The Danger Blog

It seems like every time we turn around there is another holiday. Luckily, the Fourth of July is one of the last major holidays until the Halloween season. Thankfully we still have Labor Day!! However, Fourth of July is a very special holiday for all of us. This is the weekend that we celebrate the great nation that we are in (despite political disputes).

So, what is there to do in Louisville for the Fourth of July? Naturally fireworks are the first thing you think of. Even though the good fireworks are technically illegal in Kentucky, this doesn’t seem to stop anyone from celebrating with a backyard show. Some seem to think they can create their own Thunder Over Louisville and put on one heck of a free show.

If you’re not interested in dealing with fireworks yourself, Waterfront Park puts on a massive Fourth of July celebration. Not only do they have an incredible fireworks show, they also have live bands, food, beer tents, and more. It is a really nice, free event in Louisville that the whole family can enjoy!

Of course, if you could care less about fireworks you can always take a short road trip to Madison, Indiana. This weekend Madison hosts the Regatta which is boat racing on the river. This isn’t like the Belle of Louisville vs. Belle of Cincinnati or the Delta Queen, these are boats travelling at over 100 miles an hour on the river. Needless to say, very fun to watch. They have food, drinks, music, and really, really fast boats. It is an incredible event and if you can make it up to beautiful Madison, IN I would highly recommend checking it out.

For those of you that may not have heard, Louisville is hosting a beer festival called Top of The Hops. What exactly is a beer festival you ask? A beer festival is one of the latest crazes in festivals where you purchase your tickets and then you get to sample X amount of beers. Generally, this works via drink tickets or sometimes coins are used.

However, Top of the Hops is a little different. First of all, there will be more than 275 beers that can be sampled. This is a TON of different beers to try. I know you’re thinking, well there may be 275+ beers but with just a few drink tickets what does that even matter. Wrong! Another difference with the Top of the Hops beer festival is that it is UNLIMITED 2 ounce samples of beer. UNLIMITED! This could equate to a tremendous amount of beer…based on how much you can really drink.

So, when is this nutty event? The Top of the Hops beer festival is June 19, 2010 in Louisville. This is the same weekend as Father’s Day. Still looking for a good Father’s Day gift? Every Dad likes a nice cold beer…how about 275? Take your Dad out and get him loaded for Father’s Day!

In all seriousness, this event does sound like a ton of fun and it would be a great event to use to spend time with your papa. Before you go, be sure to arrange a DD. This does not stand for Drunk Dad! Make sure you have a designated driver. Heck you can even ask your Mom! I’d bet she would get a kick of hauling around Drunk Dad.

Have a fun and safe Father’s Day weekend, Happy Fathers Day!

Many of us chose to spend Memorial Day at home in Louisville. It could be construed that this would be a very boring weekend filled with yard work or other various tasks that involve manual labor under the baking sun. However, little do people know that there are actually quite a few things that you can do locally just by hanging around town.

If you happen to be a Beatles fan, this weekend is the 6th annual Abbey Road on the River. The festival highlights tons of Beatles cover bands playing all of your favorite Beatles music from Let it Be to Help! There is only one other similar festival located in Washington, D.C. It is awesome festival to check out!

Of course, for those of you that prefer to drink the weekend away Fourth Street Live! or other great local venues like Phoenix Hill Tavern. For instance, 4th Street has a ton of events going on this weekend including Hotel’s Drop Dead Gorgeous party. You can dress to the nines and get your drink on and party the night away at Fourth Street. Remember to get a DD or take a taxi home if you drink a bit too much.

In addition, if you are a lot like me, I like to grill every chance that I can get. Knowing this, local grocers put incredible sales on everything imaginable. In fact, Wal-mart had a sale on Coca-Cola 24-packs over the weekend that made Sam’s and Costco look expensive. With these deals, it’s hard not to take advantage of the savings and roll out the grill. You can even visit a local park and take advantage of their facilities. If you don’t mind driving, I recommend checking out Spring Mill State Park in Indiana. Great place to go with family and friends to hang out for the day!

