The White Stuff

The Kentucky Derby may well be the cufflink-sporting James Bond of horse races, but it’s still held in Kentucky, which means one thing: Gather the kinfolk and load up yonder jalopy, because it’s time to party like hillbillies. Preferably at the White Trash Derby Bash.

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More About

• Mike Borcherding
• James Bond
• Kentucky Derby
• Horse Racing

“I’ve been doing it for about three years as just kind of a house party,” says organizer Mike Borcherding. “Last year, I started a nonprofit and I figured, what better way to raise money than a white trash party?” That nonprofit was Mile High Gives, of which Borcherding is the president and sole member, and its purpose is to give money directly to someone who needs it. This time around, the beneficiary is Macy Helm, a five-year-old girl with Nephrotic syndrome, a rare condition that will require her to get a kidney transplant; Borcherding became acquainted with her through his wife, a nurse at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center.

“All proceeds go directly to the family, and that’s the important thing,” says Borcherding, who notes that Macy’s entire family will be in attendance, and doesn’t seem to mind the white-trash conceit. As for Macy herself, he notes, “She’s five years old, so she doesn’t really know the difference.”

The hootin’ and hollerin’ runs from 2 to 6 p.m. today at the Ginn Mill, 2041 Larimer Street; tickets are $40, but that includes free beer and shots — “the four hours of open bar is kind of the big selling point,” Borcherding concedes. For more information, visit www.whitetrashderbybash.com.
Sat., May 7, 2 p.m., 2011