October 28, 2016 Louisville, KY. – The Kentucky Derby Festival is looking for participants for next year’s Republic Bank Pegasus Parade. 2017 marks the 62nd annual parade, which will march down Broadway on Thursday, May 4.  Registration for the parade is now open online. The Festival is looking for participants in the following categories: Equestrian, Specialty Unit, Marching Band, Inflatable and Float. Parade Participation Guidelines and Applications can be downloaded at KDF.org.  The application deadline is January 31, 2017.

Republic Bank, title sponsor of the event since 2002, returns in 2017. “For the 16th year, Republic Bank is delighted to be the sponsor of the Republic Bank Pegasus Parade and Republic Bank Pegasus Parade Preview Party,” said Republic Bank Chairman and CEO, Steve Trager. “We are very appreciative of our local communities that have helped us grow to become Kentucky’s largest locally owned community bank and honored to bring the Derby Festival’s oldest event to hundreds of thousands of spectators annually.”

Linkin’ Bridge, finalists on season 11 of America’s Got Talent, will serve as Honorary Grand Marshals of the 2017 parade, as well as open the event with a live performance on Broadway. The annual spectacle steps off at 5 p.m. and marches west on Broadway from Campbell to Ninth Street.

The Pegasus Parade – the Derby Festival’s founding event – is one of nearly 70 events produced by the Kentucky Derby Festival in the spring and provides an estimated economic impact of more than $22 million.

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 annually. This involvement has made the Festival the largest single attended event in Kentucky and one of the leading community celebrations in the world.