By Jenna Snider
This Saturday, more than a million people will flock to the Louisville waterfront to watch the fireworks and air show at Thunder Over Louisville. The annual event features the largest fireworks show in the nation, a Top-5 air show and a food fest with more than 115 vendors.
Thunder Over Louisville is the kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival, and Bellarmine usually has tickets available so students can experience the Louisville tradition.
“I did go to Thunder Over Louisville last year, and it was super fun,” sophomore Shaela O’Keefe said. “We got the free tickets through Bellarmine where there was a baseball game and you got to see the fireworks from Slugger Field.”
Bellarmine is not offering tickets to the Bats game this year, but Thunder Over Louisville is a free event, and there are plenty of places to watch the show. Public viewing areas are available along the river from Eighth Street to Clay Street, and admission to the Chow Wagon, Waterfront Park and the Great Lawn are free with a 2024 Pegasus Pin.
Emily Muncy, a sophomore at Indiana University Southeast, said there are also a lot of great places to watch the fireworks along the river in Indiana.
“I live in Indiana so I like to go to the riverfront in Jeffersonville to watch the fireworks,” Muncy said. “It’s always a lot of fun.”
Bellarmine sophomore Chris Miramontes said it is worth going to Thunder Over Louisville to experience the atmosphere.
“I like to go down there to people watch,” Miramontes said. “There are so many people running around so it can get pretty interesting.”
Thunder Over Louisville is the largest Derby Festival event, but it has not been around for the life of the festival. The Kentucky Derby Festival began in 1956, but Thunder Over Louisville started in 1991.
BU sophomore Jack Schablik said, “I think Thunder is a newer event, but it’s been around our whole lives, so we’ve always seen it as the start of the festival.”
If you are heading downtown to experience Thunder this weekend, plan on leaving early because traffic is expected due to large crowds and road closures. The air show starts around 3 p.m. The fireworks show begins at 9:30 p.m. and ends at 10 p.m.
Comments