Jan. 9, 2014 – LOUISVILLE, KY – The U.S. Navy Blue Angels are scheduled to perform at the Kentucky Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies: Thunder Over Louisville on Saturday, April 12th. The Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron added Louisville to their show schedule today. The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly in performances at 35 locations in 2014. The squadron last performed at Thunder in 2006.

“Having the Blue Angels return to Louisville is an honor,” said Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO Mike Berry. “We have always appreciated the support our show receives from all branches of the military. We know the Blue Angels will make this year’s show one to remember.”

Since their inception in 1946, the Blue Angels have performed for millions of spectators around the world. An estimated 11 million spectators alone view the squadron during air shows each year. Flying the F/A – 18 Hornet, their demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators. It includes the graceful aerobatic maneuvers of its two Solo Pilots, as well as the pinnacle of precision flying – performing maneuvers locked as a unit in the renowned, six-jet Delta Formation.

Details regarding other air acts that will perform in the 2014 Thunder Air Show are still being finalized. A complete show schedule will be released closer to the show date. More information regarding the Blue Angels can be found online at www.blueangels.navy.mil/.

A press conference to release other exciting news for the 2014 Thunder show is scheduled for tomorrow, January 10, at 10 a.m. at the Kentucky Derby Festival Office.

Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies – is one of the more than seventy events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. The 2014 Thunder Over Louisville is set for Saturday, April 12.

The Derby Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 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 $127 million. Thunder alone contributes $56 million of that estimate to both sides of the Ohio River. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single-attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.

-30-

For more information contact:

Derby Festival Press Office at (502) 584-FEST.