Mayor Jerry Abramson and Fifth Third Bank President Phil McHugh announced plans for the annual Fifth Third Bank Waterfront Independence Festival at Waterfront Park. The Fourth of July weekend in Louisville will start on Thursday July 3rd, with two days of phenomenal entertainment designed to appeal to all parts of the community, free children’s activities and fireworks.
Festival organizers hope that the free event on the waterfront will give the community a reason to celebrate our nation’s holiday and a respite from the rising cost of living expenses and resulting hardship on families.
"Fifth Third Bank is extremely proud to support our community by serving as title sponsor of this exciting two-day festival." said Phil McHugh, President and CEO, Fifth Third Bank Louisville. "The Fifth Third Bank Waterfront Independence Festival will provide two great evenings of free entertainment, and we invite the entire community to join us as we celebrate our country's independence."
Louisville Metro Mayor Jerry E. Abramson said, “There’s no need for Louisvillian’s to travel long distance for a festive Fourth of July weekend. Everything a family needs for a fun holiday – food, music and entertainment – is within easy reach at our beautiful Waterfront Park. We’re grateful to the sponsors for their commitment, and we’re looking forward to celebrating our nation’s birthday with 100,000 of our closest friends!”
Green Initiatives
The volunteer festival committee has also been extraordinarily sensitive to Mayor Abramson’s Green Initiative at a time when our community and nation can no longer ignore the implications of strained environment. The committee is helping implement short range and develop long range environmental initiatives for the festival.
Festival patrons will be encouraged to recycle plastic and aluminum in recycling containers. Glass is not allowed inside the festival area. Festival organizers are implementing a “green vendor” award program and will be recognizing vendors that make an extraordinary effort to be environmentally sensitive. The local economy will be supported by having local food & beverage sponsors including Havana Beverages and FB3 Development that will be selling local food products. This helps to reduce fuel use and emissions associated with long distance transportation for food products, and also supports local farmers and businesses.
Some of the local food products will be BBQ bison, grilled corn with locally produced Corn Star Grilling Sauce, and Havana Beverage products. Slowfoods Bluegrass, which promotes farmers and educates consumers on using locally produced and raised products, will also be involved in the event. The cooking grease from our food vendors will also be reused for biodiesel engines.
Festival patrons are encouraged to bicycle to the event and utilize a bicycle parking area that will be provided near the entrance to the festival therefore reducing emissions and traffic congestion. TARC buses will provide another transportation alternative and a map of routes is attached.
Musical Lineup
2008 programming will be better than ever.
A WAMZ Country Music Evening will return on July 3rd. The gritty country rock artist Gary Allan will headline the evening and is sure to please the crowd with his hits like ‘Watching Airplanes” from his latest album Living Hard. Emerging country artist Candy Coburn will also deliver an upbeat rousing performance and the evening will be rounded out by Louisville’s own favorite Patrick Henry Hughes! Patrick Henry will deliver a full set of music on the Great Lawn stage for the many fans that couldn’t get enough of his soulful performance on ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover earlier in the year.
Louisville’s Magic 101.3 and Radio Station WFPK 91.9 have partnered to bring the community an epic evening of unforgettable entertainment on July 4th. The evening will begin with the revered East LA Rock Band Los Lobos, who will perform their infectious blend of blues, R&B, cumbia and barrio rock and roll that has been perfected for more than three decades. JJ Grey and Mofro will continue the evening’s entertainment with their roots rock sound from southern Florida delighting jam band enthusiasts. Finally, the musical performances will culminate with the Grand Master of Funk himself, George Clinton, performing with his full band Parliament Funkadelic! Clinton is one of the greatest innovators of urban based soul, rock and funk over the last forty years and fans will recognize hits like “Tear the Roof off the Sucker (Give up the Funk),” “Aqua Boogie”, “Flashlight”, “Atomic Dog” and “One Nation Under a Groove,” among many others.
Thef estival offers something for everyone
Families will enjoy the Catfish Louie Kids Area again with plenty of quality activities for children including kids bands, Radio Disney personalities and games, free caricature portraits, arts and crafts, and inflatable games such as the moon bounce and super slide.
Each evening of entertainment will open at 5pm with continuous music, food and Coors Light Beer Garden leading up to the fireworks at 10:30pm. Children’s activities will run from 5pm – 9pm and there is a Bats Baseball game on Thursday July 3rd at 7pm.
While all of Waterfront Park is accessible, a special viewing area for individuals in wheelchairs will be offered again this year. This is an area that will be reserved and fenced off, and each person in a wheelchair is welcome to bring one escort.
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 (bike racks are available near event entrances),
Additional event information:
Individuals interested selling arts, crafts or related merchandise will find a vendor application and guidelines at www.WaterfrontIndependenceFestival.com. All food vendor spots have been filled.
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
Stites & Harbison PLLC Attorneys
Toyota Scion
Yum! Brands
Eagle Sponsors
Friends of the Waterfront
Galt House Hotel & Suites
Louisville.com
Louisville Mojo.com
Nugent Sand Company
Texas Roadhouse
Thorntons
Simon Signs
Workshop NYC
