Mint Juleps and extravagant hats can only mean one thing – it’s Derby time!
Shreveport Derby Day started with a plan to bring a great event to the heart of Shreveport and has evolved into a popular party where fun and fashion win the day.
While creating and organizing the first Shreveport Derby Day, organizer Matt Snyder of PinPoint Local Marketing didn’t realize it would later become a staple of the event scene. He crunched the event’s budget numbers the week before Derby Day and they were $16,000 in the hole. Only 230 tickets to the event had sold at that point. “I’m sitting at my computer while my four children and my wife are sleeping and I’m thinking, ‘You just lost everything.’ I really thought I’d made a big mistake,” Snyder said.
Snyder had an interview that morning on KTBS, so he put on a bowtie to “go on the news, talk Derby Day, and pray something happens.” That bowtie became a conversation starter many times that day. At one point, he sold more than a dozen tickets in Strawn’s. After that, he decided to wear a bowtie every day that week. “Everyone asked me what I was doing and we would talk about (Derby Day),” he said.
The third annual Shreveport Derby Day is coming up next month and the afternoon-long party will be held again on the lush grounds of the R.W. Norton Art Gallery. Emily Feazel, R.W. Norton Art Gallery creative and visual arts instructor, says they are excited to play host to the event again. “An event like Shreveport Derby Day, being held on the front lawn, is a one-of-a-kind event for our city.”
Derby Day pays homage to the pomp and tradition of the 143rd running of the Kentucky Derby, while also attracting attendees who are new to the experience.
“The first year I saw a 70-year old man dancing next to a girl with a sleeve tattoo. That’s my favorite part of the event – all the different people,” Snyder said.
Just shy of the 800 tickets available for the festivities sold the first year. They added more tickets the second year and sold out – one thousand Derby-goers attended. Now in year three, the event continues to add tickets with 1,200 tickets up for grabs. “Last year we sold out eight days in advance and people were going crazy to get tickets. They are $85 tickets and I saw one sell for $400. It was nuts,” Snyder said.
This year, the price of admission includes complimentary raffle tickets for guests to “bet” on their favorite horse, as well as food and drink. Those who bet on the winning horse get a chance to win raffle prizes. Guests at the event may also participate in Kentucky Derby traditions like drinking mint juleps by Wine Country Bistro and competing in contests for best-dressed and best hat.
The best hat competition has been renamed the “Jane Ryder Best Hat Award” after the late Shreveport fashion icon. Ryder was instrumental in helping Snyder plan the first Derby Day.
After speaking on the phone, the Snyder/Ryder duo finally met by chance in a grocery store when Snyder says he heard her distinctive voice and introduced himself. Ryder went on to craft a hat for Snyder’s wife and run the best hat contest the first year. She was excited to jump in the second year of the event but she had fallen ill. Snyder says he told her not to worry about the event, “… but in true Jane fashion, she told me to stop talking about that. She wanted to be out there no matter what.”
Ryder succumbed to cancer just shy of the second Derby Days. “No one loved the idea of Derby Day more than Jane Ryder and me. It was built for us to do together,” said Snyder.
Famous for its custom fascinators and hats, Fête la Femme is this year’s Official Hat Sponsor. Shreveport Derby Day will also feature live music by New Orleansbased blues-funk band John Lisi & Delta Funk!, food by Drake Catering, an open bar featuring traditional Kentucky Derby cocktails by Wine Country Bistro and beer by Great Raft Brewing, along with big screen televisions broadcasting “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports.”
The third annual Shreveport Derby Day will be held on Saturday, May 6, from 2 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $85 each and may be purchased online at www.derbydayshreveport.com. Tickets must be purchased in advance and guests must be 21 years or older. VIP table package are also available.
– Melissa Airhart Photos special ot CityLife
