THUNDER CHOW WAGON

2002-04-17T11:13:11



Chow Wagon Update

The Derby Festival Chow Wagon will open at Waterfront Park this Saturday, April 20 for viewing for Thunder Over Louisville and reopen on Thursday, April 25 for a 10-day run ending Derby Eve, Friday, May 3.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, this will be the only Chow Wagon location for the 2002 Kentucky Derby Festival.

The Thunder Chow Wagon will offer a comfortable setting for Thunder fans and prime viewing for LeAnn Rimes performance on the Spirit of America Barge.  One-day Thunder Chow Wagon admission is a $5 Thunder Pin, available at the gate.  Entertainment by Karen Kraft & the Kiks. Open Noon to Midnight. The Belvedere will have restricted access and no amenities this year for Thunder viewing, due to ramp construction. Patrons looking for free public viewing with sound towers and food vending are advised to enjoy Waterfront Park.

The former Belvedere location is not accessible for Chow Wagon this year due to construction on the Main Street ramp.  Though the actual Belvedere is not closed, the ramp is the only access to trucks delivering staging equipment, portable restrooms, food vending and other infrastructure needed to set up the temporary entertainment venue.

With the Festival losing the Belvedere this year for a Chow Wagon, there was an effort to devote some of the Belvedere Chow Wagon resources to Stadium Fest.  While U of L and the Festival worked diligently to make this work, there were some conflicts that could not be over come. 

The University of Louisville Athletic Association has contractual agreements with the existing sponsors of Papa John's Cardinal Stadium that limit what event producers, like the Kentucky Derby Festival, can do in promotion of any competing sponsors.  This prohibited the Festival from having an existing sponsor help fund the event at that venue.  Both U of L and the Derby Festival tried, within these restrictions, to develop new sponsorship for Stadium Fest, but were not able to do so in the limited time that was available.   As such, the Derby Festival Papa John's Cardinal Stadium Fest will not be held this year. 

The Waterfront Chow Wagon will feature local, regional and national entertainment on the Miller Lite Talent Stage.  The national line-up includes:

The entertainment is free thanks to the sponsorship of Miller Lite.
Admission the Chow Wagon is free those wearing a Pegasus Pin.
$2 Pegasus Pin sponsor envelopes are available at the door.

Returning to the Chow Wagon is the Derby Festival Firstar Fun Card sponsored by Firstar Bank, the declining-balance "smart card".  The cards are used to purchase food and beverage at the Chow Wagon and are re-loadable.  They are available in advance at Firstar Bank locations.  Cards will be used at the Thunder Chow Wagon.

Begun in 1972, when Philip Morris brought its "Marlboro Chuckwagon" mobile kitchen to downtown Louisville for a Derby breakfast, the Chow Wagons have become one of the most widely recognized and popular Derby Festival Week activities. Remaining free to the public with a Pegasus Pin, the community turns out to celebrate the Derby Festival with traditional Chow Wagon foods and nightly entertainment. Chow Wagon locations have moved throughout the city over the years as different properties became available.

The Chow Wagon is one of the more than seventy events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. 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 $90 million.  This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.