by Cynthia Wall

Created on: April 19, 2009   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

To get a good seat, come early! That's not just advice for the Kentucky Derby but for all the events of the Kentucky Derby Festival starting two weeks before the annual Run for the Roses in May. While the Derby may be the beginning of the Triple Crown Battle, it is the culmination of wonderful festival events. It all starts two Saturdays before race day with Thunder Over Louisville, an air show that dazzles crowds with more than 100 planes performing daring aerobatics and stunts. The largest American flag ever flown is towed across the sky as the National Anthem is played and the festival is officially open.

Daytime thunder rolls into night with the Thunder Show, an incredible pyrotechnic show from Zambelli Internationale. Eight 400 foot barges on either side of the 2nd Street Bridge provide the launching platforms for the spectacular fireworks. The show concludes with the breathtaking one-mile "waterfall" off the bridge making it seem like the fireworks will rain down forever. The show is re-broadcast on the Armed Forces Network on July 4th to more than 150 countries. The Louisville attendance for the fireworks show has grown every year since its inception in 1990 and now totals more than 800,000, not including all the people who watch from their rooftops.

The first Kentucky Derby Festival ran in 1935. It was shut down in 1937 due to flooding and Depression economics. Happily in 1956, it was restarted and has continued to become bigger and better each year. In the two week period of events, more than 1.5 million people come to Louisville be entertained and $93 million is generated for the local economy.

The Great Balloon Race is part of the Great Balloon Fest being held from April 23-25th this year. The Great Balloon Tour is the kickoff event for the three days of ballooning and features a 30 minute hot air balloon race. The Great Balloon Glow is held at the Kentucky Exposition Center and draws more than 50,000 people each year. It happens in the evening when the balloons light up and rise just a little off the ground as music plays it makes for a beautiful nightscape of glowing balloons set against the starlit sky. The Great Balloon Glimmer is a smaller version of the Glow and held at Waterfront Park on the Thursday before the Great Balloon Race. The Great Balloon Rush Hour Race is held during rush hour, creating quite a sight (and distraction) for people driving to work.

The Great Steamboat Race occurs on the Wednesday before the Kentucky Derby April 29th this

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