'You can feel it in your chest': Thunder Over Louisville rocks Waterfront Park once again

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Twelve hours before fireworks were scheduled to light the sky above, thousands gathered Saturday at Waterfront Park, eager to resume an annual tradition that had recently been put on hold.

It was a beautiful, sunny April day — the warmest on record, with Louisville temperatures hitting 87 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. And as families set up tarps, folding chairs, and even an inflatable couch on the Great Lawn and in Southern Indiana, they spoke of one of their favorite celebrations like a long-lost friend.

Thunder Over Louisville was finally back.

Everything to know: Download this complete guide to Thunder Over Louisville 2022

"Everything feels like it's normal again," said Christopher Johnson, who's attended the Kentucky Derby Festival event for 12 years.

In 2020, Thunder Over Louisville was canceled at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. In 2021, the massive fireworks showcase was split up at various locations around town to discourage crowds.

But with infection rates much lower, the event returned in 2022 with its same rides, vendors, air show, and, of course, fireworks along the Ohio River near downtown.

Teresa Smith drove five hours from southern Tennessee to take in the spectacle. She's attended Thunder several times in the past and had missed its fried foods, the sights, and that explosive show — the largest in North America.

"It's just the experience," she said of the fireworks display. "You can feel it in your chest while it's going off."

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That feeling might not be comforting for Chi Chi Noriega. The new Louisville resident stopped by Waterfront Park on Friday and said they were startled by how loud the planes were as they practiced ahead of the official show, called "The Legend Returns."

They came back downtown Saturday, though, to experience all Thunder and their new home had to offer.

"If I'm going to be part of a new city, I've got to be where the people of the city are," Noriega said.

Kelly Pusey, a 50-year-old Louisville native, would agree Thunder is a great way to get to know the city.

She's attended the show and the Kentucky Derby "since birth" and said she was excited to experience it again with her daughter and grandkids.

"Now that it's back, I'm so happy seeing faces I haven't seen in so long, from the vendors all the way to the security people," she said.

"You go all day with the festival, the rides, the air show. (Then) at night, when the fireworks go up, that's Louisville right there. That's Louisville."

Kentucky Derby Festival President Matt Gibson said it's "incredible" for Thunder to be back after three years. "To have weather like this and a crowd like this and an airshow like we're having right now, it's so fantastic. It's almost emotional."

Gibson said one of his favorite parts of the day is watching the crowds. "I have been fascinated by the crowd today just because we're back in that live space after so long. The smiles on people's faces as the aircraft come over ... it's fuel for my soul. To see the experience people are having, that's what means the most to me."

Across the Ohio River in Southern Indiana, the crowds started to pick up as the air show prepared to lift off, though the atmosphere remained more laid back as the music echoed over from Waterfront Park.

Various community organizations, including churches, Boy Scouts, and Knights of Columbus, had lots filling up blocks from the water in Jeffersonville, and families and friends amid plenty of chairs and coolers dotted the lawns in front of the historic homes on Riverside Drive.

One of those homes, at the corner of Riverside Drive and Clark Street, is the annual Thunder party for a roughly 80-member family — or rather, a collection of several related families.

One pink chair by the corner of the lawn sat empty in honor of Cyndi McHolland, who died in 2020 at the age of 65 from breast cancer.

Following two years of pandemic-disrupted events, 2022 was the first traditional Thunder since McHolland’s death. Inside the home that she and her husband, David Boome, purchased in 2008 was a table that featured a picture board of moments from past Thunder gatherings.

And two boxes were collecting donations for the Norton Cancer Institute and a Cynthia Smith McHolland Scholarship Fund for Western Colorado University, her alma mater.

“It’s what she wanted, and it’s the legacy she wanted to continue,” Boome said Saturday, reflecting on the busy, festive scenes inside and outside the home. “It’s joyful.”

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4646.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Thunder Over Louisville returns to Waterfront Park with big attendance