Feel The Thunder? Learn what's in store for Thunder Over Louisville 2019!
Thunder Over Louisville Guide
History Of Thunder
So, what exactly is Thunder over Louisville? Thunder ( i'll refer to it as that for the remainder of this article. ) is the annual kickoff to the Kentucky Derby Festival. It is a day long event that consist of airplanes, food, family and fireworks. When I say fireworks I mean a serious amount of fireworks, Thunder is the largest annual display of fireworks in North America!
Thunder started in 1989 as a daytime fireworks show, this idea quickly fizzled out though. The first night show happened the very next year in 1990. The famous air show came along in 1992.
According to Wikipediathe average attendance at the event has been 675,000 plus. This is roughly five times the attendance at the main event The Kentucky Derby!
Thunder Events 2019
The theme for 2019 is"The Wonderful World of Thunder" according to the Courier Journal
" You'll go on a journey through your favorite childhood fairy tale and animated movie classics."
The Great Lawn opens for entrance at 11 am. The airshow festivities begin at 3 pm, after that the fireworks start at 9:30 pm
We have heard tales of a small park in the Portland area that is a great spot to view the festivities from. If you aren't able to make it down to the river Wave 3starts a live stream of the event at 2:30 pm. If that doesn't work you can get the play by play via PLAY 106.9!
Parking
Getting to and leaving Thunder can be overwhelming. On top of the fact that 675,000 people are all headed to the same event there are also lane and bridge closures to deal with! We have some tips that can help with that.
Is it just you and a couple of friends going? Take a bike if possible. Louisville has free "Valet Bike Parking", simply head to the corner of Witherspoon Street and Preston Street.
Taking a car? Louisville has over 52,000 public parking spots available. Keep in mind that you may need to walk a long distance to get to your destination. Act now and you can reserve a parking spot here!
If you don't want to venture into Louisville don't forget about all the parking options in Indiana!
We hope you have a great Thunder!
Enjoy the food and don't forget your lawn chairs!!






