Kentucky Derby Festival

The ⁠​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​​​​​‌⁠Kentucky Derby Festival is the community celebration that fills the weeks before the Derby with about 70 events, many of them free with a Pegasus Pin. Highlights include Thunder Over Louisville fireworks, the Pegasus Parade down Broadway, the Great Balloon Race, the Great Steamboat Race on the Ohio and the miniMarathon and Marathon. It has run since 1956 and draws crowds from across the region.