LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The 2021 Kentucky Derby Festival kicks off this weekend with a modified Pegasus Parade. The Zoeller Pump Company Touring Pegasus Parade will make its way around the community on Saturday and Sunday. The parade, which features nearly 20 units, will travel over 60 miles and through more than 35 neighborhoods around Louisville and in Southern Indiana.


What You Need To Know

  • 2021 Kentucky Derby Festival kicks off this weekend with modified Pegasus Parade

  • Parade will travel over 60 miles, through more than 35 neighborhoods

  • Festival is calling on residents to decorate their porches, yards, homes for this year's festivities

  • Photos can be shared on social media

“We’re excited to bring the Derby Festival to the community in new and unique ways this year,” said Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO Matt Gibson. “We really want this to be a memorable community-wide event. We hope residents will come outside to watch as the parade goes by.”

From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, the parade will travel around the community, rain or shine. Here's where you can see it:

Day 1: Saturday, April 10, 1-5 p.m.

South Louisville, Shively, Algonquin, Park Duvalle, Parkland, Chickasaw, Shawnee, Portland, Russell, Central Business District (Downtown), and across the Clark Memorial (2nd Street) Bridge into Jeffersonville, Ind.

Day 2: Sunday, April 11, 1-5 p.m.

Saint Joseph, Merriweather, Schnitzelburg, Germantown, Tyler Park, Deer Park, Belknap, Hayfield Dundee, Bashford manor, West Buechel, Newburg, Buechel, Fern Creek, Jeffersontown, Douglass Hills, Middletown, and Lyndon.

The timing of when the parade arrives at each area will depend on traffic and logistics as it moves through the area, officials said. The parade will travel at roughly 15 mph. A complete list of the streets and areas along the touring parade route will be posted online each day.

The touring parade will feature four inflatable balloon characters, including Goldie Pegasus from Zoeller Pump Company, Caesar from Caesars Southern Indiana, Buddy the Dinosaur from Waystar, and Lady Liberty from AARP. Festival VIPs, such as the 2021 Derby Festival Board Chair Judy Hess and the 2021 Royal Court riding the Derby City Express will be present.

Specialty units will include Kosair Shriner’s Calliope, United States Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, TARC Design-A-Bus showcasing local student artwork, Meijer 1936 Chevy Stake Rack Antique Truck, LG&E Louie the Lightning Bug, T-Mobile's Mobile Billboard, and on route music provided by Zoeller Pump Company, and more. The Girl Scouts of Kentuckiana and League of Mascots will be along the route.

The festival is also calling on residents to decorate their porches, yards, and homes in honor of this year's Derby season. You can then post the photos on social media with the hashtag #PegasusPorchParade or #DerbyFestivalSpirit.

The first parade marched in 1956, organized by a handful of volunteers with a budget of $640. 2021 marks the festival's 66th year.