THUNDER OVER LOUISVILLE KICKS OFF DERBY FESTIVAL!

This is it! Today is the day that opens the non-stop, two-week long celebration known as the Kentucky Derby Festival. Derby Festival concludes with the annual running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchhill Downs on the first Saturday in May. It is an absolutely beautiful day for the airshow and fireworks extravaganza known as, 'Thunder over Louisville'. As I indicated in last year's post, 'Thunder over Louisville' is the largest annual pyrotechnic celebration in all of North America and consistently rates in the top ten world-wide. Discovery Channel includes it in its list of Top 100 Events in North America. This evening, an estimated 750,000 people will line the banks of the Ohio River in anticipation of this megapalooza of stratospheric illumination and its concussive, color-laden, multi-hued explosions. Many of those spectators have already assembled and are at this moment enjoying picnics, watching the airshow, sampling the wares of dozens and dozens of vendors on the Great Lawn at Waterfront Park and basking in the warmth of a beautiful, sunny, Spring day in Kentucky. In addition to the fireworks display, Thunder also features an incredible air show over the Ohio River that precedes the evening activities. If you've never attended Thunder in person, you owe it to yourself to make every effort to get here at some time in the future. It is a spectacular sensory experience. . .auditory as well as visual. I am including a link that will take you to the Thunder 2009 web page http://www.thunderoverlouisville.org/index.html and a slideshow of past Thunder displays for your enjoyment. Perhaps one of the least talked about features of 'Thunder' is the soundtrack to the fireworks show. One word. . . . incredible. You can also check out http://www.whas11.com/ for info, pictures and video of today's events.

This year we have opted to stay home and watch the day's events from the comfort of our living room in glorious HD. By the way, staying at home to watch Thunder afforded me the opportunity to go fishing for a couple of hours this morning. GREAT way to start the day.