APPLICATIONS OPEN FOR PARTICIPANTS
January 15, 2026. Louisville, KY. – Applications are open for one of the community’s favorite Derby week traditions! The Kentucky Derby Festival is looking for participants for the Zoeller Pump Company Pegasus Parade. This year’s parade theme is “Festival on the Move: A Year of Milestones, Memories and Movement!” The parade is made up of nearly 100 units each year including dance teams, equestrian groups, marching bands, large inflatables and more. Applications can be submitted online at KDF.org/PegasusParade. The deadline to apply is Friday, February 13th.
“The Zoeller Pump Company Pegasus Parade brings Broadway to life each spring and showcases the imagination and talent of our community,” said Matt Gibson, Kentucky Derby Festival President & CEO. “With ‘Festival on the Move,’ we can’t wait to see the energy, creativity and movement participants will share at this year’s parade as it kicks off Derby week.”
The Derby Festival’s annual parade is set for Sunday, April 26, at 3 p.m. on Broadway. The theme, “Festival on the Move,” honors the journey that connects us all through movement, celebrating our country’s history, our community, and the Derby Festival spirit. Participants are encouraged to celebrate all things that move from iconic American history and technological progress to human-powered feats like sports and dancing.
A different theme is chosen each year for the parade to help guide the decorations and music used by the participants, including the building of floats and costuming of the inflatable handlers and crew. Marching bands use the theme to help with musical selection and it is the basis of costume and concept design for the other units.
Louisville-based Zoeller Pump Company returns as the Title Sponsor of the parade for the sixth consecutive year.
“The Kentucky Derby Festival is such an amazing celebration of our community and its people, and we are proud that the Zoeller Pump Company Pegasus Parade is a wonderful part of the Festival,” Chief People Officer of Zoeller Pump Company, Dwight Newton, said. “Thinking about all the Milestones, Memories and Movement in the Greater Louisville area is exciting to celebrate.”
2026 marks the 71st year for the Parade, which is the founding event of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The first Parade was produced in 1956 to create a way for the community to celebrate before the Derby horse race. It was organized by just a handful of volunteers on a budget of $640 and has become one of the Festival’s largest events,.
Zoeller Pump Company is the Title Sponsor, joining Contributing Sponsors Churchill Downs, Kentucky Venues and Waystar, The Galt House as the Official Hotel, and Media Partner, WAVE.
