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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — On what would have been Thunder Over Louisville 2020, many people around Kentuckiana still celebrated one of the most famous and largest fireworks displays and airshows in the nation in their own special ways Saturday. 

"I heard it is absolutely amazing. I heard it's loud, exciting," said Carmen White and Mark Johnson, who spent Saturday walking through Louisville's Waterfront Park — a place that would have been packed with nearly 500,000 people had the kickoff event of the Kentucky Derby Festival (KDF) not been postponed in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak. 

People jogged, biked, and walked through Waterfront Park throughout the sunny Saturday afternoon, but many expressed disappointment over not having the annual celebration. 

"Not be able to participate with Thunder amid COVID-19 — it's kind of devastating at the same time," White said. 

Across the Ohio River in Clarksville, Indiana, dozens of classic cars, muscle cars, police cars and fire trucks lined up for a 12-mile parade through neighborhoods – all while revving their engines.

"It's kind of like our own little Thunder," said David Rainwater Jr., who organized the show. "Clarksville's a big Thunder area, so we will kind of bring the show to them this time."

Several residents sat in at the end of their driveways to watch the cars go by and honk their horns.

In downtown Louisville, Encore on Fourth took a bow to their Thunder preps and kept things going with their version of a chow wagon — complete with barbecue ribs, turkey legs and cotton candy. Executive Chef Kevin Nelson set up a large grill along the street in front of the restaurant to cook up any Saturday night takeout orders. 

"Today would have been a great day," Nelson said. "The place would have been packed, would have had live music, would have had a band (and) people spilling out into the street.

"... In this moment and in this time, this is when we are supposed to be sticking it out and pushing through," he added.

For now, Thunder Over Louisville 2020 is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 15, and the 146th Kentucky Derby is slated for Saturday, Sept. 5. KDF organizers said they're cautiously optimistic and still meet daily to plan for these events.

"We know you're used to seeing our iconic pink jackets and Pegasus Pins around town this time of year," KDF president Matt Gibson said in a video posted to Facebook on Friday morning. "We miss all of our fans and putting on one of the nation's biggest shows for the first Saturday in May. But we know we can't be doing that right now.

"For now, we need to support the effort to flatten the curve, and hope you will too."

Complete coverage of Thunder 2020 will air exclusively on WDRB, which chose to celebrate the Derby Festival staple by airing a rebroadcast of Thunder Over Louisville 2016 on Saturday. 

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