For those of you that like to keep things more rugged, camping is also an option over the weekend. Wait a minute! Didn’t I say “things to do at home”? While camping is one of my favorite things to do, if you don’t have a campsite reserved by now you likely aren’t going to get one. This doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel. Set-up camp in the back yard! Best of all it’s free!

Despite all the fun to be had, we should all at least take a minute to recognize the purpose of the holiday as well. Memorial Day is meant to commemorate U.S. men and women who died while in military service. Many of you may have family or friends that gave their life to protect our freedom. I know that the intoxicating smell of t he grill and the fun in the sun can often cloud our minds, but please don’t forget why we celebrate. With that said, thank you to all of you that have served our country. For those of you that lost a loved one to this patriotism, thank you and you will be in our thoughts.

Have a fun and safe Memorial Day!

NEW at Kings Island is Boo Hill. It used to be a Scooby-Doo themed ride and prior to that it was the Phantom Theater. Both of which I always thoroughly enjoyed as an air-conditioned break in my roller coaster riding fun. The Sally Corporation was brought in to re-theme it yet again. Not sure if this is because of licensing issues (Kings Island used to be a Paramount property) or why the sudden change, but they seem to change this ride every few years so it is really of no surprise. The outside looks pretty much the same, but the inside looks a little scarier than it was and its going to be one of the rides where you shoot at targets and accumulate points. This is of particular interest to me because my wife and I always get into a competition on these rides and sadly she typically beats me (doesn’t help that she was in the military). However, the few times I have claimed victory have resulted in an never ending competition between the two of us.

Anyway, it was created as a family ride, Boo Blasters on Boo Hill pits guests against the wiles of the mighty king of ghosts, Boocifer, and his cohorts as they try to retain their hold on a stockpile of Scare Tonic, which they need to maintain their frightfulness and thus hold onto their haunted domain. The visitors (i.e. people like me and my wife) are charged with zapping the Scare Tonic and driving out the ghosts…accumulating points along the way, of course. Many exciting and scary events happen throughout the sixteen-scene black-light ride.

“Boo Blasters on Boo Hill is a simple concept, and simple is often good,” says Decker. “Guests understand the interactive dark ride concept: it’s primarily a target shoot experience. However, riders come away appreciating the goofy, spooky, interactive elements that make each ride experience unique. It’s a laugh in the dark as much as it is a fun gaming experience.”

All I’ve gotta say to my wife is “I’m gonna kick you’re a**!”

This weekend is shaping up to be quite a weekend. To start, the release of the remake of a horror classic the Nightmare on Elm St comes out this weekend. Being a huge fan of Freddy Krueger and the Nightmare on Elm St saga, this is big deal to me. However, I am extremely skeptical of Jackie Haley as Freddy. Robert Englund made this part, it will be hard to beat his version of Krueger. I am also a little weary of the new make-up and the voice used for Freddy…this is a guy that literally controls your nightmares, I am pretty certain that he is going to have the creepiest voice he could possibly have.

Nevertheless, I am excited to see this childhood horror classic remade on the silver screen. It may or may not live up to the original (most movies rarely do), but it will nostalgic either way. It will make a great start to this HUGE weekend.

Second on the line up, but also the BIGGEST happening this weekend, is the 2010 Kentucky Derby 136. The Kentucky Derby is a longstanding tradition here in Louisville and is by far one of my favorite events of the year. It has been deemed as the “greatest 2 minutes in sports” and it has earned this title with its 136 years of existence. It is almost like stepping back in time.

Walking into Churchill Downs, the aroma of the food, the bourbon, the cigars, and the horses is almost intoxicating. Then picking out your favorite horses and going to the betting window to put down that fist full of cash on your picks. And finally, the thrill of seeing those horses cross that line and know that you just bet the winner. Of course more often you get to experience the disappointment of your horse not coming in, but it is the few occasions that you win that really make those moments of glory that are unlike any other.

