The Gaslight Festival is ending its 43rd year by racing downhill. This Saturday and Sunday the festival will host its first soap box derby down Taylorsville Road from Neal Drive to Park Avenue -- you can surmise that actual cars will have to find an alternative route to avoid the handmade racers.
Approximately forty to fifty racers from Kentucky, Indiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and Ohio will participate in the two-day event. The participants are between the ages of 8 and 18 and the cars come from standard kits. Soap box derbies originated in Ohio in 1934, and the gravity races have not changed much since. According to Louisville Soap Box Derby's website, "[The goals] are to teach youngsters some of the basic skills of workmanship, the spirit of competition, and the perseverance to continue a project once it has begun."
The event will run from 9 - 5 on Saturday and 12 - 5 on Sunday along Taylorsville Road. For more information about the event or Louisville soap box derbies, visit the Gaslight Festival website or the Louisville Soap Box Derby website.\
Photo courtesy of Gaslight Festival
