Immersive Belle of Louisville cruise to depict families escaping slavery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - On the Belle of Louisville, the Journeys to Freedom: (Un)known Project River Cruise will make its premiere, where guests will feel what it was like for two slave families to try to escape from Kentucky to Indiana by boat.

The interactive river cruise, written and directed by artist Sidney Monroe Williams and commissioned by IDEAS xLab, will take place on June 9, 10, 22, and 23.

Louisville of Louisville Riverboats is collaborating with the (Un)Known Project on the ‘Journeys to Freedom’ excursions, which are especially impactful due to the geographical and metaphorical significance of the Ohio River for enslaved people, Belle of Louisville Riverboats CEO Krista Snider said.

“We’re inviting people into this history and these stories to play, to learn, to choose your own adventure,” Snider said.

As each visitor embarks on the Belle for the river cruise, they will get a color-coded passport and be given a character for the event, allowing different people access to separate areas of boat as the performance unfolds.

General Admission tickets are $45 and VIP tickets are $150. VIP tickets include early entry and cocktails with the event organizers before the cruise. Click here to purchase tickets.