Behind every glamorous Pride festival is a lot of unglamorous work. Someone has to wrangle permits, manage budgets, and keep the food pantry stocked on a Tuesday. That someone is Jason Schubert, a Lexington community leader who helps steer the Lexington Pride Center and the Lexington Pride Festival, and we're so glad he finally sat down with us.

In this episode, we cover the Pride Center's day-to-day impact, from support groups and a community library to the People's Market food pantry, which serves 70 to 80 households a week. Jason also breaks down why festival locations change, what accessibility really means when you're setting up hundreds of vendor booths, and how planning starts quietly in late summer before turning into a full-on sprint by June. We also talk Frontrunners Lexington, an LGBTQ walk-run group building connection and funding real outcomes through the Pride Run 5K, grants, and scholarships.

And yes, we get honest about handling protesters without letting them steal the day.

A new breakfast and lunch spot in Versailles. A fine dining room nine floors above downtown Lexington. A members-only club with a rooftop pool that has to fight Kentucky weather. We sit down with restaurateur Cole Arimes to talk about what it really takes to build restaurants that last, from the first idea to the first menu pivot.

Cole also takes us through his latest project, Black Squirrel, including the local history behind the name and why Versailles is ready for a stronger food scene. Then we head to The Vine Lexington, where he breaks down the balancing act of a seafood-forward menu in a landlocked market, how guests learn to trust a chef-driven kitchen, and why “approachable” does not have to mean boring.

We also dig into hospitality leadership: managing multiple teams, mentoring chefs, keeping consistency night after night, and reducing front-of-house and back-of-house friction so the dining room feels calm even on a slammed Saturday. Along the way, we get into Kentucky-specific flavor and craft, from curing country ham to fermentation projects, plus Cole’s ultimate bourbon order and what he hopes for downtown Lexington’s growth.

We're joined by Anne Livengood, the force behind a wildly popular Walk Club in the Warehouse Block, to talk about how she helped turn the National Avenue area into a weekly meetup for people who want connection without the intimidation factor of a run club. The result is simple, welcoming, and surprisingly powerful: show up, walk, talk, and actually get to know your city.

From there, we zoom out into Lexington, Kentucky real estate and why "the market" is never one single story. Anne breaks down seller's market reality, why some homes still fly off the market, and how neighborhood micro-markets can change everything. We also dig into why finding the right agent matters when walkability, older homes, and downtown access top your list.

And of course the fun stuff: Lexington's food scene, taking kids to great restaurants, and how Anne uses her marketing background to spotlight the people and places she genuinely loves.