories that blacks and whites have had in Nashville, and how that shapes their futures.

Stephanie Benedetto knows firsthand how hard it is to run a successful startup. But things suddenly got a lot easier when she took home the top prize — $360,000 — at the Nashville Creator Awards.
“We were a bootstrapped company and it took us all the way to launch,” says Benedetto. “We want to be able to grow and scale beyond the U.S. and around the world.”
A century ago, Benedetto’s immigrant grandfather worked in the garment industry on New York’s Lower East Side. Today, she runs a technolo...

Pop-up dinner at The Post East is part of the Metro Arts Commission's Build Better Tables exhibit

Heads-up: If you're the type who thinks dinner conversation should steer clear of politics and heated discussion, then the event we're about to highlight is not for you. But if you prefer your meals served with a slice of intellectual debate and action, mark your calendar for Thursday, July 19.

That's when chef Tunde Wey is hosting a pop-up dinner at East Nashville's The Post East called H*t Chic...

If you think a nonprofit called Everybody Dance Now! is all about shaking your booty, you’d be right. But you’d also be wrong.
The New York non-profit teaches hip-hop and street-dance classes to young people across the country who might not otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed to the performing arts.
“But dance is not the goal,” says executive director Olakunle Oladehin. “The goal is reshaping what is the way to properly educate. Hip-hop dance culture can inspire and uplift. I think t...

Nashville has always thought big. People have moved here with dreams of conquering the city, or even the world. Adam Neumann, cofounder and CEO of WeWork — which has two locations in Music City — has described the company as a place that fosters that kind of growth.
So it makes sense that the two meshed so well at WeWork’s Nashville Creator Awards, held on September 13. Host Ashton Kutcher ticked off the long list of larger cities where the Creator Awards, a global competition that rewards en...