Anchorage KY Local Artists Festival and Local Art Studios
October 8, 2026
October 8, 2026
If you wanted to see work by an artist who lives a few streets away, where in Anchorage would you go? The city has no public gallery. Its art happens in a painting studio on Evergreen Road, in a workshop on Ridge Road and in the homes of Artist Guild of Anchorage members. Only one of those places keeps regular hours. The others open on certain dates, and several of those dates fall in the next few weeks.
Here are the dates on the calendar right now:
Whet Your Palette is the regular-hours exception. According to the studio's own site, Judith Kennedy Zinner opened the Anchorage studio in September 2012. Today it sits at 1415 Evergreen Road.
Drop-in painting needs no appointment. The studio provides supplies and some guidance. Posted hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 7 p.m. That puts a weeknight painting session within reach of anyone who lives nearby, which no other local art space can offer.
Prices depend on the format:
| Option | Published price |
|---|---|
| Drop-in canvas, 8×10 | $16 |
| Drop-in canvas, 16×20 | $35 |
| Drop-in wood, 12-inch round board | $24 |
| Drop-in wood, bourbon-barrel lid | $50 |
| Scheduled canvas class, 2.5 hours | $35 |
| Scheduled wood class, 2.5 hours | $55 |
| Guest who sits in without painting, space permitting | $10 |
The 2026 calendar asks guests to reserve and pay ahead for scheduled classes. It recommends ages 16 and up for regular classes and welcomes all ages at family classes and drop-ins. The class bar sells wine, beer, cocktails, soda and water. Guests may bring their own food and nonalcoholic drinks.
Children have their own schedule. The after-school Creative Arts Lab costs $92 a month or $26 for a single day, and children's studio lessons are $100 a month. Parent's Night Out runs 3.5 hours for $30 and takes ages 5 to 12. Girl Scout art-badge workshops are $20 for two hours.
Once a year, Whet Your Palette opens its property to other artists. The 5th Annual Local Artists Festival runs Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The flyer lists a bar, live music, food trucks, face painting, a bouncy castle and drop-in painting, along with a live performance by the Soul Circus Trio. Last year's edition was held at the same address on October 18, 2025.
The vendor rules shape what you'll find at the booths. Louisville Visual Art's call for entries lists a $45 entry fee and says the fair is for local artists only, selling work they made themselves, with no buying and reselling. The listing also calls "local" a "vague guideline." Applications are due October 10, eight days from now. Questions go to [email protected]. If you paint, throw pots or build something in a garage workshop, the vendor application is on the studio's site.
For one day, the studio people drop into on weeknights works more like a gallery for the whole area. Some of the makers who show there have no storefront anywhere else.
Two miles of trail and a few turns away is a much more private studio. Museum Bees by Trace Mayer lists its address as 12404 Ridge Road in Anchorage. The work is small, from 1 to 7 inches. Most pieces are built from recycled American antique picture frames, many dating from 1860 to 1880. Some use the charred inner wood of bourbon barrel staves. Gilded horses, dogs, insects, ceramics and antique curiosities are set into the frames. Every piece costs $65, and Mayer signs each one. According to the site, the name comes from his first piece, "Napoleon's Bee."
You can't walk in and browse. Museum Bees sells mostly online. The Courier Journal reported in December 2023 that Mayer releases new work on Wednesdays. The business site still says new pieces arrive Wednesdays, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, with announcements on Instagram. The contact page gives a phone number and email but no visiting hours, so reach out before stopping by.
That makes this Sunday unusual. At 1 p.m. on October 4, the Anchorage Trail Board and Museum Bees are hosting a Blessing of the Animals and Trail Walk at 12404 Ridge Road. Bring your pets for a blessing, and the walk will visit a recently improved section of the Anchorage Trails. It's the one date on this fall's calendar when the studio's address is open to the public.
The third part of Anchorage's art scene is the hardest to see from the street. The Artist Guild of Anchorage plans its year around studio visits, talks and trips, and many of them happen in members' homes. Its program log shows Ann Ross hosting the December 2025 holiday party at her home and studio. A February 2026 discussion of Michael Finkel's "The Art Thief" took place at Gail Zeh's home. The guild also visited Trace Mayer's studio on March 19, 2025.
The guild's work becomes public once a year at a showcase. On April 1, 2026, the guild held it at Owl Creek Country Club, where 36 artists showed paintings, ceramics, photography and multimedia work. That's a sizable group for a city whose main art venue is a painting studio on Evergreen Road. It also means a lot of Anchorage art is made in private rooms and seen together only on a single day each spring. The guild's site keeps a running record of its programs, which is the best way to follow what members are doing between showcases.
The last date this year turns local art into a keepsake. The 44th annual Christmas in Anchorage takes over Anchorage Public School on Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day includes Breakfast with The Grinch, candle making with Maddox + Rose, floral arranging with Caroline Jordan, a holiday boutique and the North Pole Bakery.
The 2026 ornament is by Louisville artist Marty Osbourn O'Daniel of MartiMar Art. Each one holds a 2.25 by 3.25 inch giclée print of her original painting, finished by hand with acrylic paint and gold wax and set in a brass and glass frame. She has hand-written "Christmas in Anchorage 2026" on the back of each ornament and signed it. Preorders are $40 through the school website, and quantities are limited. The city's Anchor Age newsletter carries this calendar month by month, and it's where the next Ridge Road afternoon or festival date is likely to show up first.
A home's walls and shelves often hold pieces like these: a framed bee, a painting from the October fair, a few years of ornaments. When those homes come to market, that character deserves careful presentation. If you'd like to talk through how a home and its story come across to buyers, Nancy A Stevens is glad to listen. Let's Connect.
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