It goes without saying, that I am a huge fan of the Derby and look forward to it every year. If you haven’t gone or you choose not to watch it on television, be sure that this year you make it out to experience it first hand. It is an event like no other that you MUST experience at least once in your life. So, all-in-all it should be one heck of a weekend!

Originally a one screen Drive-In that opened in 1951, the Georgetown Drive-In is now the ONLY place in the Louisville area you can go to experience watching movies from the comfort of your car. For many of us, it is a feeling of nostalgia to call up some friends and head out to the drive in and camp out on the lawn with a cooler and some snacks. Of course, you can also experience the excitement of taking your date to the movies and fogging up the windows. For others, this is a dying opportunity that they certainly shouldn’t miss.

This weekend, the tradition continues with the opening of Georgetown Drive-In. Not only does it still have the original screen, but they have also added a second screen so that you can choose from a selection of 4 movies instead of just the two. In some cases, they even do triple features which will keep you out until the wee hours of the morning. There is something about watching movies late into the night on an outdoor silver screen and having to shake the dew from your blanket that is just spectacular.

In addition, the Georgetown Drive-In also still has some working Drive-In window speakers. However, they also broadcast the sound in stereo over their own FM frequency! So, for those of you that have put big money into your car stereos you can have one heck of a show right from your car!

Lastly, one of the coolest things about the opening of the Georgetown Drive-In is that they are doing a special price for their opening night. To celebrate 59 years of being in business, they are making admission for Friday and Saturday April 23^rd and 24^th, 2010 ONLY .59 CENTS! Even by Danger Run standards, this is one heck of a deal! If you can’t make it out for the Drive-In this weekend, be sure to make it there some time this year because it is an experience you shouldn’t miss!

Derby Weekend the Georgetown Drive-In will have a triple feature that you will want to catch: the ORIGINAL Nightmare on Elm Street, the NEW Nightmare on Elm Street, and Clash of The Titans. What a line-up!

As with every year here in our wonderful city, Thunder Over Louisville kicks off the Kentucky Derby Festival. Essentially the Derby Festival is a 2 week party here in Louisville…it is one of the greatest traditions to experience in the U.S. Thunder Over Louisville is ranked one of the top 100 events in North America and every year more than half a million people come out to see this incredible show.

With 100 planes, aerobatics teams, sky diving, stunts, and of course fireworks, it is a show unlike any other right here in good ole’ Louisville, Kentucky. The highlight of the event is definitely the fireworks which are produced by Zambelli International which is one of the nation’s first and one of its biggest fireworks companies. With their years of experience, they put together an amazing show! One of the more impressive portions of the show is the waterfall of fireworks streaming off of the mile-long bridge.

In addition, the show itself is 28 minutes long with a HUGE finale that you don’t want to miss. Seeing these fireworks in person, feeling the pounding of the explosions in your chest, and the overall ambiance is something you must experience at least once in your life. Thunder Over Louisville is an incredible show that takes place on April 17th, 2010.

If you have the time, stick around town for a few weeks and hit all of the really wild events and parties leading up to the greatest moment in sports…the Kentucky Derby.

This weekend is Halloween weekend and it is your LAST chance to experience the world’s ONLY Danger Run! The Danger Run is a drive through mind game in which your mission is to solve the twisted clues written by the demented cluemaster to find your way to TWO of the Louisville area’s SCARIEST haunted houses! The object of the game is to follow the clues exactly as written and accumulate the exact mileage that it takes to find the two haunted houses. If you are the lucky soul to survive the haunted houses and defeat the cluemaster, you may win some HUGE PRIZES!

Unlike most Halloween events, there are no age restrictions or price hikes on Halloween weekend. For the same great price, you get an entire night of Halloween entertainment that is sure to be one of the most memorable nights EVER! Get your friends and come out to have a blast and get the heck SCARED OUT OF YOU! What more could you want for Halloween?

