Event expected to be one of the best ever!
Note to editors: The Governor’s Derby Breakfast on May 6 at
the Capitol in Frankfort is free and open to the public. Complete
details about the celebration are available at http://governor.ky.gov/derbycelebration
FRANKFORT, Ky. – First Lady Glenna Fletcher today unveiled
the official Governor’s Kentucky Derby Celebration 2006 poster and
invited every Kentuckian and their Derby guests to visit the Capitol
on May 6 for the annual Governor’s Breakfast.
“The governor and I invite everyone to enjoy the
unbridled spirit of Kentucky on this special day,” First Lady Glenna
Fletcher said. “The Governor’s Derby Breakfast is a unique
celebration of everything that makes our commonwealth special.”
The Governor’s Kentucky Derby Celebration 2006 poster, Dawn of a
New Derby, is a glimpse behind the gates in the days that lead up to
the most exciting two minutes in sports. This artistic montage
conveys the warmth, the work and the will to win that leads up to
the first Saturday in May. With completion of the new
facilities at Churchill Downs, The Kentucky Derby is now, more than
ever, the place where the best three year olds in training are
invited to run the race to glory.
As a public event, the Governor’s Derby Breakfast dates from
1972, in the administration of Governor Wendell Ford. Previous
governors hosted breakfast by invitation only. At the first public
breakfast, a few hundred people showed up for the meal. Over the
years, the event has evolved into a showcase for Kentucky’s cultural
richness, with entertainment, crafts and activities enhancing the
meal itself.
This year’s breakfast continues the tradition. The Kentucky
Department of Parks will serve up a delicious array of breakfast
items under a tent adjacent to the Capitol Annex. Guests may choose
from country ham, sausage, scrambled eggs, apples, cheese grits,
biscuits, pastries, muffins, fruit juices and coffee. Breakfast will
be served from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Feeding 15,000 hungry Derby Breakfast guests is always a
challenge, but the Kentucky Department of Parks has the event down
to a science. Supplies and equipment start arriving early during
Derby Week. Before long, food staff employees from various parks
arrive to start the set up and food preparation. Cooking begins in
earnest at 1 a.m. on Derby morning in two state-run cafeterias in
Frankfort. As the food is cooked, it is transported to a serving
tent on the Capitol grounds, where it is served buffet style.
By the end of the morning, the staff will have dished out 20,000
eggs, more than 2,000 pounds of Kentucky country ham, 13,000
biscuits, 60 bushels of apples and 15,000 cups of coffee.
The Governor’s Derby Breakfast Celebration is free and open to
the public.
In addition to the traditional southern breakfast, entertainment
will be staged continuously at three locations. Talent from across
the commonwealth will be enjoyed throughout the morning.
Singing, dancing and storytelling are only a few of the many things
to enjoy Derby morning.
Kentucky crafts will be on display and available for sale in the
Kentucky Crafters tent.
Meanwhile, history comes alive as “Henry Clay” and “Sallie Ward”
tell their stories in performances sponsored by the Kentucky
Humanities Council. The Kentucky Folklife Program will sponsor
music, storytelling and theatre performances in the Mansion
Tent.
Children’s activities will include face painting, hat-making and
visits with costumed characters, including Abraham and Mary Todd
Lincoln.
Derby breakfast patrons can browse for Kentucky agricultural
products, pick up a free highway map and get a packet of wildflower
seeds at other booths. Guests can also find out about things to see
and do in Frankfort, tour the History-mobile, plan for a college
education and learn about the state’s aviation program. Weather
permitting, free hot air balloon rides will be staged on the capital
grounds. And classic car enthusiasts will enjoy the presentation by
the Capital City Classic Auto Club.
The city of Frankfort has also scheduled activities for children
downtown on the St. Clair Mall.
The Governor’s Kentucky Derby Celebration 2006 poster can be
purchased for $20 from the Kentucky Historical Society’s 1792 Store
at http://store.kentucky.gov/kyhs/
Derby Breakfast parking will be available at the CHR Complex, 275
E. Main Street. A free bus shuttle service will operate between CHR,
the Kentucky History Center and the Capitol. Hours for the shuttle
are 6:30 a.m. to noon. Handicapped parking will be available in the
parking lot just west of the Capitol. For more information about the
celebration, visit http://governor.ky.gov/derbycelebration
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