THUNDER 2001 WILL BE SPACED OUT
2001-01-09T15:08:39
January 9, 2001. Louisville, KY. – The Kentucky Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies: Thunder Over Louisville, has always been on the cutting edge of entertainment, and Thunder 2001 on Saturday, April 21, will be no exception.
This year’s event – Thunder Over Louisville 2001: A Festival Odyssey – will feature a futuristic theme, with soundtrack music from space-oriented movies and special silver fireworks shells that will put the audience into orbit. Included in the show will be audio snippets from such movies as “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and “E.T.”
“Will the show be bigger and better than ever? That’s always the question ... and the answer is always a booming, ‘Yes!’ ” said Wayne Hettinger, president of Visual Presentations Inc. and longtime show director and choreographer of Thunder Over Louisville. “This year’s show will top 51,000 shells in the same time frame – that’s up 6,000 shells from last year.”
In addition to the largest annual fireworks show in the United States, the 2001 Thunder Over Louisville will be preceded by one of the top five Air Shows in the country. “The Air Show promises to deliver non-stop action over the Ohio River, beginning at 3 p.m.,” said Hettinger. “The U.S. Armed Forces have agreed to participate again, so expect to see aircraft and demonstrations from the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force.”
Before the Air Show gets under way at 3 p.m., the extreme sports athletes from ESPN’s B3 Games will be putting on a show of their own. The return of the B3 Games marks an unprecedented third consecutive year that ESPN has committed an event to the same city and the same Festival. An expanded venue on the waterfront will hopefully make this year’s B3 Games the best ever.
Said Derby Festival President and CEO Mike Berry: “At this time last year, the future of Thunder Over Louisville was still up in the air. After 10 years of unparalleled support, The Kroger Company chose to reallocate their financial resources to other areas of the Festival. Thanks to tremendous corporate support in our community, five companies stepped up to fill some very big sponsor shoes in 2000. We are continually grateful for the generous support given to us by Blue Chip Broadcasting, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation, Caesar’s Indiana, Ford Motor Company and United Parcel Service.”
“Last year, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. completed a one-year commitment as a major Thunder sponsor, and will now be involved in supporting other aspects of the Festival. The Festival is seeking a fifth major sponsor for Thunder Over Louisville, but the show will go on regardless. We are actively pursuing a new sponsor, and the very successful Thunder Funder program will continue.”
The Festival’s Thunder Funder program, which was initiated last January, is a grass-roots fund-raising effort that allows businesses or individuals to contribute to the support of Thunder. In return, contributors receive recognition and event benefits.
“Rest assured, Thunder Over Louisville 2001 will be spectacular,” said Berry. It’s no wonder that a recent Discovery Channel program referred to Thunder as ‘The Granddaddy of Them All.’ ”
Thunder is the public kick-off to the two-week civic celebration of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The private, not-for-profit organization produces more than 70 events utilizing corporate and individual sponsorship and more than 4000 volunteers. For more information about the Derby Festival, log on to www.derbyfestival.org.
