On the 2013 Kentucky Derby Eve, The Julep Ball will be the ‘Love Shack’.  The B-52s will headline The Julep Ball as it expands into new venue, The Yum! Center in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

That’s when the World’s Greatest Party Band, the B-52s, will perform at The Julep Ball, the premiere Derby Eve Party with a Purpose.  The Julep Ball is being held in the Yum! Center for the first time.

 The fun starts with a 6:30 p.m. cocktail hour on Friday, May 3. Dinner will take place on the main floor at 8 p.m. followed by a live auction. The B-52s will take the stage at 10 p.m.

 The Julep Ball makes its move to the Yum! Center this year to take advantage of the venue’s cutting-edge technical and staging capabilities. “As the event has grown over the years, we realized we wanted to feature bigger entertainment, and the Yum! Center is the venue that can best showcase all the events and entertainment that make up The Julep Ball,” said Michael Neumann, associate director for special projects in the Office of Development at the U of L Health Sciences Center.

 As big a party as The Julep Ball is, it has an even bigger purpose: to support the clinicians, researchers and patients of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville.

 “Kentucky is a beautiful state, a wonderful state, but we still have a major problem with cancer in Kentucky,” Donald Miller, M.D., director of the Brown Cancer Center, said. “Supporters of The Julep Ball help us advance the war on cancer and better meet the needs of our patients and their families. We cannot thank our volunteers and supporters enough for what they help make possible.”

 The 2013 Julep Ball will again feature all the fun and excitement of past years – with a few new surprises being planned. Organizers said the attire will be “decidedly more relaxed” this year –party-goers should come dressed ready to party in cocktail attire, which means attendees are welcome to come straight from Churchill Downs.

Local and national business leaders, horse industry professionals and celebrities from sports, music, cinema and television again will be on hand. The celebrity red carpet entrance will return, as will dancing until the wee hours of Saturday morning following the B-52s concert.

While some think the 2013 Kentucky Derby tickets are the hot tickets in town, The Julep Ball has sold out for many years.  Right now, the event is already about halfway sold out, Neumann said, so party-goers should get their tickets now. The full evening’s entertainment is $500 per person while dance-only tickets are $150 per person. For further information and to buy tickets, go to The Julep Ball website julepball.org

For more photos of last years Julep Ball – see our Kentucky Derby Tours website at  https://kentuckyderbytours.com/2012-tour/