Of Derby, Pool noodles, and caterpillars...

In Louisville we have this little party to celebrate the beginning of a two-week long party to celebrate a horse race. 

Most people in Louisville aren't really that excited about that horse race, though if you don't live in Louisville it's probably one of the first things you associate with our city.

What we like here in Louisville is the Derby Festival, especially Thunder Over Louisville, which is a bigger fireworks show than you've ever been to. Unless you've been to Louisville, that is. ​

In the South, the success of an event directly correlates with the amount of explosions it contains.

This year, I spent my time volunteering for The Kentucky Science Center's ThunderBlast event so I could enjoy the rest of the event there after my hours were over. I was there with my sister, who used to work for the Science Center, and she babysat me and made sure everyone knew that I wasn't being lazy when I went to sit down somewhere to breathe, I was just Very Ill. Ill enough that I honestly shouldn't have been there, and certainly shouldn't have been working, but I love Thunder and I especially love not paying for a great view, so there we were. 

As I write this, two days later, I have menthol burns on my tongue from cough drops and I'm still coughing up mucus that's really gross but also kinda cool in a twelve year old boy sort of way. Did I mention that besides this I require an inhaler when the pollen count gets high around here? Also that I didn't bring said inhaler along to this event? 

Fun times. 

We worked Noodle Ages, where I found my place as Ye Olde Blacksmith, repairing the cardboard and duct tape shields as fast as I could. This was an incredibly popular station, as could be easily predicted because who doesn't want to beat the crap out of their friends with noodle swords and cardboard shields?

Shield Repair.

Some abandoned shields in favor of dual-wielding.

For Science!

In the end, there can only be one winner. Jousting, noodle sword fights and more are going on NOW at #ThunderBlast2015 while we wait for the air show to start! #DoScience #DowntownLou #DerbyFest

A photo posted by Kentucky Science Center (@kyscience) on Apr 18, 2015 at 11:31am PDT

After we were released from service by our kind Lords, we did a lot of resting. 

Cause I was sick. Like, seriously.

We also stopped by 21c to see what was in the gallery right now. (For you non-Louisvillians, this is possible because Louisville has this clever thing called Museum Row. While at the Science Center, two art museums, a history museum and a museum about making baseball bats (cooler than it sounds) are all within walking distance.)
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I always have to stare at Cloud Rings for a while.

Reflector by Chris Doyle

Renaissance by Jorge Mayet

I was also fascinated by Dawn Chorus by Marcus Coates, and many other things that I didn't get pictures of. You should definitely check it out if you're in Louisville, touring the galleries is free.
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So of course the culmination of the night is fireworks. I didn't take pictures with my piddly iphone because I know better, but some other people nearby were not so wise.

After the fireworks, it's time for clean up. My sister had volunteered to help, but I was far too gone at this point to do anything besides sit and cough. So while she worked, I spent some time with Neil. ​

We did find time for shitty iphone selfies, though.

Somewhere around this time I ran my hand through my hair and pulled out a piece of presumed fuzz.

Gaiman, that is.

Who knows how long that caterpillar had been hitching a ride on my head. I certainly wasn't sitting under a tree at the time that I found it. Little sucker was lucky I didn't accidentally squish it. 

After that I went home and slept for a really long time. 

And coughed. A lot. 

Happy Derby Festival, everyone!