Great Balloon Glow

Another one of the great family events during Derby is the Balloon Glow. We have done this every year we have lived in Louisville. Our kids look forward to this event more than any of the others. Ok, maybe our sons do. Our oldest daughter looks forward to another one of the events, which I will write about later in the week. Anyway, our Sunday School class meets in the parking lot of the Louisville Expo & Fairgrounds for this event. Tonight, we met around 7pm and grilled out. I ate three hamburgers, a hotdog, chips, and several other side dishes. I was stuffed.

One of the popular things surrounding Derby are the Pegasus pins. These are colorful plastic pins in various colors. A lot of people collect these items. They are pretty cute. You can buy them at various stores, gas stations, etc. throughout the city for $3. These get you into all the Derby events. But, what you are really looking for is the prized Gold Pegasus pin. If you get this pin, you get to enter it into a raffle. In our 6 years here, I think we've only had one. And, of course, we kept it instead of turning it in to enter the raffle.

Around 8:30pm, we all made our way to the field where all the balloons are located. Again, like all the Derby events, it is packed. This year, there were 51 balloons. From the Energizer Bunny, which is a crowd favorite, to various regional sponsors like Meijer.

Several of the balloonists pass out trading cards for the kids to collect. These are pretty cool and give the kids something to search for. But, at 9pm is the actual glow. All 51 balloons go dark, then on a countdown they all light up at the same time. It really is awesome. This goes on for an hour or so. Traffic is just packed. You can see cars driving by on I-65 and then slowing down almost to a stop to catch a glimpse of this event. Then, on Saturday morning, early, they actually have a balloon race. But, we have yet to wake up early enough to go to that. But, just like with Thunder, if you get a chance, you must check out the Great Balloon Glow.

Once again, I was a goofball and did not take my digital camera and I don't have any pictures from previous years either. WHAT WAS I THINKING?!!! Anyway, you can check out the Kentucky Derby Festival web site for information and pictures on this event.