This past weekend, the Kentucky Derby festivities were kicked off with Thunder Over Louisville. Thunder Over Louisville is the largest fireworks show in North America and occurs each year in Louisville, Kentucky two weeks before the Kentucky Derby!

For my first Thunder Over Louisville we went to a Louisville Bats baseball game! While the Bats lost the game to the Indianapolis Indians, the game was fun, entertaining and gave us a home base for the rest of the festivities. We got a wristband with our tickets to let us go in and out of the stadium throughout the day, which was a lifesaver for bathrooms! While most people waited in lines 20 people deep at porta potties, we were able to use the bathroom with little to no wait!

Throughout the day from 3pm until the fireworks at 9:30pm we got to see one of the nations top airshows. There was a range of helicopters, jets, and skydivers throughout the event mostly from the United States Military branches along with a few private companies!

After the game we ventured out along the edge of the Ohio River, the banks were already full of people claiming their spots for the fireworks show later that night. Amidst the enormous crowds (an estimated about 725,000 people), we found many many food trucks offering the typical delicious American fair foods – basically everything was either on a stick or fried.  Throughout the day I had fried chicken on a stick, Parmesan french fries, ice cream and my personal favorite fried oreos!

Finally it was time for the fireworks! A little before 9:30 pm the show began with an American flag display and the playing of God Bless America. Next was a 30 minute long fireworks show of magnificent and clever displays going right along with the music. Fireworks were shot off of 2 bridges across the Ohio River as well as a floating barge in the middle of the river. We watched the show away from the water’s edge in the Bats stadium. Even though we weren’t very close we still got to see spectacular firework views!