Walking Food & History Tour

Pride Plates: Kentucky’s Queer History Food Tour

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Walking Food & Queer History Tour through Louisville’s Highlands Neighborhood

Come out with us and explore the queer stories of Louisville’s past and present as you eat and drink your way down Bardstown Road, Louisville’s gayborhood!

As you stroll through the lush avenues of historic Cherokee Triangle, you’ll taste classic Kentucky bites such as fried chicken, spoonbread, and a Louisville Hot Brown paired with refreshing cocktails (or mocktails). Along the way, you’ll uncover the diverse history of Kentucky’s Queer folx, from a Black Prohibition-era drag queen to the poets, authors, and activists that paved the way for Kentucky’s LGBTQ+ community. You’ll end your tour where the rest of your night begins, at the city’s best gay bars.

QUICK DETAILS

  • Distance: 1.5 miles, flat
  • Duration: 3 hours
  • Food Stops: 4 stops for local dishes & drinks
  • Capacity: 12 per tour
  • Time: 5-8 PM
  • Accessibility: Wheelchair and stroller friendly
Chill bar in The Highlands neighborhood with mural in Louisville, Kentucky
Carmichael's Bookstore in the Highlands, Louisville, Kentucky
Cocktail at Neat bottle shop in the Highlands Louisville Kentucky
Carmichael's Bookstore in the Highlands, Louisville, Kentucky
Fried chicken and spoonbread from The Eagle in Louisville Kentucky
The Highlands Mural Weird Independent and Proud in Louisville Kentucky
Banana trifle on LGBTQ history tour louisville kentucky
The Highlands neighborhood and mural in Louisville, Kentucky
Wrought iron Fleur de Lis in the Original Highlands neighborhood
Cocktail at Neat bottle shop in the Highlands Louisville Kentucky
The Highlands Mural at Big Bar in Louisville Kentucky
Fried chicken and drink from The Eagle in Louisville Kentucky
Carmichael's Bookstore in the Highlands, Louisville, Kentucky

Explore the Highlands

The Highlands is one of Louisville’s oldest neighborhoods – and its most quirky. As the gay epicenter of Louisville, it’s also home to the annual Louisville Pride Festival, and several of Louisville’s best gay bars – in fact, your tour will leave you right by them to continue your evening!

Where

Meet outside of 1321 Bardstown Rd, Louisville, KY 40204

When​

Weds – Friday, 6-8:30 PM

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Get a Sneak Peek

As you stroll through the lush avenues of historic Cherokee Triangle, you’ll taste classic Kentucky bites such as fried chicken, spoonbread, and a Louisville Hot Brown paired with refreshing cocktails (or mocktails). Watch this short video for a sneak peek.

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Fried chicken and drink from The Eagle in Louisville Kentucky

What’s This Tour All About?

Is it a food tour or a queer history tour? The answer, of course, is both! This tour is the perfect blend of tastes and tales, exploring Louisville and Kentucky’s LBTQ+ history and queer community along with a taste of its culinary heritage.

Over the 3 hours you’ll spend with us, you’ll get …

  • 4 Delicious dishes representing Louisville & Kentucky
  • 5 Refreshing bourbon cocktails
  • Fascinating stories of queer Kentucky’s history and its home-grown artists, authors, and activists
  • Audio headset (to help you hear your guide)
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What to Expect

We’ll be making 5 delicious stops, so come hungry! In addition to food, you can expect…

Food & Drinks

You won’t leave this tour hungry OR thirsty. (Mocktails are also available.)

Audio Headset​

To help you hear us from a distance.

Small Group

Our tours max out at 12 people.

Walking

About 1.5 Miles. Wear comfy shoes!

FAQ’s About This Tour

Take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions about this tour.

You’ll be eating quite a bit – please arrive hungry! In total, you’ll be eating 5 delicious items and drinking 4 cocktails (or mocktails). You will be full by the end of the tour.

In addition to the food, you will be enjoying 4 refreshing cocktails (or mocktails).

Yes! You’ll eat plenty of delicious food, have a few refreshing mocktails, admire beautiful scenery, and enjoy fascinating stories about Louisville’s history and queer community.

This tour ends about a 10 minute walk down the street from where it begins, and our tour guide will make sure you know exactly where to go to get back to your car. We will leave you within a block of two fantastic gay bars (Chill Bar and Big Bar) to continue your evening, if you so wish!

While both this tour and our Highlands Tastes & Tales Tour visit parts of the quirky, lush Highlands neighborhood including stunning Cherokee Triangle, and are just down the street from one another, there is no overlap in terms of the stops or the route, and the stories told on each tour are entirely different.

This tour focuses on the history of Louisville and Kentucky in regards to its queer community, while our other Highlands tour focuses more the general history of the city, the story of Louisville’s immigrants, and local historic architecture.

There is ample free start parking in the surrounding neighborhood. We recommend parking on quiet side streets and NOT parking on busy Bardstown Road.

It was extremely important to us to involve members of the queer community at every level for the creation of this tour to ensure that the stories we are telling represent the queer community with respect as well as historical accuracy. From writing to running the tour, members of Kentucky’s queer community have been both deeply involved and – equally as important – fairly compensated for their time and effort.

This tour was a labor of deep love and connection for the members of our team who brought it to life. You’ll even see a picture of the tour’s co-writer, who is also a member of our leadership team, during the tour.

To ensure historical accuracy (to the best of our ability), our tour development team poured over the research archives at the fantastic Williams Nichols collection, an incredible collection of local LGBTQ+ history and one of the largest collections of its kind in the country, housed at the University of Louisville.

The tour is also guided by members of the queer community (save for scheduling conflicts) and visits queer-owned establishments (as much as local geography allows).

The creation of the tour was in partnership with Queer Kentucky as part of their inaugural Bourbon & Belonging LGBTQ bourbon week.

We are always open to feedback about how we can improve our representation and storytelling, so please reach out with any concerns and questions!

Have more questions about our tours? Visit our FAQ’s page:

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Premium Bourbon Upgrade

Louisville Food Tours Premium Bourbon Package

Elevate your experience with 3 hard-to-find, top-shelf bourbon pours! You’ll also take home a custom rocks glass, sleek slate coaster, and a set of engraved whiskey stones. The perfect tour enhancement for bourbon enthusiasts and a memorable gift for birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions.

This upgrade package includes:

  • 3 Rare, premium bourbon pours
  • Customized rocks glass
  • Engraved whiskey stones
  • Slate coaster

Learn more about how you can elevate your tour.

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