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GonzoFest returns for its 10th and final year

Buy the ticket, take the ride.

Journalist and writer Hunter S. Thompson stands in front of a cluttered desk.

Thompson lived in Derby City until he left for the United States Air Force in 1955 at the age of 18.

Photo by Helen Davis/The Denver Post via Wikimedia Commons

After a two-year hiatus, GonzoFest, a celebration of Louisville journalist Hunter S. Thompson, will return for its 10th and final year.

Founded in 2010, the festival honors Thompson, who was born in the Highlands in 1937, and his achievements as the self-proclaimed father of Gonzo journalism — read: “The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved”through spoken word, music, and art.

For its last hurrah, the music and literacy fest will be hosted more intimately at Butchertown’s High Horse Bar (versus Waterfront Park) on Friday, July 14 and Saturday, July 15 from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. each day.

Only 400 tickets are being sold for the event and cost $25 for both days.

Here’s a look at what’s planned so far:

  • Panel discussion on the book “The Hell’s Angel’s Letters” co-authored by Hunter S. Thompson and edited by GonzoFest co-founder, Kentucky poet, and friend of Hunter, Ron Whitehead.
  • Screening of “Outlaw Poet: The Legend of Ron Whitehead”
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