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Thunder Over Louisville
The largest fireworks show in the world and the opening event for the Kentucky Derby Festival. The 28 minute fireworks show is followed by the Thunder Air Show, one of the top five air shows in the country. -
Great Steamboat Race
The Great Steamboat Race is an annual Kentucky Derby Festival event that occurs on the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby. It is a race down the Ohio River between the Belle of Louisville the Belle of Cincinnati. -
Great Balloon Festival
The Great Balloon Fest is a series of five Kentucky Derby Festival events that lead up to the main event--the Great Balloon Race. The first Great Balloon Race was held at Iroquois Park in 1973, and featured only seven balloons. -
Pegasus Parade
The Kentucky Derby Festival Pegasus Parade was the first ever event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. Though the festival has grown since the days where it consisted of just the parade and the Derby and Oaks races, the Pegasus Parade remains one of the biggest and best Kentucky Derby Festival events. -
Marathon and miniMarathon
The 26.2 mile Derby Marathon and the 12 mile Derby miniMarathon are two of the top annual Kentucky Derby Festival events. More than 12,000 people from all over the world gather together on the last Saturday in April to run one of these two scenic marathons through Louisville's parks and neighborhoods and past some of the city's biggest attractions.
