Derby Eve Gala at 21c to be ‘dark room of mystery’

In celebration of the 150th Kentucky Derby, Laura Lee Brown and Steve Wilson invite guests to a unique version of their annual Derby Eve soiree at 21c Museum Hotel, 700 W. Main St.

The Friday night party benefits the Kentucky College of Art and Design and will feature award-winning artist Narcissister. The performance artist, a personal friend of Wilson, is known to employ humor and spectacle to explore gender, racial identity, and sexuality.

Guests attending the Derby Eve event are requested to wear black and will be given white eye masks (not COVID masks) so every person attending will “become an actor in a dark room of mystery,” according to a news release announcing the event. Even though guests arrive with partners and friends, they will quickly become “strangers in the night,” the release states.

“When it’s all over and my friends are at the Derby or wherever they might be on Saturday, I want them to wonder, ‘was that real or a dream,’” Wilson said in the release.

Wilson’s past Derby Eve events at 21c have included celebrity guests like Louisville rapper Jack Harlow, actors Adrian Grenier and the late Bill Paxton, chefs Bobby Flay and Todd English, singer Kimbra, and more. Guests at the 2024 Derby Eve party can expect plenty of surprises and performances throughout the evening.

The night begins with a VIP Dinner at 8 p.m. Tickets are $1,200 per person and guests can reserve a table for eight for $8,000. The Derby Eve party with performances and dancing gets underway at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $250 and can be purchased online at stevederbyeve. com.

Reach features reporter Kirby Adams kadams@courier-journal.com.

PROVIDED BY KENNETH E. HAYDEN 21c Museum Hotel on West Main Street in Louisville features contemporary art and 91 rooms, according to its website.