Photo: Churchill Downs/Reed Palmer Photography
Kentucky Derby: The Run for the Roses
Portland Rose Festival
By Julie Kostelnik
If you love roses, this is your season.
Kentucky Derby: Run for the Roses, Saturday, May 2, 2015
The Kentucky Derby
The 141st Kentucky Derby, arguably one of the biggest events known in sports, takes place Saturday, May 2. Thousands of people will be making their way to Churchill Downs to watch these powerful horses and talented jockeys race one and a quarter miles around the track in some of the most exhilarating two minutes they’ll ever experience.
Once it’s all over, the winner will be draped in the carefully crafted Garland of Roses, just as Ben Brush, the thoroughbred winner ridden by Willie Simms was for the first time back in 1896.
Besides participating in the excitement surrounding the race, attendees will be sipping on the traditional Mint Julep and listening to the band play, “My Old Kentucky Home” in the Kentucky Derby post parade.
Mint Juleps Rule
No one leaves thirsty from Churchill Downs, almost 120,000 of these refreshing beverages are served each year during Derby Day. That’s an awful lot of Kentucky Bourbon.
Perhaps you’ll be watching the race from the comfort of your home and preparing your own cocktails when the gates open and the hooves of these prized horses take to the dirt.
Horses to Watch
The three leading horses with the most season points coming into the race will be International Star, Dortmund, and Carpe Diem. But it is anyone’s guess who will cross the line first.
When to Watch
Post time is 6:24PM and will be covered by NBC Sports, the official television partner. But don’t wait until post time. Tune in from 12 noon on to watch all of the fun pre-race stories.
For more information: Kentucky Derby
Torsten Kjellstrand/www.travelportland.com/Portland Oregon Visitors Association
The Portland Rose Festival
Portland, Oregon will be celebrating their yearly Rose Festival during May and June. The festival is jam-packed with weeks of events ranging from rose shows, music performances, film showings, and ships in the ports to boat races. The Rose Festival will start with a dazzling night of fireworks choreographed to music on May 22nd.
The following weeks will bring with them music, dances, races, and art shows. With so many different events taking place, here are a few of the big ones you won’t want to miss if you’re making a trip to Oregon.
Being a festival for roses, you definitely have to see the 127th Annual Spring Rose Show on June 4th and 5th. The show began in 1889 in Mrs. Henry Pittock’s garden and has since grown to be the largest and longest running rose show in the United States.
Entrants gather in Portland from across the U.S. and the best will walk away with trophies for their efforts in growing roses so beautiful you won’t believe they’re real.
Check out the Dragon Boat races on June 6th and 7th. These annual races have been going on for 26 years now, bringing visitors from across the country.
The races, now in their 26th year, consist of four-team heats every nine minutes with over 80 local, national, and international teams competing in boats from the Portland Kaohsiung Sister City Association.
Watch colorful scales and horned dragons speed through the Willamette River, cheering on your favorite team as they take paddle to water and try to come out on top.
Also on the same day will be the Grand Floral Parade which has made its way through the streets of Portland for over 100 years.
This year’s parade will be a colorful spectacle of 14 all-floral floats, 17 marching bands, 19 equestrian units, vintage vehicles, dancers and other exciting surprises.
For more information: Portland Rose Festival
Rose Events are Healthy Aging® Twitter Winners!
These two are among our favorite events of the month. We honor The Kentucky Derby and the Portland Rose Festival by posting photos of the events on our Twitter page. Check it out here: Healthy Aging® Twitter.
To recommend a photo, contact: editor@healthyaging.net
