LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- While it has now come and gone, WDRB is still glowing from an incredible and memorable Thunder Over Louisville.

Saturday was an amazing day for the city to kick off this year's Kentucky Derby Festival. 

Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to the Great Lawn at Waterfront Park, where WDRB's "Bro Show" was out in full force for a day that sets the tone for an exciting time in Louisville.

Chris Sutter and Dalton Godbey fist bump

WDRB's Chris Sutter and Dalton Godbey fist bump at Thunder Over Louisville on April 20, 2024.

Pride and fireworks seem to go hand-in-hand, and there may be no bigger stage for both than the Derby City.

"There's this highlight, there's that highlight. Everything just ran smooth, and I'm watching these guys hand off to the next one, then the next one, then the next one, and boom, boom, boom," Thunder Over Louisville Producer Wayne Hettinger said.

More than 500,000 people gathered on both sides of the Ohio River to see the largest annual air and fireworks show in the country. Pride was evident in the crowds that filled Kentuckiana, and their eyes that wondered to the sky.

That's the goal for 35-year Thunder veteran, Hettinger.

IMAGES | Behind the scenes for Thunder On WDRB

"Just stop, everybody, for a minute, and go 'We're going to celebrate the rights of spring, the Derby, all the festival events that's going to follow and just take pride in the community and the United States," he said.

It's also the goal for the Kentucky Derby Festival.

"We took that two-minute horse race, and over about 70 years, we've turned it into a monthlong party," said Aimee Boyd, with KDF.

For the next two weeks, you'll find more of that pride across the city, with live music, good food, drone shows, silent discos, car shows, the Pegasus parade, the Great Balloon Race, the Great Steamboat Race, the Balloon Glow, and the Kentucky Derby — but those are just the highlights.

"It was great to see people back on the Waterfront," Boyd said. "I would say it's the largest crowd we've seen since 2019."

There's no start to the Derby City's Derby season more exciting than Thunder Over Louisville.

"Everybody feels it," said Hettinger. "You can feel that coming up from the crowd."

IMAGES | Fireworks, drone show light up sky at Thunder Over Louisville

Whether it came from watching military planes dominate the sky, gawking at drones, or staring in awe at the fireworks, it was evident that the real show is not in the air, but on the ground with half-a-million friends all booming with pride.

"Give me one afternoon where I can just remove everybody from the realities of the world and let's just get into a little fantasy, and a lot of pride," Hettinger said.

To look at all of the KDF events happening this year, click here.

Kentucky Derby Festival Coverage:

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