Festivals in Louisville: Two-Weeks of Derby and More

Festivals and other cultural events provide lots of great opportunities for travelers to experience Kentucky traditions.

Planes streak across a deep blue sky trailing lines of white smoke.
Thunder Over Louisville is the annual airshow and fireworks display that kicks off the Kentucky Derby Festival. Photo © LuAnn Snawder Photography, licensed Creative Commons No-Derivatives.

Kentucky Derby Festival

The Kentucky Derby might be known as the most exciting two minutes in sports, but to Louisville, the Derby lasts far longer than two minutes. In fact, thanks to the Kentucky Derby Festival, Derby excitement lasts for a complete two weeks.

The party kicks off on the Saturday two weeks before the Derby (which is always the first Saturday in May) with Thunder Over Louisville, the largest annual fireworks display in the world. For nearly 30 minutes, eight 400-foot barges anchored in the Ohio River around the Second Street Bridge shoot a barrage of pyrotechnics into the night, turning Louisville’s downtown sky into an explosion of color. Crowning the show is the mile-long waterfall of fireworks that cascades down from the bridge. The celebration begins long before dark, however, with an air show that lifts off in mid-afternoon and features performances by skydive and aeronautic teams as well as flyovers by military jets. The best viewing spots are at Waterfront Park (129 E. River Rd.). Claim yours early.

Thunder Over Louisville, the annual kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival, is an airshow and fireworks display held in mid April in Louisville, Kentucky. It is the largest annual fireworks display in North America and has been held since 1990. ©Zhuxi1984, Dreamstime.

Next on the agenda for most Derby Festival attendees is the Great BalloonFest, which takes place the weekend after Thunder, stretching from Thursday through Saturday. Events include a Balloon Glimmer at Waterfront Park on Thursday, a Rush-Hour Race departing from Bowman Field (2815 Taylorsville Rd.) at 7am on Friday, a Balloon Glow Friday night at the Kentucky Exposition Center (937 Phillips Ln.), and the Great Balloon Race departing from Bowman Field at 7am on Saturday. All balloon events are weather permitting. Also taking place on the Saturday one week before Derby is the Derby Festival Marathon and Mini-Marathon, both of which take runners on a tour of Louisville, including a lap around Churchill Downs.

More about Derby week…

During Derby week, the Festival really heats up, with the end of the week especially loaded with popular events. On Wednesday evening you’ll want to make your way to the Waterfront for the Great Steamboat Race (6pm), which pits the hometown Belle of Louisville against the Belle of Cincinnati. The two boats race a course down the Ohio River and back to port, but the first boat across the finish line isn’t necessarily the winner of the coveted gilded antlers. Instead, the winner is the boat that accumulates the most points in a competition involving five predesignated tasks, one being a calliope-playing contest. If you’re not content to watch the race from shore, you can purchase a dinner cruise ticket for either boat.

On Thursday afternoon at 5pm, the festival’s original event, the Pegasus Parade, gets underway. Broadway, from Campbell Street to 9th Street, is taken over by floats, marching bands, equestrian units, celebrities, clowns, and inflatables, and cheering crowds cram the sidewalks. Tickets are available for bleacher seats and chairs, but many people just bring their own blankets and lawn chairs and claim a street-side spot. If you’re a true parade aficionado, get an in-depth look at the floats and performers during the Parade Preview, which takes place on the Tuesday evening before the race at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

As much as Louisville loves fireworks, balloons, and parades, by Friday of Derby week all thoughts have turned to horse racing. Though the big event is still a day away, you’ll find Churchill Downs nearly as packed. Locals, who often spend Derby Day itself at parties rather than at the track, flock to Churchill Downs for the running of the Kentucky Oaks, a premier race for fillies established alongside the Derby in 1875. As with the Derby, the infield is open for the full day of racing, and attendance routinely tops 100,000. The scene is a bit more laid-back than on Derby Day, making it a favorite for families (Oaks Day is a school holiday in Louisville). General admission tickets, which allow you entrance to the infield and first-floor paddock, are $25 and available at the gate. Reserved seats must be purchased in conjunction with Derby tickets. After the races, one final pre-Derby event takes place: the Barnstable Brown Party, a Derby Eve gala attended by celebrities of every stripe. Legions of fans line up outside the home of Patricia Barnstable Brown (1700 Spring Dr.) in the hopes of spotting their favorite stars.

Gray horse after a race at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. ©Jill Lang, Dreamstime.

The denouement of all the celebrating and the reason the festival takes place at all is the Kentucky Derby, run every year since 1875 at Churchill Downs, making it the longest-running sporting event in the United States. Though the actual Run for the Roses is the 10th race of the day, with the traditional singing of “My Old Kentucky Home” and the call to the post taking place around 6pm, the gates at Churchill Downs open at 8am, and the racing starts at 11am. Join the more than 150,000 people who attend the Derby each year for an experience everyone should have at least once. In the grandstands, women wear extravagant hats, men wear seersucker suits, and everyone enjoys at least one mint julep. When it’s time to watch the best three-year-old thoroughbreds in the nation race, all eyes turn to the track.

Overhead in Millionaires Row, Hollywood celebrities air kiss each other and pose for the camera in designer outfits. And in the 40 acres of infield, where most Derby attendees end up, anything goes. Though you can catch a glimpse of the horses passing by if you push your way up to the fence and you can see all the races on the infield’s big-screen TVs, most people come to the infield to party rather than watch the horses run. The area near the third turn is particularly notorious for its raucous behavior, which almost always involves alcohol snuck in via ingenious methods and frequently involves mud, nudity, and other behavior that your parents would not approve of. But don’t fear; if that’s not your scene, just head toward the first turn, where families tend to congregate and even Miss Manners would find little to shake her head at. General admission tickets cost $40 and an unlimited number are available at the gate. Reserved seats are much, much harder to come by. Without a lot of money or luck, obtaining reserved seats for the Derby is nearly impossible. Tickets for the Derby and Oaks are sold together in a package. You can submit a ticket request to Churchill Downs via their website (www.churchilldowns.com), which will enter you into a lottery for tickets. Additionally, a few thousand tickets are released for public sale, again via the website, in December or January. These tickets range in price from $172 for a grandstand bleacher seat to $6,390 for a six-seat box in the third-floor clubhouse.

