Along with great music, beautiful fireworks, festival food and family fun, the 2008 Fifth Third Waterfront Independence Festival will offer several new activities that will make the event more fun, more GREEN, and more convenient for the community.
This year’s festival is bike-friendly! On both July 3 and 4, local non-profit Bicycling for Louisville will run a valet bicycle parking service for festival attendees who want to ride their bikes instead of driving to the event. This service is FREE and takes the pressure off of cyclists to find a safe place to leave their bikes. Valet bike parking will be located on the Great Lawn near the main entrance on Witherspoon Street.
Also this year, free tethered hot air balloon rides will be offered in the Catfish Louie Kids Area on the Great Lawn, weather permitting. AT&T Real Yellow Pages will offer this activity from 7-9pm on both July 3 & 4.
The Catfish Louie Kids Area on the Harbor Lawn will also feature new arts & crafts activities this year. In conjunction with their upcoming Lincoln exhibit, the Speed Museum’s Art Sparks program will teach kids how to make their own working quill pen. Kids will also be able to make 3-dimensional decorative paper fireworks. Art Sparks sessions will run from 5pm-9pm on July 3 & 4. Other Kids Area activities include free Catfish Louie Temporary Tattoos provided by Friends of the Waterfront, free caricatures, inflatable games, and Radio Disney’s Road Crew LIVE!
While all of Waterfront Park is accessible, again this year a special viewing area will be provided at the concert for individuals in wheelchairs. This is an area that will be reserved and fenced off, and each person in a wheelchair is welcome to bring one escort. This year, handicapped parking will also be available in the surface lot across Witherspoon from the festival entrance (spaces will be available near both the Brook and Preston entrances to the lot). Handicapped parking spaces will also be available on the first floor of both the Witherspoon and Waterside parking garages, and in the Slugger Field parking lot. Handicapped spaces are first come, first served, and a valid handicapped parking permit (hang-tag or license plate) is required to park in these spots.
2008’s great musical lineup for July 3 includes headliner Gary Allan, emerging country artist Candy Coburn, and a set by Louisville’s own Patrick Henry Hughes. July 4 will feature Los Lobos, JJ Grey and Mofro, and the Grand Master of Funk himself, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic. Fireworks will close out the evening at 10:30pm on both the 3rd & 4th. The Bats Baseball team pays for the fireworks on July 3rd, which will follow their home game, Louisville Bats vs. Indianapolis.
A complete schedule, directions, band information, and a list of frequently asked questions can be found on the Festival website, www.WaterfrontIndependenceFestival.com.
What can I bring?
Blankets, and lawn chairs are allowed. Water is allowed in small plastic bottles AS LONG AS THEY HAVE NOT BEEN OPENED - the seal must be unbroken.
Prohibited items: Tents, glass, coolers, cans, bottles, pets, skateboards, weapons, and bicycles inside the event space (FREE bicycle valet parking will be available at the Witherspoon entrance to the festival).
Sponsors
All activities are made possible by generous community support from the following sponsors:
Title Sponsor
Fifth Third Bank
Star Sponsors
Louisville Metro Government
Main Line Broadcasting Magic 101.3
WAMZ
Waterfront Development Corporation
WHAS11 News
WFPK 91.9
Freedom Sponsors
AT&T Real Yellow Pages®
Louisville Bats Baseball
Liberty Sponsors
Coors Light
Havana Beverages
Yum! Brands
Eagle Sponsors
Friends of the Waterfront
Galt House Hotel & Suites
Louisville.com
Louisville Mojo.com
Nugent Sand Company
Oxmoor Toyota Scion
Stites & Harbison PLLC Attorneys
Texas Roadhouse
Thorntons
Tinker’s Toys RV
Workshop NYC
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