It wouldn’t be Halloween without dressing in your favorite Halloween costume. Come do the Danger Run in costume on Halloween Night and get $2 OFF your ticket price at the start gate!(Does not apply to online tickets.) You spent good money to look your best/worst, you shouldn’t be charged extra to show it off! The ONLY event in town where dressing in costume will SAVE YOU MONEY!

Come on out and check out Louisville’s Premier Halloween event the Danger Run on its final weekend! It has been another great year and we are going to close it down with a SCREAM!

See dangerrun.com for all the details.

Being the second week of October, fall is in the air in Louisville and there are a TON of things to check out. You can start your weekend off by hitting Harvest Homecoming in New Albany. Harvest Homecoming is one of the largest festivals in the area with great booths, food, live music, carnival rides, and plenty of good times to be had. Nothing makes a weekend like a funnel cake!

After spending Friday night hitting Harvest Homecoming and your favorite high school football games, you can go out Saturday night for a TERRIFYINGLY good time at some of the local haunts. If you really want to get the maximum scare for your buck, check out the Danger Run. The Danger Run is an entire night of Halloween entertainment. It is a haunted adventure like no other haunted attraction in the world. Right here in Louisville! You get to solve rhyming limerick style clues to find the way to TWO of the areas premium haunted houses. The game and both haunts are included with your admission to the Danger Run. Plus, the Danger Run throws in free cheeseburgers for everyone in your car AND if you have 4 or more people you get $10 in gas. It is quite a deal when you compare the haunted event to others in the city. Not to mention, there isn’t any other event like it anywhere in the world…very cool.

Finally, to end your weekend festivities you can check out the 19th Annual Great Chili Cook-Off on Sunday at Phoenix Hill Tavern. You get to sample chili from tons of local restaurants or locals as they compete for the BIG Chili Champion Prize. There will be live music, wacky contests, an interactive area, and more! The Chili Cook-Off is Sunday at 1PM at the Phoenix Hill Tavern. So, quite a weekend. Don’t miss out on the fun!

Every major haunted house, haunted attraction, Scream Park, haunted hayride, corn mazes, haunted shows… you name it, it’s open. Most haunted houses and events now open in early September and run through all of October. Some haunts even stay open into November in an attempt to accommodate all the screaming FRIGHT FANS in Louisville. Visiting haunted houses is now the traditional way for young adults to celebrate the Halloween season… the Danger Run has created a local haunted house and Halloween happenings directory for 2009.

Louisville has a ton of things to do and see for the 2009 Halloween season! Whether you want to get the pants scared off of you or get splattered with blood in a theatre audience, there is something for everyone! Prepare to SCREAM Louisville because haunted houses, haunted shows, and more are now open!!!!

What are some of the big surprises in store for haunt goers in 2009? Most attractions in Louisville are building more and more unique special effects that scare entire groups at one time. The crowds have grown at haunted houses across the nation so in an effort to make more people scream at one time you’ll find in many haunted houses entire rooms that lay down some sort of overall scare, attempting to scare up to 50 people at one time. So beware of entire rooms doing something to rattle your cage this October, and it’s something you’ll see a lot more of into the future. Also look for more and more haunted houses to try and scare guests before they ever enter the attractions, it’s now called QUE LINE ENTERTAINMENT, where haunts try to make you scream and set the mood while you wait in line. Finally, if you go to see a horror-filled theatrical show be prepared to get splattered. Most Halloween related plays and musicals are now offering “Splatter Zones.”

Costumes are another big improvement in most haunted houses in 2009. More and more Hollywood costume and special effect companies leave Hollywood in favor of CGI and now we are seeing these artisans leave Hollywood for the haunt industry. So expect a marked improvement and realism at the monster that is chasing you through your favorite local haunted house. Not to mention, Louisville costume parties are going to be quite an event to see with all of the advanced costumes that are being created.

Haunted attraction are scarier, bigger, and better than ever before… now is your chance to visit a Louisville area haunted event!

Haunts are open now! Find one and prepare to SCREAM!