10 Things to do on Kentucky Football's Bye Weekend

Kentucky Football does not play a game this weekend, leaving a giant void in the Saturdays of fans across the Commonwealth. Although this is the first of two bye weekends in Kentucky’s schedule this season, there is a basketball game vs. Bucknell during the second (Nov. 9), meaning this is the last weekend without Kentucky Football or Basketball until Dec. 28, and after that, maybe even April if all goes well in Mark Pope’s first season.

So, what is a Kentucky fan to do? There are plenty of great high school football games across the state on Friday night, including No. 3 Male vs. No. 8 Frederick Douglass, the KSR Game of the Week. On Sunday, you can cheer No. 13 Kentucky Volleyball on vs. Missouri at Memorial Coliseum. But what about Saturday? At the risk of you wandering around your house or yard like a sad Pablo Escobar, I’ve got some suggestions.

1. Opening weekend at Keeneland

The Keeneland Fall Meet opens tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 4. In turn, it will be crowded — especially with beautiful weather on tap — but tickets are still available. The people-watching should be fantastic; KSR’s handicapper Nick Roush says it’s also the biggest racing weekend of the fall for the track.

Eight races from Friday through Sunday are part of the Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” Challenge Series, meaning winners earn an automatic starting spot and fees-paid entry into a corresponding race at the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar Nov. 1-2. All three of those races on Saturday will be broadcast on NBC, including the $1.25 million Coolmore Turf Mile (G1). If you do go, be aware of the changes due to the ongoing construction of the new three-level Paddock Building, which is scheduled to be completed next September.

2. St. James Court Art Show

When it comes to art fairs, the St. James Court Art Show is the best around. The event is in its 68th year and is expected to bring more than 300,000 visitors to Old Louisville. Approximately 600 artists from across the country will showcase their work from Friday through Sunday. Admission is free with food and drinks (including wine and beer) available for purchase.

3. Attend one of the many festivals around Kentucky

Is an art fair too fancy for you? There are TONS of other festivals happening across the state. Pick one and go explore a small town in Kentucky. If you go to the Sorghum Festival in Springfield, you may see Shannon the Dude at the Rotary breakfast on Saturday morning.

• Sorghum Festival – Springfield
• Kentucky Wool Festival – Falmouth
• Kentucky Apple Festival – Paintsville
• Kentucky Mushroom Festival – Center
• Mary Breckinridge Festival – Hyden
• Caroll County Tobacco Festival – Carrollton
• Black Mountain Jamboree – Monticello
• Lincoln Days – Hodgenville
• Kingdom Come Swappin’ Meetin’ – Cumberland

4. Go to Racing Louisville’s game vs. KC Current

If you’ve never been to a Racing Louisville game, Saturday is the perfect time to try it out. Not only is the team making a playoff push, which makes Saturday’s match critical, it’s also Star Wars night at Lynn Family Stadium. Show off your Star Wars knowledge during halftime trivia and meet the characters in the BlueOval SK Fan Zone. KSR readers can get specially discounted tickets.

5. Check out the Jack O’Lanterns at Iroquois Park

One more suggestion for our Louisville friends. This week marks the start of the Jack O’Lantern Spectacular at Iroquois Park, which features over 5,000 beautifully carved and illuminated pumpkins. The exhibit runs through November 2. Trails open at dusk and you can reserve one-hour time slots ahead of time online.

6. 162nd Battle of Perryville Commemoration

How about a little history? The 162nd commemoration of the Battle of Perryville takes place on Saturday. It is not a battle reenactment. Instead, there will be tours, living historians showing rifle and cannon demonstrations, a wreath-laying ceremony, lectures, and book signings. Make it a day and add on a trip to nearby Danville for lunch or dinner. You could even see ZZ Top perform at the Norton Center for the Arts on Saturday night.

7. Raise your stein at an Oktoberfest

It’s stein season, with Oktoberfests happening all across the state. This weekend, you can raise your steins at the Our Lady of Lourdes or St. Joseph’s Oktoberfests in Louisville, the Harrodsburg Oktoberfest, or the Spencer County Octoberfest. Prost!

8. Try to find the best college football game on a very weak slate

Last week’s college football slate was awesome. This week’s? Not so much. College Gameday is going to Cal for the first time for the Bears’ game vs. No. 8 Miami (10:30 p.m., ESPN) if that tells you anything.

There is only one ranked vs. ranked matchup, No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 25 Texas A&M (Noon, ABC). Outside of that, No. 12 Ole Miss at South Carolina (3:30 p.m., ESPN) and No. 4 Tennessee at Arkansas (7:30 p.m., ESPN) are probably the most interesting games. If you want to scout Vanderbilt, Kentucky’s next opponent, you can see the ‘Dores host No. 1 Alabama at 4:15 p.m. on SEC Network. You can also root for No. 22 Louisville to lose to SMU (Noon, ESPN).

Auburn at No. 5 Georgia (3:30 p.m., ABC)? Iowa at No. 3 Ohio State (3:30 p.m., CBS)? Like I said, this weekend is rough.

9. Rewatch Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss

…or you can do the smartest thing and pull up the replay of Kentucky’s win over Ole Miss. It’s available on demand on the ESPN app and reairs tonight at 10 p.m. ET on SEC Network, so set your DVR.

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10. Spend some quality time with your family

We’ll end with the obvious and most important thing you should do this weekend: spend quality time with your family and friends. Crossover season is fast approaching, so maximize every minute with them in hopes of getting some in return to keep up with the Cats this fall and winter. From pumpkin patches to corn mazes, bonfires, mums, and apple picking, fall y’all family fun time is calling. Get out there and embrace it (and maybe put the Kentucky vs. Ole Miss game on later that night).