LOUISVILLE TO BECOME "THUNDER COUNTRY" ON APRIL 22
2006-02-09T17:10:39
Four Local Companies to Sponsor 17th Annual Show
The Kentucky Derby Festival is pleased to announce the theme of the 2006 Thunder Over Louisville show on April 22: “Thunder Country” – a tribute to country and western music – one of the hottest genres in the musical marketplace. The soundtrack to the Thunder fireworks show will be choreographed to some of the most recognizable tunes from country music.
“Country is the fastest growing segment of popular music and we thought this would be a good year to pair it with our fireworks show,” said Wayne Hettinger, Thunder Over Louisville producer. “The pyrotechnic display and soundtrack will cap off what will certainly be a most spectacular Thunder Over Louisville.”
Thanks to the generous support of the event’s corporate sponsors – Caesars Indiana, Chase, E.ON U.S. and UPS, this year’s Thunder will also feature an Air Show of unprecedented proportions. For the first time, the Air Show will include the U.S. Navy Blue Angels – the Naval Flight Demonstration Team. In addition to the Blue Angels, the show will mark the first major public appearance of the U.S.A.F. F-22A Raptor, a state-of-the art stealth aircraft.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this year’s Thunder Over Louisville,” said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “Our sponsors have once again stepped up to ensure that Thunder will not only be free to the public, but also allow us to produce a show that will knock your socks off. We’re very fortunate to live in a city where the corporate community has consistently demonstrated such generosity.”
Thunder Over Louisville - the Derby Festival's Opening Ceremonies - is one of the more than seventy events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The 2006 Thunder Over Louisville, themed “Thunder Country,” is set for Saturday, April 22 and will be the will be the seventeenth annual production. The show is sponsored by Caesars Indiana, Chase, E.ON U.S and UPS.
The Derby Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 325 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. It entertains more than 1.5 million people in a two-week period and has a local economic impact of more than $93 million. Thunder alone contributes $31 million of that estimate to both sides of the Ohio River. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single-attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
