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Keep track of the season's festivities with your guide to Louisville's 2012 Kentucky Derby parties [Horse racing]

The eyes of the nation will be upon Louisville on the first Saturday in May, but the real Derby celebration begins in the weeks leading up to the big race. Use this guide to the multiple Derby-related events taking place in the coming days and plan your own "run for the roses."

The Kentucky Derby has always seemed both an integral part of and wholly separate from Louisville, the town where it has been held annually on the first Saturday in May for almost 140 years. Its home track, Churchill Downs, with its iconic ivory spires and stockpile of rose garlands, is a name and place known around the world. In recent years, scads of Hollywood stars and household celebrities have flocked in growing numbers to the race itself, not to mention its fabulous before-and-after-parties.

Map out your plan for attending the 22nd Thunder over Louisville spectacular [Attractions]

As the show-stopping opener of the Kentucky Derby Festival, Thunder over Louisville is one of our city's most anticipated events. It is also one of the heaviest attended, meaning intense preparation is required to navigate the expected half-million people hoping to get a good view of the spectacle. Use this guide to plan everything from your driving route to your after-party activities.

You can rail against the Kentucky Derby until your face is bluer than bluegrass – call it decadent, depraved, or possibly even overrated – but there’s no denying: the enormity of this event is impossible to escape. The race itself has hardly changed at all through the years, barring a widening of the playing field, but the fanfare surrounding it has expanded rapidly even over the last two decades.

Everybody loves the Chow Wagon [Kentucky Derby]

Before the recession inspired people to take a "staycation" the Chow Wagon was Louisville's excuse for a relaxing hometown day off. It's one part state fair, one part day at the park, and one part grownups playing hookey with their friends for a cheerful drink or three.
I didn't grow up in Louisville, so the Chow Wagon is somewhat mystifying for me. I thought it was an excuse for downtown workers to balance their healthy walk to the waterfront with deliciously greasy fair food. 

I went down on a gorgeous night this week to check it out for myself. It wasn't quite what I expected. I arrived a little after 4 pm, and the place was already bustling. 

Your favorite Derby festival [Kentucky Derby]

Yesterday I talked to some Derby Season Haters who think Louisville would be better off without three weeks of pesky festivals. Today, I'm asking some festival lovers who can't get enough which one is their favorite and why.
Yesterday I talked to some Derby Season Haters who think Louisville would be better off without three weeks of pesky festivals. Today, I'm asking some festival lovers who can't get enough which one is their favorite and why. There's a delightful lot to choose from. 

Elephant ears, anyone? Chow wagon opens today [Kentucky Derby]

Take a long lunch. Louisville.com says it’s okay.

If you’re so hungry you could eat a horse, step away from Churchill Downs—way away—and instead head to the Festival Plaza at Waterfront Park for all the carnival food you can handle, all the music you can dance to and all the cold beer you can drink (and keep down). The fabled Kentucky Derby Festival Chow Wagon opens today and is open daily until 11 p.m. until Derby Eve.

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