LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The official kick-off of the 2024 Kentucky Derby Festival is less than a week away.

On April 20th will be the 35th Thunder Over Louisville. This year's theme is "Celebrating the 150th Kentucky Derby."

Everyone throughout the city is hoping for beautiful, warm weather. Even the crews setting up the command center at the Galt House Sunday are optimistic.

"I can't wait! The air show, the fireworks, the festivities, the Chow Wagon!," Ben Kayrouz, who was in Jeffersonville Sunday, said.

Kayrouz can hardly contain his excitement since he takes his family every year.

"It's the most spectacular Air Show and fireworks," Kayrouz said.

No matter what side of the Ohio River you're on, you'll see one of the largest annual fireworks shows in North America.

"Everybody takes pride in the city and for the country," Wayne Hettinger, Thunder Over Louisville's lead producer and originator, said.

Hettinger dreams about the event's success. He is the man behind the magic.

"The fun part for me is watching this team do what they do," Hettinger said.

About 35 key people operate the show from The Galt House. A couple of rooms get flipped into the command center in a matter of six days.

"This is kind of the first wave of equipment that is here now, and there will be another two waves of getting everything set up," Hettinger said.

One side controls the entire operation, and the other side manages air and river traffic. Hettinger said it is a massive undertaking.

"It's a huge party getting ready to happen for the community," Hettinger said.

The tradition officially kicks off the two-week-long party ahead of the Kentucky Derby.

"It's definitely worth seeing," Neil Cash, another Louisvillian, said. "You'll never see anything like this."

Regardless of the weather, both Kayrouz and his friend's family plan on seeing all 30-minutes in-person.

"We already bought tickets at the Kentucky Center for the Arts. We're going to use that as a backup just in case we need to be inside somewhere. But yeah, we're going for sure," Kayrouz said.

In the past, Cash has also bought tickets from Lynn Family Stadium. As some might say, something wonderful is about to happen.

The Second Street Bridge will shut down at 9:45 a.m. Thursday and will remain closed until 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon.

Thunder Over Louisville

Neil Cash takes his family to Thunder Over Louisville in the past.

Thunder Over Louisville is one of the more than 70 events produced by the Kentucky Derby Festival in the spring.

Hettinger encourages more families to buy the 150th Pegasus Pin. Click here to learn how to purchase a $7 pin.

The event provides an estimated impact of $56 million to the area’s economy. For more information or Thunder Over Louisville's history, click here.

WDRB personalities will be on both sides of the Ohio River bringing you all the people, planes and fireworks. Of course, you can watch on TV, but you can take WDRB with you. 

The full day of broadcasting will be on our WDRB.com website, the WDRB News app, the WDRB+ TV anywhere app for your phone, and the WDRB+ streaming app on your Fire, Apple or Roku TV. 

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