It's the first week of May. In addtion to my birthday falling during this week, in Da Ville that means it's time for the annual madness and frivolity that's a lead in to the running of Saturday's Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Derby Week is like Mardi Gras used to be in New Orleans (minus the nudity). Lots of parties, peripheral events such as the Kentucky Derby Festival and a few parades leading up to Kentucky Oaks Day and Derby Day itself. The big one is the Pegasus parade which has native Louisvillian Muhammad Ali as its Grand Marshal this year.
The kickoff for it is Thunder Over Louisville, a massive fireworks and air show that happens along the Ohio River waterfront downtown. The Great Steamboat Race takes place on the Ohio River on a six mile course from the Clark bridge to Six Mile Island and back between the Cincinatti-based paddlewheel boat Delta Queen and the Louisville based Belle of Louisville.
Some of the bigger parties are hosted by former NBA ballers Darrell Grffith, Derek Anderson and the 100 Black Men. Those are the ones that mainly Black Louisvillians and Black celebs attend. There are also other parties hosted by the mayor, the governor of Kentucky, and various organizations in addition to the pageant that selects the Derby Queen and her court.
The younger set used to cruise down Broadway, the east-west main street in Da Ville that crosses the entire city from Shawnee Park in the majority Black West End of Louisville to its intersection with Baxter Avenue near the entrance to Cave Hill Cemetary on the East End which is mostly white. Gridlock and some hooliganism led to LMPD announcing a major crackdown on cruising this year. It has pissed off many of the African-American youth in town that lament that there aren't many Derby events designed with them in mind and they have a vaild point. It's something that seriously needs to be addressed and planned for in the near future with them having a major say in what happens.
The GLBT community has a Saturday Derby benefit party that raises money for the Fairness Campaign and draws GLBT friendly and out GLBT celebs. It's the one I usually get to attend because its affordable and conducive to my work schedule.
One of the big shindigs happens just a mile from where I live, the Barnstable-Brown Party. The Doublemint Gum twins of the 70's Cyb and Trish Barnstable are from Louisville and Trish (the married one) throws a lavish benefit party that brings Hollywood celebs to her massive house on Lexington Road. There are eager autograph seekers waiting outside for a glimpse of their fave celeb.
The Kentucky Oaks is the Friday before Derby Day. It's called 'Ladies Day at the Races' because all the horse races on the program that day have nothing but fillies in them. Just as the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby gets a garland of roses, the winning horse in the Kentucky Oaks receives a garland of lillies. The attendees dress uo for it just like the do for Derby and it has more local peeps in attendance than the mainly international crowd that shows up for the Derby.
Oops, that reminds me, need to go shopping for a good deal on a Derby hat. Later.