Zach's weekend picks for Louisville: balloons, Bourdain and the Ken-Ducky Derby

Bluegrass Ballon Festival Bowman Field Sept. 25 5-10 p.m., Sept. 26 7 a.m.-10 p.m., Sept. 27 12-5 p.m. Bowman Field and Louisville's sky will host more than 70 balloons this weekend for the 11th anniversary of the Bluegrass Balloon Festival [3]. And this year you can head to the sky yourself on a tethered ride ($10). Tickets are $10 per car at the Canons Lane Gate or $3 per person at the Pee Wee Reese Gate. Danger Run [4] Starts at Lowes in Clarksville, the East End and Southwest Fridays and Saturdays, Sept. 25-Oct.31, starts 7-11 p.m. Louisville's popular "Halloween-themed road rally [5] opens this Friday night and runs through Halloween.For more information, check out Louisville.com [6]'s article on the driving game, "Danger Run expects 13,000 to decode limericks and get spooked in Louisville's only Halloween ghost run [7]." Tickets are $14.95 online and $15.95 at the gate and include admission into two haunted houses. Each player also receives a voucher for food from Dairy Queen and cars of four players or more receive a $10 voucher for gas. Anthony Bourdain The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts 501 W. Main St. Sept. 25, 8:00-9:30 p.m. Anthony Bourdain is bringing his mix of social commentary, culinary knowledge and attitude that makes the Travel Channel's "No Reservations" so compelling to the 2009 IdeaFestival [8]. (And apparently many of the ladies find him hot, in a dirty-sexy kind of way.) Check out these suggestions for where Bourdain should eat [9] while in town. Tickets are $35. The Ken-Ducky Derby Waterfront Park River Road Sept. 26, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. More than 20,000 yellow rubber ducks will be dumped into the Ohio River on Saturday. No, it's not the latest work of art from Christo and Jean-Claude [10], but rather it's the sixth annual Ken-Ducky Derby [11], a fundraiser for Harbor House, a nonprofit training and development facility for adults with developmental disabilities. One duck is $5, a quack pack is $25, a big quack pack is $50 and a flock of ducks is $100. The ducks race for prizes, including a Honda Civic, a motor scooter and good old cash. Admission to the Maeser Master Services Family Festival, which takes place on the banks of the river and includes the usual array of activities (arts and crafts booths, face painting and corn hole), is free. Captain's Quarters Regatta & Art Show Captain's Quarters Riverside Grille [12] 5700 Captain's Quarters Road, Harrods Creek Sept. 26-27, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. This art show [13] is a little different from the ones Louisville seems to hold weekly--it's pacakged with a regatta. Works from more than 50 local artists will be for sale at the seventh annual Art on the River show. Afterwards watch the 38th annual Sailing Regatta from the lawn or dock. Admission is free (although a meal at Captain's Quarters is not). For more information: Halloween is coming up soon, prepare by reading about 2009's worst costumes [14]. (Photo: Flickr/DavidDennisPhotos.com [15])