Aside from the Oaks and Derby, all events mentioned here are free to spectators with a Derby pin. Pins can be purchased at the entrance to all events for $5, as well as at local grocery stores, drugstores, and other retailers for $4. The Kentucky Derby Festival consists of many more events than those outlined here, so check the website for a full calendar of events with descriptions. You’ll also want to confirm dates, times, and locations for all events.

Humana Festival of New American Plays

Be the first to know about the next hot thing in theater by attending the annual Humana Festival of New American Plays. This internationally renowned festival, held for seven consecutive weeks between February and April, unveils the best new works by American playwrights. Many of these plays have gone on to win prestigious prizes. The excitement in the air is palpable. For theater buffs, attending the festival is a must. In addition to single performance tickets, packages are also available.

Forecastle Festival

Billing itself as a music/art/activism festival, the Forecastle Festival is a huge three-day outdoor concert. The festival, which is held at Waterfront Park in early July, features more than 100 bands and is considered one of the premier outdoor events in the nation. In 2013, performers included the Black Keys, Tift Merritt, Old Crow Medicine Show, the Avett Brothers, Big Boi, and a slew of other artists from a wide variety of genres. For many attendees, the event is as much about the experience as the music. Single-day and three-day tickets are available.

Abbey Road on the River

Though you might assume the world’s largest Beatles music festival would be held in England, you’d be wrong. It’s actually held in Louisville over Memorial Day weekend. At Abbey Road on the River, more than 60 bands pay tribute to The Beatles during five days of rocking and rolling at the waterfront Belvedere Park. When the official partying ends around 1am, many attendees head to the nearby Galt House for sing-alongs of Beatles favorites. The hotel also hosts film viewings as well as a few indoor stages. If you can’t get enough of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, you won’t want to miss this festival. Five-day tickets offer the best value, but you can also buy single-day tickets.

Louisville

Kentucky Shakespeare Festival

Every summer from mid-June to mid-July, the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival raises the curtain on the stage at the C. Douglas Ramsey Amphitheatre in Old Louisville’s Central Park and presents two or three of the Bard’s works. No matter what plays they’re putting on, expect elaborate costumes, impressive scenery, and accomplished actors. Dating back to 1949, making it the oldest free and independent Shakespeare festival in the United States, Shakespeare in Central Park is a Louisville tradition and draws big crowds. The amphitheater can seat 1,000 people, but you’re also welcome to view your “Free Will” from a blanket on the lawn. Bring a picnic to enjoy before the 8pm show and make it an evening.

Kentucky State Fair

The Kentucky State Fair (Kentucky Exposition Center, 937 Phillips Ln.), occupying an 11-day stretch of late August every year, is an end-of-summer rite. From fine-arts competitions to tobacco judging, from livestock shows to beauty pageants, from the thrill of pig races to the suspense of the pipe-smoking contest, the Kentucky State Fair offers something for everyone. A huge midway, as well as a series of free and ticketed concerts, rounds out the offerings. Admire the skill of quilters, judge for yourself which goat deserves a blue ribbon, pick up as many freebies as you can carry, say hello to giant Freddy Farm Bureau, or just people watch. To fit it all in, you’ll need a few days, especially if you want to take in events such as the World Championship Horse Show. You’ll also want to come hungry as there’s a feast of food to be had. For a real taste of the Bluegrass State, forgo the carnival classic corndog and gyro stands and instead visit the Kentucky Proud Tent for your choice of locally produced treats. The pork chop sandwiches are hard to beat. Tickets are available at the gate. Before the fair begins, discounted tickets are available at area Kroger grocery stores.

St. James Court Art Show

Fine art and fine homes go well together, which may explain why the St. James Court Art Show (Old Louisville, 10am-6pm Fri.-Sat., 10am- 5pm Sun., free), which takes place in the heart of Old Louisville on the first full weekend in October, is such a well-attended event. Consistently ranked by artists and art organizations as one of the top art shows in the nation, St. James features 750 artists from across the continent. At booths set up amid the mansions on St. James and Belgravia courts as well as on Magnolia, 3rd, and 4th Streets, you’ll find works in 16 mediums, ranging from fiber to clay, metal, wood, and photography—and in price ranges to fit any budget. Artists are chosen through a competitive selection process, and all work is juried.


Excerpted from the Second Edition of Moon Kentucky.

Theresa Dowell Blackinton

About the Author

Theresa Dowell Blackinton was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and spent her childhood visiting the state's attractions with her parents and three brothers. She left Kentucky to attend college at Rice University in Houston, Texas, and has been on the move ever since—living in Freiburg, Germany; Athens, Greece; Washington DC; and Durham, North Carolina; and spending time in more than 50 countries. But she still considers the Bluegrass State home.

Research for this book took Theresa to the state's deepest cave and its highest point, with stops at just about everywhere in between. In the process, she was reminded of Kentucky's interesting history and awesome natural beauty—but what she most enjoyed was getting to interact with her home state's warm and welcoming people, all of whom had interesting stories to tell.

Theresa is also the author of Moon Take a Hike Washington DC and has written for multiple newspapers and magazines.

Learn more about this author

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