August 5, 2020. Louisville, KY. – A Kentucky favorite – the Derby Festival Pegasus Pin – is back just in time for the new Derby season. The pins are available exclusively in area Kroger stores for a limited time and retail for $6 each. The pins are a staple every spring during the Derby Festival and one of the primary sources of funding for the not-for-profit civic celebration.
“While we weren’t able to produce our traditional events in 2020, we want to share some of the Derby Festival spirit we’ve all missed,” said Matt Gibson, KDF President and CEO. “Funds raised from the sales of the pins now will also help ensure the Festival will be here to produce events for the community in 2021 and beyond.”
Pegasus Pins are usually sold at over 1,000 different locations around Kentucky and Southern Indiana in March and April. Just as the 2020 pin sales were kicking off in early March, the pandemic hit and sales were stopped. Kroger, the largest retailer of Pegasus Pins, is putting them back in stores for fans and to help support the community Festival.
“Even though we’ll be celebrating Derby differently this year, the decades long tradition of wearing and collecting Pegasus Pins during the Derby season remains just as important as ever,” said Tim McGurk, Regional Director of Corporate Affairs for The Kroger Co. “We value our relationship with the Kentucky Derby Festival and Kroger is proud to be the exclusive source for the 2020 Pegasus Pins.”
Kroger has been a partner of the Festival for more than 30 years. They sell over 40% of the Pegasus Pins each year, which represents approximately $500,000 in revenue to the Festival annually.
The Pegasus Pin sponsorship program began as an awareness campaign for the Derby Festival in 1973. Since their inception, the little plastic pins have been a way for festival-goers to gain free admission to select events, as well as provide their individual sponsorship of the two-week celebration. In the beginning, only 10,000 of the plastic pins were produced. Now, more than 250,000 of the pins are produced each year so fans can show their support of the Festival.
Beyond supporting the Festival and being a unique collectible, the 2020 Pegasus Pin also has other perks, including:
• 3 coupons can be found in each envelope and used in 2020
• 2020 pins will be honored next year for admission to 2021 pin admission events
• Registered pins will be eligible to win Weekly Grand Prizes in 2021
More information on the Pegasus Pin program can be found at PegasusPins.com.
Since 1956, the Derby Festival has worked to bring the community together in celebration. The Festival is an independent community organization supported by 4,000 volunteers, 400 businesses and civic groups, Pegasus Pin sponsorships and event participation. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.
