Louisville is home to a number of annual cultural events. Perhaps most
well-known is the Kentucky Derby, held annually during the first Saturday of
May. The Derby is preceded by a two-week long Kentucky Derby Festival, which
starts with the annual Thunder Over Louisville, the largest annual fireworks
display in North America and second largest in the world. The Kentucky Derby
Festival also features notable events such as the Pegasus Parade, The Great
Steamboat Race, Great Balloon Race, a marathon, and about seventy events in
total. Esquire magazine has called the Kentucky Derby "the biggest party
in the south."
