Weather Forecast for Friday 1/7/11

There’s bourbon-tasting and hot air balloons, fashion shows and fireworks, a belle and a ball, and the event that started it all, the Pegasus Parade. From the time the Kentucky Derby Festival starts in mid-April, the party doesn’t stop — not until the horses run for the roses on the first Saturday in May. The Kentucky Derby lasts only two minutes, but the legendary race at Churchill Downs has spawned an extended celebration with more than 70 events drawing more than a million people to the Louisville area. Festival officials say it pours nearly $130 million annually into the economy.