21c is showing “Wild Card: The Art of Michael Combs, a 15-year survey” beginning on Saturday, March 30. 700 W. Main St., 217-6300.

•Harvest Hootenanny

Saturday, Oct. 27

Brown-Forman Amphitheater, Waterfront Park
mightykindness.org
Free; noon-6 p.m.

What happens when the local farmer meets up with the social justice advocate who was hanging with the eco steward and the minister, who had a lunch date with the peace activist and the artist? It’s the ultimate vision of the Mighty Kindness Harvest Hootenanny, which aims to create a commonwealth full of respect, beauty and compassion, and the annual festival is taking place Saturday at Waterfront Park. Expect friendly folks — hippies, hipsters and everything in between — talking about important things like life, love and the pursuit of happiness. There will be two stages of music featuring Blunt Honey, Nick Peay, Andrea Davidson, Leigh Ann Yost, Kathleen Hoye and lots more. Peace and love, my friends, peace and love. —Sara Havens

•David Bell

Saturday, Oct. 27

Carmichael’s Bookstore
2720 Frankfort Ave. • 896-6950
Free; 4 p.m.

Here we are at the time of year when darkness creeps in ever earlier and earlier. So what can you do about that? Maybe find a cozy hiding place? Thriller writer David Bell has just released a new novel entitled “The Hiding Place,” and he’ll be reading and signing at Carmichael’s Saturday afternoon. This story shows the aftermath of a child’s disappearance, with repercussions taking decades to arrive for the victim’s family and others involved. Just as he did with earlier book “Cemetery Girl,” Bell displays an exceptional sense for keeping the procedural details moving forward — but he also keeps them in perspective. This Western Kentucky professor writes about people experiencing a tragedy that may seem to come and go in a single moment but is actually setting a new course for many lives — each of which will now have newly decisive and demanding moments. —T.E. Lyons

•Fall Meet

Oct. 28-Nov. 25

Churchill Downs
636-4400 • churchilldowns.com
$3; 12:40 p.m. (Wed.-Sun.)

Churchill Downs opens Sunday with four weeks of racing through Thanksgiving weekend. The Fall Meet is traditionally strong, with a mix of races for accomplished older horses and tests for 2-year-olds completing their first season of racing. The lone “Downs After Dark” night racing event is Saturday, Nov. 17, with a Roaring ’20s theme: “The Golden Era.” Thanksgiving Day first post time is 11:30 a.m. Reservations required for Thanksgiving Day dinner — and you’d better hurry, as it always sells out early. The Clark Handicap is slated for Nov. 23, with all races Saturday, Nov. 24, carded for 2-year-olds, including the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, which is part of the new qualification prep series for the 2013 Kentucky Derby. —Bill Doolittle

Yew Dell Botanical Gardens
6220 Old LaGrange Road
Crestwood, Ky.
www.yewdellgardens.org
$15 (members), $20 (general); 7 p.m.

Bourbon Baroque performs the music of the 17th and 18th centuries on the instruments for which the music was composed.

Yew Dell Botanical Gardens is Louisville’s 34-acre public botanical garden and horticulture resource center dedicated to helping people develop beautiful and sustainable gardens across the region.  Yew Dell offers garden, plant & environmental educational programs for all levels; these programs include formal lectures, informal hands-on workshops, casual plant walks and community events. As a leading horticultural research center, Yew Dell focuses on development of superior garden plants to enhance gardens, increase biological diversity in our communities, and decrease the need for pesticides.

Through Aug. 25

Arts Council of Southern Indiana
820 E. Market St., New Albany
812-949-4238
www.artscouncilsi.org

I once heard butterflies described as “flying stained glass.” The huge, gorgeous insects that are monarchs really fit that description, so much so that the Arts Council of Southern Indiana decided to showcase the monarch butterfly in a garden and exhibition.

Monarch butterflies fly south for the winter, just like birds, covering up to 3,000 miles. To give them a resting place during this annual trip, the Arts Council created a Monarch Way Station on their property in New Albany, complete with milkweed plants, their dietary staple. The “Beyond Borders” exhibition is indoors as well as out in the garden, and the 18 artists include local favorites such as Al Nelson, Jan Sowder and Bryan Holden. —Jo Anne Triplett

June 16-19

Fern Valley Hotel & Convention Center
2715 Fern Valley Road • www.louisvillebonsai.org
$10; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Thu.-Sat.), 9 a.m.-noon (Sun.)

Before miniature versions of normal-sized items became an accepted part of American consumer culture, there was the bonsai. Literally meaning “plantings in a tray” in Japanese, the ancient art of pruning the tiny tree predated our national commercial obsessions and continues to fascinate and engage admirers and practitioners with its emphasis on harmony, choice and the submersion of the artist’s presence. Thus, it is with no small acclaim that the Greater Louisville Bonsai Society is hosting the city’s first international bonsai symposium. More than 30 vendors from across the globe will offer workshops, demonstrations, tool kits and, of course, bonsai trees. There will also be a juried contest where the artists submitting the three finest dwarf trees will receive first, second and third place prizes of $500, $300 and $100, respectively. —Jonathan Meador

The 19^th Annual “A Victorian Chautauqua” will take place on the grounds of the Howard Steamboat Museum in Jeffersonville on Saturday, May 21 from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday, May 22 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. The weekend will feature juried arts & crafts booths, Carriage House Antique Sales, snack food, Victorian Café, book signings, music, a large herb & perennial sale, presentations and free walk through tours of the Museum & Mansion. Family Fun Fest, featuring activities for children and benefitting the Clark County Youth Shelter, will be held in Port Fulton Park, across from the Museum entrance, on Saturday only. For further information, contact Yvonne Knight at 812-283-3728.

ArtsWORK-New Albany is presenting artist Susan Gorsen on Saturday, May 21 from 10-11 am at the Carnegie Center, 201 E. Spring St. in New Albany. Gorsen will speak about the challenges and rewards of overcoming shoulder replacement surgery to continue a 30 year career in art, which seemed previously at an end. The program is free and open to the public, however pre-registration is required (812-944-7336).

B. Deemer Gallery, 2650 Frankfort Ave., 896-6687, presents “Sky Still Lifes” by artist Madison Cawein. Reflections, refractions and the hearts of flowers are the subjects. This exhibition of new oil paintings opens Saturday, May 21 and continues through July 2.

Whitehall House & Gardens
3110 Lexington Road • 897-2944
Free; 5:30 p.m.

The 8th annual Peony Fest features more than 50 peony varieties. Peonies will be sold for $20/plant.