Director's Take

Hometown Pride

05-09-2022

Hometown pride has ranked high these past two weeks, as Louisville shined its brightest, even with a little rain. After two years of scaled back or nonexistent Derby events, this year we were back to a full schedule of events, a packed house, and celebrities galore.

Once a year, Louisville puts on its finest for the world to see and I’m so proud and thrilled that we were hosts with the most. With fourteen million viewers around the world, we take our responsibility seriously of what we are projecting out onto the airwaves. And for the lucky tens of thousands who come to town and fill up our hotels, in particular Downtown, they get to see a whole lot more of Louisville. And I’m proud to say that we looked great. 

Being from Louisville means I’ve been around the KY Derby all my life… I went to the infield in high school and college and finally got to graduate into the grandstand seats as an adult. Somewhere along the way I learned that the KY Oaks and the KY Derby are the oldest continuously contested sporting events in history, and the only horse races to be held at their original site. It also happens to be the only sports event in this country where men wear suits and women wear hats. That’s pretty special! I still get chills when a celebrity announces “Riders up,” and it is not lost on me that we are lucky to have such pageantry in our hometown. 

We looked good and people enjoyed themselves; no rain or clouds could dampen that spirit. Why can’t we make ourselves proud all year long? Join me in harnessing this pride, and let’s take the time to put care into and beautify our public spaces and streetscapes for all to enjoy! 

See you on the streets soon!