It’s said that Owensboro, Kentucky, is known primarily for three things: bluegrass music, bourbon and barbecue. And that’s all true. But this city of 60,000 right on the Kentucky-Indiana border offers more than that.
“It’s right on the Ohio River,” said Dave Kirk, director of destination management at Visit Owensboro. “Most of our tourism and meeting infrastructure is in the downtown corridor right along the water. Downtown is super vibrant, super safe and very walkable.”
Owensboro will host next year’s Select Traveler Conference, March 9–11. Attendees will learn that Owensboro’s downtown is buzzing with three hotels, a convention center, and plenty of shops, restaurants and spaces to gather. It’s also home to newly renovated riverfront parks and beautiful botanical gardens, alongside its quintessentially Kentucky attractions.
Arts and Entertainment
Kentucky’s contributions to bluegrass music are hard to overstate, and Owensboro bills itself as the Bluegrass Music Capital of the World. The city became the heart of this celebrated musical genre thanks to one of its signature attractions: the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum. This museum honors all of the many talented musicians whose artistry shaped the music and explores the history of the genre through artifacts and curated exhibits.
The sleek $15 million museum opened in 2018 and is located right on the water in downtown Owensboro. It features 50,000 square feet of exhibits and a 450-seat theater hall for concerts. It’s also the producer of events like the ROMP Festival, a bluegrass music festival held in Yellow Creek Park that lasts four days and features dozens of musicians. The theater regularly hosts performances and concerts, too.
Groups touring the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum will learn about music history and see artifacts, including instruments, costumes, photographs and digital assets like video interviews. They can see exhibits dedicated to some of the best-known bluegrass musicians, from the “Father of Bluegrass,” Bill Monroe, to greats like Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. Rotating exhibits let guests explore a variety of musicians and eras of the genre, and there are also opportunities for hands-on fun, like photo-ops.
“There’s a lot for groups to do at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum,” said Kirk. “There’s the theater hall for shows, the hall of inductees and their tours. And they can do a picking session, where they play a song on a bluegrass instrument, like a mandolin, fiddle, guitar or banjo.”
The hall of fame, founded in 1991, has dozens of inductees for visitors to learn about. Inductees include contemporary musicians who are still innovating within the genre, like Alison Krauss, who was inducted in 2021.
But the fun doesn’t stop at bluegrass. Other venues in the town, such as the riverfront and the downtown convention center, are also great places to find concerts and live music.
Visual arts are represented, too, at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art. The museum, housed in a building on the National Register of Historic Places, has a collection with over 4,000 pieces of art from all over the world, including work by Pablo Picasso, Thomas Lawrence and Martin Johnson Heade. Admission is free.
Comfort Food
One of the most famous barbecue spots in the whole state, let alone the city, is Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn. Located in an unassuming brick building west of downtown, the restaurant has been delighting its customers since the 1960s and has racked up awards for its downhome fare. The restaurant is most famous for its barbecue mutton, served at a daily lunch and dinner buffet, which also includes mains like fried catfish, barbecue chicken, beef brisket and pork ribs. Burgoo, another Kentucky staple, is also on the menu.
Sides include more Southern comfort food, like cornbread, cole slaw, potato salad, barbecue beans and vegetables. It may be a tall order, but saving room for dessert is a must. Scratch-made pies, cobbler, banana pudding and a host of other sweet treats are all on offer, and a scoop of ice cream is the cherry on top.
Moonlite has 350-plus seats and bus parking for groups, Kirk said.
It’s also not the only barbecue spot in town; Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, closer to downtown, was founded in 1918 and is known for its hickory-smoked meats, including mutton, beef brisket, pork and chicken. The restaurant serves barbecue plates and sandwiches in a casual setting.
Finally, Ole South Barbeque, on the east side of town, considers itself the best-kept barbecue secret in Owensboro. It serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and adds burgers to the menu in addition to the staples found at the other restaurants.
Beyond barbecue, several other noteworthy restaurants in the heart of downtown Owensboro include Colby’s Fine Food and Spirits, a diner-style restaurant with entrees ranging from prime rib to fried chicken; The Brew Bridge, a craft brewery that’s connected to a courtyard and arcade; and Goodwood Brewing, which serves elevated pub fare and is right on the water.
In addition to the great culinary scene in town, there are lots of ways for visitors to explore agritourism ventures in the nearby countryside.
“Lots of orchards surround the city,” Kirk said. “There’s Reid’s Orchard and Trunnell’s Farm Experience, where people can pick fruit and go for hayrides, too.”
Gateway to Bourbon
The food scene in Owensboro isn’t complete without its robust spirits.
Its most famous spirit comes from Green River Distilling Company, a distillery on the far western edge of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail that produces upward of 95,000 barrels of bourbon each year. It was founded in 1885, which makes it the 10th oldest distillery in Kentucky. The 26-acre campus is located right on the river.
“Green River Distilling is just a five-minute drive from downtown,” Kirk said. “They offer fully immersive tours of the property to see how the bourbon is made.”
In addition to tours of the campus and traditional tastings, the distillery offers more hands-on bourbon-themed experiences, such as cocktail-making classes. There’s also the Barrel Thieving tour, a behind-the-scenes tour that lets guests sample bourbon directly from the barrels where it’s aging and comes with a glass guests can take home. The Single Barrel Distillery Tour lets groups join Aaron Harris, the company’s head distiller, for a guided, behind-the-scenes tour of the bourbon-making process.
The campus also includes a bourbon lounge and a gift shop.
Holiday World
Nestled in a little town called Santa Claus, Indiana, just a 36-minute drive from Owensboro, travelers will find Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari. The amusement park-waterpark combo is an impressive addition to Owensboro’s long list of attractions and can make for a great group outing.
“We’re the closest major city to Holiday World,” Kirk said. “Holiday World is consistently ranked as one of the cleanest theme parks in America and as one of the best water parks.”
As the name would suggest, the park is themed around different holidays. That includes sections of the campus dedicated to the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Rides, attractions and eateries in each section have holiday-inspired names and color schemes, adding to the fun.
Several of the park’s roller coasters have earned accolades, including The Voyage (found in the Thanksgiving section), which was named among the top wooden coasters in America by Time Magazine and Golden Ticket Awards. The park’s other coasters, including The Legend and The Raven, are also great for thrill-seekers.
The adjoining waterpark, Splashin’ Safari, has been nominated for best waterpark in America by organizations like USA Today and Tripadvisor for several years running, thanks to its rides like the water coaster known as the Mammoth.
“It’s got world-class attractions, but it’s small enough you can get around the park,” Kirk said.
In addition to being recognized for its cleanliness, the park also provides free soft drinks and free sunscreen to all of its visitors. