April 8, 2014. Louisville, KY. – The 2014 Republic Bank Pegasus Parade will feature a ‘Kentucky Marshal’ and a ‘Theme Marshal’ when it steps off on Broadway on Thursday, May 1st. The Kentucky Derby Festival made the announcement at the position draw for the 59th annual parade held tonight at The Louisville Zoo.
In honor of this year’s parade theme “Call of the Wild,” Jeff Corwin, host of ABC’s Ocean Mysteries will be the Theme Marshal. Actor Josh Hopkins, Lexington-born star of Cougar Town will be the Kentucky Marshal.
Following tonight’s position draw for floats and inflatables, the line-up for the event is now set. The 2014 Parade will feature at least 14 floats, many of them built by the employees of the companies sponsoring them. The following companies drew for their float position in the parade at tonight’s event, as well as the sponsors of the six participating inflatable character balloons.
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Floats:
CenterStage at the Jewish Community Center
Centennial Festival of Riverboats – Waterfront
Development
City of St. Matthews
Grand Lodge of Kentucky
Hwang’s Martial Arts
Kentuckiana Pride Festival
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Kosair Charities/Kosair Shriners
Louisville Metro Parks & Recreation
Norton Healthcare
ResCare/Signature Healthcare
Second Chance@Life
S.O.C.K.S. Inc
The Fillies, Inc.
The Louisville Zoo
The parade theme will be used by sponsoring companies to help direct the building of floats and costuming of the inflatable handlers and crew. The floats and inflatables compete for various awards based on originality, eye appeal, theme representation, animation, attention to detail and enthusiasm. Marching bands use the theme to help with musical selection and it is the basis of costume and concept design for the other marching units. The annual spectacle marches west on Broadway from Campbell to Ninth Street and will feature more than 100 units.
Spectators will have an opportunity to preview each float at the Republic Bank Derby Festival Parade Preview Party on Tuesday, April 29, at the Kentucky Exposition Center, in the South Wing. Tickets for the parade are still available online at www.kdf.org or by calling the Derby Festival Hotline at (502) 584-FEST. Ticket prices are $10 for bleacher seats and $12 for chair seating.
The very first Festival event in 1956, the Pegasus Parade remains a community favorite. Tickets sell out quickly and thousands of families come downtown to enjoy the parade. This single-day event has an estimated economic impact of $14 million.
