March 22, 2018. Louisville, KY. – Ordering Papa John’s pizza will help support this year’s Thunder Over Louisville, now just one month away. Papa John’s and Kentucky Derby Festival officials announced this morning that Papa John’s is the new title sponsor of the Thunder Funder program. The program helps raise funds for Thunder Over Louisville – the Derby Festival’s Opening Ceremonies set for April 21. Beginning today, participating Papa John’s locations will donate $1.00 of every Thunder Fireworks pizza purchased to help support Thunder. The Thunder Fireworks pizza must be ordered online at PapaJohns.com using the online promo code THUNDERPIZZA.
“Thanks to Papa John’s, supporting Thunder Over Louisville this year will be as easy as ordering a pizza,”
said Mike Berry, Kentucky Derby Festival President and CEO. “Without the support of community-minded partners like Papa John’s, we couldn’t produce the show fans have come to expect and anticipate.”
Papa John’s is renaming their popular “Works” pizza to the “Thunder Fireworks” pizza for the special promotion, which will last from now through May 6, 2018. The pizza features pepperoni, Canadian bacon, spicy Italian sausage, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and black olives.
“Papa John’s has been a proud Kentucky Derby Festival sponsor for the past 15 years. For the first time, we’re excited to be the title sponsor of the Thunder Funder Program,” said Hillary Simmons, Papa John’s Community Project Specialist. “Through the Thunder Funder Program, we continue to build upon our community-focused initiatives across our home base of Kentuckiana.”
In 2017, Papa John’s locations across Kentuckiana and Central Kentucky raised and donated a combined $191,000 to local organizations striving to make communities a BETTER place to work and live. Papa John’s FIREWORKS Pizza promotion will help to support one of the iconic annual events in Louisville.
Papa John’s partnership with Thunder in 2018 also includes new Papa Wi-Fi Zones with charging pods throughout the venue to help fans stay connected, so they can easily share all their favorite moments from this year’s event with family and friends.
The theme of this year’s show is “A Disco Thunder,” celebrating disco music. The Festival is also planning for another packed air show in 2018, which could include additional military aircraft participation.
Presenting sponsors of Thunder Over Louisville are Horseshoe Southern Indiana, LG&E, Meijer, UPS and Valero. Ford Motor Company returns as sponsor of Ford’s Thunder on the Ground. Thunder Over Louisville’s 2018 Official Broadcast Partners are WLKY TV and SummitMedia’s 106.9 PLAY. The Galt House is the Official Hotel of the event. Thunder Over Louisville is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Derby Festival in the spring. 2018 marks the 29th annual production.
About Papa John’s
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world’s third-largest pizza delivery company. For 16 of the past 18 years, consumers have rated Papa John’s No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John’s at www.papajohns.com.
