A Fundraiser for Pequot Library
Get your tickets for the party of the year!
Experience the excitement of the Kentucky Derby at Pequot Library! Take a stroll around the Great Lawn to view the festive hats, attire, and decorated tailgates. Get your Derby Dollars so that you can enter to win raffle items, take home a bottle of bourbon from the Bourbon Wall, and choose your winning horse for a shot at the top prize in the 50/50 raffle. Trophies will be awarded for Best Hat, Best Dressed, and Best Tailgates. Watch the “Run for the Roses” on the big screen in the auditorium, and celebrate with Kentucky fare and an open bar (plus non-alcoholic options) in the Main Tent, sponsored by the Loya Family. Keep the party going with DJ Rob and the Melt Mobile at the after-party.
Tickets & Tailgates
Festivities
Sponsors
Tailgates & Tickets
Individual Tickets: $150
Tailgates*: $500 (Includes 2 Individual Tickets)
Thank you for your support!
All ticket sales are final. No refunds. Event takes place rain or shine. This event is exclusively for guests 21 and over. Party layout is subject to change at the discretion of Pequot Library staff. For every ticket sold, $1 will be donated to Rising Starr Horse Rescue in Wilton, CT.
*Tailgate details: Tailgate spaces are 10’x20′. Tailgate spots are on grass; ground may be uneven or near low-hanging branches. Guests are welcome to visit Pequot Library in person to view potential tailgate locations. All guests who join a tailgate must have a ticket. Food and alcohol is allowed in tailgate spaces, and tailgate ticket holders are allowed to decorate and set up their space with a vehicle, tent, furniture, etc. Please note: There is no electricity in tailgate spaces, and fire/smoking is prohibited.
Festivities
Join Pequot Library for the party of the year!
Celebrate with Fairfield County-and-beyond’s finest! Enjoy a lovely afternoon of mixing and mingling on Pequot Library’s Great Lawn surrounded by festive hats, entertaining guest tailgates, and the liveliest Derby Day outfits this side of Kentucky. Enjoy five hours of an open bar and yummy food in the Main Tent.
Purchase “Derby Dollars” (in advance online or at the check in table at the event) and spend them on raffle item entries from local businesses, the 50/50 horse race raffle, and bottles from the Bourbon Wall.
Enter to win the 50/50 raffle by choosing the win, place, or show horse, then watch the “greatest two minutes of sports” with other partygoers in Pequot Library’s historic auditorium. Afterward, bring the party to a grand finale with a dance party featuring the hottest DJ around, DJ Rob.
MOST importantly… bolster this historical institution that offers thousands of books to check out, programs for all ages, educational exhibitions, and more at no cost to our patrons. Your support of Derby Day helps keep Pequot Library “free as air to all,” in the words of our founder, Virginia Marquand Monroe.
Schedule of Events
3:00 – Pre-Party: Tailgate Ticket Holders Only
4:00 – Derby Day Party on the Great Lawn
6:50 – Watch the Run for the Roses!
7:00 – After-party
Derby Dollars (DD)
Derby Dollars are for use in the raffle (1 DD per entry), Bourbon Wall purchases (8 DD per bottle), and Horse Voting (1 DD per entry). Derby Dollars (DD) are $5 each and can be purchased in advance or on the day of the event. *DD are for ticketholders’ use only and CANNOT be applied towards tickets.
Awards
Best Tailgate (Win, Place, and Show)
Best Hat
Best Dressed Lady
Best Dressed Gentleman
Curious about Derby Day?
See the highlights from Pequot Library’s 2019 Derby Day Party!
