NuLu Bock Fest Releases Schedule
Courtesy of NuLu Bock Fest
NuLu Bock Fest, NuLu Business Association's annual spring bock beer celebration returns on Saturday, March 23 from noon to 6 p.m. From goat races to awarding the best wurst, kids' activities to celebrating bock beer, NuLu Bock Fest offers spring fun for adults and children alike.
A total of eight adult and baby goat races take place beginning with the Blessing of the Goats and Bock Beer at 12:00 pm and the final race taking off 6:00 pm. The featured race of the day is the Forecast Dash Baby Goat Race at 3:30 pm where Louisville’s meteorologists battle it out for a $500 prize made to the winning forecaster’s charity of choice. Below is the 2024 schedule for the Happy Goat Races presented by Jefferson County Farm Bureau:
12:00pm- Blessing of the Goats at race track. Father David Sanchez
12:30pm- Hotel Genevieve Run for the Rosettes Baby Goat Race
1:15pm- Renewal by Andersen Sprint Adult Goat Race
2:00pm- Tractor Supply Somewhere Out There Baby Goat Race
2:45pm- First Urology If You Ain’t First, URINE Last Adult Goat Race
3:30pm- WAVE3 Forecast Dash Baby Goat Race (Featured Race of the Day)
4:15pm- Angel’s Envy Adult Goat Race
5:00pm- Taj Bar Baby Goat Race
5:30pm- Jefferson County Farm Bureau Baby Goat Race Championship
6:00pm- Jefferson County Farm Bureau Adult Goat Championship
The Annual Wurst Fest welcome local restaurants to showcase their spin on this traditional dish for the chance to be crowned the Best of the Wurst Fest Winner. Competitors will turn in their Wurst submissions at 1:00pm with winners announced at approximately 2:30pm. Competitors include: Monnik Beer Co., Red Top, Four Pegs, Crowler Catering, Funky Ferments (Chef from Bar Vetti), Galaxie, Pig Beach Lou, Senora Arepas, Spring Street Bar and Grill, and Barn 8. To date, this year's Wurst Fest Judges include: Sam Carter (WLKY reporter), Mallory Hudson (Miss Kentucky), and Mitch Huff (restaurant consultant).
Wurst Fest's People's Choice voting takes place Monday, March 18 - Friday, March 22 at participating competitors' restaurants, which include: Pig Beach Lou, Spring Street, Monnik, Four Pegs, Galaxie. To vote for your favorite wurst, scan the QR code located within the restaurants.
You can't have Bock Fest without bock beer! Local breweries will serve their 2024 bock beers, along with other selections of their choosing. Featured breweries include: Against the Grain, Ten 20 Craft Brewery, West Sixth Brewing, Hi-Wire Brewing, Falls City, Gravely, Monnik, Goodwood, Mile Wide, Butchertown Brewing, Pivot Brewing, Atrium Brewing, Shipping Port Brewing.
For non-beer drinkers, craft cocktails and mixed drinks will be available for purchase. The Bulleit Bourbon bar returns, featuring “Bulleit and a Beer” plus other Bulleit craft cocktails and the “Bulleit Woody”, a vintage camper and mobile bar. The Patron Tequila Shack will feature freshly made margaritas courtesy of Crowler Catering. Attendees can take a load off and enjoy a Brandy Old Fashion or another crafted cocktail in the Copper and Kings Old Fashion Lounge.
Jefferson County Farm Bureau Family Fun Area will showcase family-friendly activities and displays for the kids including the Tipping Tractor, Bessie the Milking Cow, the Discovery Trailer, Bubble Truck, a petting zoo and more. Jefferson County Farm Bureau Farmers Market includes more than 60 JCFB members who will showcase their fresh foods, crafts and other wares for sale, connecting agriculture to the urban community.
Live music presented by The Amp at Logstill Distillery on the Main Stage throughout the day. The stage schedule is below:
12:00pm- Louisville School of Rock
1:30pm- Wicker Frog Alternative Acoustic
2:30pm- Wurst Fest Winners Announced
3:00pm- Little Band
4:30pm- One Louder
A second stage has been added to this year's event. The Goat Stage will feature DJ Derek Allen, and will be where the Blessing of the Goats happens, as well as the announcement of the Forecast Dash Winner and the Baby Goat Champion and Adult Goat Champion.
LouCity is providing a shuttle that will run between Gate 1 at Lynn Family Stadium and the corner of Clay and Main St. (1/2 block from Bock Fest vendors on Clay St). There is no cost for the shuttle, however, because it is a game day there is a $12 charge for parking at the stadium in the Gold Lot. This is the tailgate lot across from the stadium on the hill. See image below.
The game starts at 4pm. Gates open at 2:30pm. Shuttle will run from 12pm – 9pm.
This is a great option for people wanting to do both or who just don’t want to worry about finding a parking spot. Thank you Richard for making it happen.
The final Nulu Bock Fest pre-party is this Saturday, March 16. Goat Yoga at Taj Bar/Wick's Pizza patio begins at 10:30am, followed by the Bock Fest Paddock Party at Garage Bar, 2-5 p.m. Meteorologists participating in the Forecast Dash Baby Goat Race will have the opportunity to select their goats, while attendees will be able to meet the race contenders and enjoy a wonderful day in NuLu.
The Bock Fest tradition traces back to the mid-19th century to mark the changing of the season when the dark German lager, known as bock, was released across the city after a winter of aging. NuLu is home to two coincidentally named alleys - Nanny Goat Strut and Billy Goat Strut, thus making it a fitting place for a bock beer festival featuring adult and baby goat racing, a wurst competition, music performances, and several local vendors and food trucks.
The goats participating in the Jefferson County Farm Bureau Goat Races are from Sunny Acres Farm. The Louisville Aggies, a local 4H group, will run alongside the goats helping them to the finish line. Grandstands will be placed on either side of the track for better audience viewing. New this year, WAVE3 will live-stream the races on wave3.com, which will be broadcasted at NuLu neighborhood bars and restaurants.
NuLu Bock Fest would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous support: Jefferson County Farm Bureau, Copper & Kings, Guinness, Angel’s Envy, Bulleit Bourbon, Louisville Downtown Partnership, Sunny Acres Farm, UofL Health, KY Proud, First Urology, Hotel Genevieve, JEB Advertising, NULU Marketplace, Renewal by Andersen, TAJ Bar, and Tractor Supply.
For more information about NuLu Bock Fest visit nulu.org/BockFest.
