Upcoming Events

Add Our Events to Your Calendar

Please see below for details and descriptions of upcoming events at the Filson. All event times are in EST or EDT depending on the season. Click here to register and pay for programs, tickets are required. Filson members will need to log in to access the member pricing for events. Many of our past events can be viewed on the Filson YouTube Channel. If you have any issues with registering via our ticketing solution please call (502) 635-5083.

Recent Filson events have regularly been reaching our capacity limits. If members or non-members wish to attend an event please register beforehand. We cannot guarantee a space for walk ups on the day of the lecture.

Susan Reigler presents: Bourbon for Non-Bourbon Drinkers

Date: February 3, 2026

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville | In Person Only

The Filson is thrilled to host this dynamic presentation on the history and development of bourbon and the industry fueling Kentucky’s economy for two centuries. Certified Executive Bourbon Steward Susan Reigler will bring this incredible discussion to life for all audiences. Whether you are a bourbon-connoisseur or merely curious, this is the presentation for you. Susan brings her recognized expertise along with experience writing multiple books, columns, and serving as President of the Bourbon Women Association to the Filson audience! Don’t miss out on this informative and exciting presentation!

Susan Reigler is an award-winning author and from 1992-2005, she was a restaurant critic and beverage columnist for the Courier-Journal. . Currently she is a contributing writer to Bourbon+, American Whiskey Magazine (for which she writes whiskey tasting notes and ratings), LEO Weekly, and is bourbon columnist for Food & Dining and Covey Rise magazines.

Through Our Lens: Documenting Black Experience and Advocacy in Kentucky

Date: February 9, 2026

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd St - In Person and Virtual Options

Free - Registration Requested

Please note: This event has been postponed from the original date (January 26). If you registered for tickets to the original event, they are valid for the new date of February 9. Tickets are currently available for this event. Please contact the Filson if you have any additional questions.

In conjunction with the Black Homecoming: Kentucky Kinship in Photography exhibition, Miguel Hampton, a photographer and filmmaker, explores his journey in documenting the Black experience through visual art in Louisville and southern Indiana. Mr. Hampton discusses how he uses his art in photography to advocate for African American communities while preserving their histories. Lastly, he describes his affirmation of contributing to the vital role of art in safeguarding heritage and amplifying marginalized voices.

Miguel Hampton, MSM, is an award-winning community & business advocate, photographer, filmmaker, and social entrepreneur whose work fuses art with activism. Through business development, photography, documentary film, and community projects, Miguel captures stories that amplify voices, spark dialogue, and inspire change. With more than two decades of experience, Miguel brings authenticity, vision, and purpose to every project.

The Jewish Film Festival Presents: “Ain’t No Back to a Merry-Go-Round”

Date: February 12, 2026

Time: 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville | In Person Only

Reservations Required

Panel discussion: 6:00-6:45 p.m. | Film Screening: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

The Filson is proud to sponsor a screening of this incredibly well-researched and pertinent documentary highlighting the struggle to desegregate Glen Echo Amusement Park amusement park and the bonds forged through advocacy and allyship between the Jewish and African American communities. Venture back to 1960 when a group of Howard University students staged a sit-in that sparked a series of events that galvanized populations and pushed a community to the brink.

Join us prior to the film screening for an insightful panel of Louisvillians discussion the similarities from our documentary and Louisville’s own Fontaine Ferry Park. Local Civil Rights activists will be joined by our expert facilitator to set the stage of events in Louisville as we consider relevant and contemporary parallels.

Dine & Dialogue – The Iron Horse in Indian Country: Native Americans and Railroads in the US West

Date: February 19, 2026

Time: 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville | In Person and Virtual options

Registration required

Historians have long pondered the railroad’s profound and far-reaching role in transforming the United States’ economic, political, social, and physical landscapes. Join Dr. Alessandra La Rocca Link in a dynamic discussion with Filson President and CEO, Dr. Patrick Lewis, as they examine the relationships between Indigenous peoples and railroads that unfolded in the American West during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Iron Horse in Indian Country reframes this scholarship by spotlighting both the inner workings of railroad colonialism and how Indigenous peoples incorporated railroads into their own networks.

This project begins with a study of Indigenous contributions to the Pacific Railway Surveys of the 1850s and extends through to the rise of automobile travel and the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act in the 1920s.

Alessandra La Rocca Link is a Louisville native and teaches at the Upper School at Louisville Collegiate School. She holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Colorado Boulder and was a fellow at the Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University.

Exhibit Open House – Black Homecoming: Kentucky Kinship in Photography

Date: February 28, 2026

Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm

Location: The Filson Historical Society, 1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville | In Person Only

Free - Registration Requested

Filson curatorial staff will be on hand to chat with visitors for this special last-look open house for our photo exhibit. Join Dr. Jacqueline Hudson, curator of our African American History Initiative as we explore the many forms family takes and the development of the family unit through history. Hundreds of photographs and objects are on special display through April 9 as part of our Black Homecoming exhibit and this open house is your chance for a special viewing.

Visit the Filson

The Filson is closed Monday, January 26th, due to inclement weather.

Open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm

The Filson is closed to the public the 3rd Friday of every month.

1310 S. 3rd St., Louisville, KY 40208
(502) 635-5083

Plan Your Visit to the Filson! To register or purchase tickets for our events, please visit our Events Page.

The Research Library is open Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30pm; we are closed on the third Friday of each month. Appointments are not required, but feel free to reserve a seat online – learn more here. We also provide remote research services; please complete our research request form online here.

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