Enter your Email address below for event updates, news and ticket information via email!

Derby Festival Pin Trading Merchandise

What is Derby Festival Pin Trading?
Derby Festival Pin Trading is just another great way to participate in your favorite community celebration. Derby Festival fans have been stuffing old pins in drawers for many years and this is a great way to remember and share them. Derby Festival fans can trade Festival pins with fellow pin enthusiasts or Kentucky Derby Festival Trading Team Members. Whether you've been collecting pins since 1973 or this is your first Derby Festival, Pin Trading is a great, new way to get in on the fun.

Where do I start?
It's easy. You can begin with current metal Derby Festival pins you already own or the best way is to purchase a pin trading starter kit. Look for pin trading locations at Thunder Over Louisville, U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest Glow, Republic Bank Parade Preview, Stock Yards Bank Great Bed Races and more. Each starter kit has a lanyard, medallion and one (1) Special Edition Pin Trading Pin. Then the fun begins. Introduce yourself to fellow Derby Festival fans you see wearing metal Festival pins and initiate a trade. You can also trade with any member of the official Kentucky Derby Festival Trading Team. These are the volunteers that have been working to produce the many fun events of the celebration. Check the pin protocol for simple rules about courteous trading transactions and enjoy the new "pin pals" you make!

You mean there's more than just the Pegasus Pin!
The Kentucky Derby Festival has been offering pins for over thirty-seven years. We started with the plastic Pegasus Pin in 1973. In 1975, metal Balloon Race pins were available to Balloon Race Entrants only. In 1989, an Event Pin Program was added featuring a metal Pegasus Pin and four other Festival events including the Great Balloon Race, miniMarathon, Pegasus Parade and Great Steamboat Race. The Event Pin Program has grown over the past 20 years and now includes 29 event pins in a complete set as well as numerous Corporate Sponsor pins.

Derby Festival fans have been collecting and trading pins unofficially for many years. This program offers a way to share that tradition with new generations of Thunder and Balloon Race fans and more. Invite your entire family to participate in the tradition of pin trading.

What pins are available to share?
If you thought there was just one Pegasus Pin each year, you'll be surprised to learn the array of pins produced each Festival. There are pins produced for 27 different events, as well as corporate sponsor pins and a pin for each balloon in the U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest. Add to that the pins from the past 36 years and there's lots of trading to keep you busy. The Fun of Derby Festival Pin Trading is in the amazing variety of pins. Collect or trade pins of your favorite events or the highly collectible Pegasus Pins. Get the whole family involved in locating pins from the Wazoo Sports Basketball Classic, U.S. Bank Great BalloonFest, Republic Bank Parade Preview, Marathon/miniMarathon, Thunder Over Louisville, Ramble for the Roses, Student Art Contest, AT&T Volleyball Classic and the many other events. Then make it a point to visit each of the events you have collected a pin from and you'll add a new dimension of fun to your Derby Festival experience.

Local celebrities involved
The Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court will be involved in pin trading as well! Look for them at selected Pin Trading venues, they will be available to trade with YOU!!