Saturday, April 23, 2016

T is for Thunder Over Louisville

Every spring, for two fun filled weeks culminating in the running of what’s been called the “greatest two minutes in sports,” the city of Louisville celebrates Derby Season with the annual Kentucky Derby Festival.  

During the festival, numerous public and private events are held throughout the city.  Popular events include:  the Pegasus Parade, annual Bed Race, the KDF Mini Marathon and Marathon, the Great Balloon Glow, the Great Balloon Race, and steamboat race to name a few.

The festival officially kicks off today with a day long event called Thunder Over Louisville.  Thunder, as it is referred to by locals, consists of a daytime airshow and a thirty minute fireworks display later tonight.  The fireworks display is the largest annual fireworks/pyrotechnics display in North America.  

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Thunder Over Louisville began in 1989.  At the time, it was a part of the daytime opening luncheon/ceremony for the Kentucky Derby Festival.  (I know…Fireworks in the daytime?) In 1990, the fireworks became a nighttime event and took place at Cardinal Stadium at the Kentucky Expo Center.  In 1991, the event was relocated to it’s current home at Waterfront Park on the banks of the Ohio River and the fireworks detail was handed over to world famous Zambelli Internationale.  The airshow was added in 1992. 

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Eight tractor trailers filled with nearly 60 tons of fireworks shells along with 250 tons of launching tubes and 700 miles of wire cable are needed to assemble a show of this magnitude.  The fireworks are launched from eight barges anchored in the Ohio River as well as from the structures of the George Rogers Clark Memorial Bridge (aka Second Street Bridge) that connects Louisville and Jeffersonville, Indiana.  

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Last year, an estimated 650,000 were in attendance.  The largest estimated attendance was 850,000 which was set back in 2007.  


Prime viewing spots are located on both sides of the Ohio River.  Which side is best?  Well, if often depends on the weather and which direction the wind is blowing.  Sometimes the wind blows the smoke towards the Kentucky side, obscuring the view of those on the south side of the river; sometimes just the opposite happens and the view from the Indiana side is obscured.  So, my answer is much like a coin toss - it could go either way.

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In addition to the public spaces in and around Waterfront Park and public areas on the Indiana side, there are other special event viewing options available for a fee.  Several Louisville businesses including Louisville Slugger Field, the YUM! Center, the Kentucky Science Museum, and the Kentucky Center for the Arts offer ticketed viewing spots at their facilities.  Ticket prices vary from venue to venue.  One advantage of going this route is having the use of the venue’s restrooms in lieu of having to stand in line to use one of the hundreds of port-o-pots (dubbed Thunder Pots) that are available to the public at Waterfront Park.  

Have you ever seen Thunder Over Louisville? What's the largest fireworks/pyrotechnics display you've ever seen?

As always, thanks for stopping by!


This is the twentieth of twenty-six alphabetized blog entries I am publishing this month as a part of the 2016 Blogging A to Z Challenge.  Many bloggers who participate in this challenge, select a theme.  My theme is - "Whatever I Think Of."  

For more information on the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge, click here.


10 comments:

  1. i went to louisville once for the kentucky derby.

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    1. Ironically, I've lived here for 16 years and I've never been.

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  2. I came by earlier and read this, went back and read the comment on satyr, and then back one more to see if you commented on that one (no... you probably didn't see it). All the while, I thought about what I'd say here, and then I left. Totally forgot to comment.

    I feel like I'm showing my age with this comment (and the forgetfulness as mentioned above), but I tend to avoid big crowds. I don't like traffic. I don't like impatient people (and traffic makes everyone cranky and impatient). So, I tend to avoid these sorts of things. I don't know what the "biggest" display would be that I've actually been to... Walt Disney World or back when I lived in (or visited) Newark, Ohio, in July. I don't think either comes close to what you're describing here. Columbus, Ohio puts on Red, White, and Boom every year, but I've only seen it on TV (and that was a LONG time ago... back when I lived up there... which is a VERY LONG TIME AGO).

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    1. You left a reply today on the S is for Satyr post? It's not showing up. I saw the 2 you left yesterday and I responded to both.

      As for Thunder, well, I've only been 3 times in 16 years. I developed a thing for crowds after 9/11. I can deal with them if need be, but prefer not to. The last two times, which were after 9/11, my husband acquired private viewing passes in in one of the buildings downtown. We had private parking, private restroom facilities, and we weren't crammed in with the masses. It was much more enjoyable that way. Tonight, R and I will watch Thunder on TV.

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  3. Beautiful shots of the fireworks. The colors are dazzling.

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    1. Thank you, but they are not mine. They all came from other sources. It really is a beautiful fireworks display when the wether cooperates. Last night the weather was great but because there was no wind, the smoke just hung around over the river and obscured the view.

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  4. oh man, i finally went to thunder this past weekend and a huge fight broke out and things were crazy so we ended up leaving before the fireworks. womp womp. maybe next year lol

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    1. Ugh... That's not cool. Sorry it turned out to be a flop for you. I've never been down at Thunder during the day for the airshow, only been to the fireworks. I don't think I could make an entire day of it - TOO much humanity! If I did, I would definitely need a private venue ticket to get away from the masses. Maybe next year!

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