(Frankfort, Ky.)--The menu for the annual Governor’s Derby Breakfast will have a decidedly southern flair when thousands of visitors flock to the state capitol grounds the morning of May 3 for some pre-Kentucky Derby fun.   

“There is sure to be something for everyone in this deep-rooted Kentucky celebration,” Gov. Steve Beshear said. “It’s an honor to host the annual breakfast on a day that Kentucky shines to the world.”

Beginning at 7 a.m. about 70 workers from the Kentucky Department of Parks will serve up more than 2,000 pounds of country ham, 15,000 biscuits and servings of cheese grits, 25,000 scrambled eggs, and 1,200 pounds of sausage to an anticipated 12,000 hungry attendees. 

The breakfast is free and open to the public. Food will be served continuously until 11 a.m., with coffee and juice available throughout the morning. Other activities include craft booths, tethered hot air balloons (weather permitting) and a variety of entertainment that will take place on two stages on the capitol grounds. 

This year the event goes “green” for the first time as the plastic dining ware and about 400 aluminum pans used for cooking and serving will be recycled as tables are cleared.  Plates, cups, knives and forks will be bussed to specially marked cans and then emptied to a truck tucked out of sight behind the breakfast tent just to the east of the Capitol Annex.  The amount to be recycled is significant enough to reduce the number of receptacles needed to clean up after the festivities. 

Parking will be available at the Human Resources Building located on East Main Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. Free shuttle buses will run from there to the capitol from 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Shuttles will make a stop at the Kentucky History Center on the return to Human Resources. Handicapped parking will be available in the parking lot just west of the capitol.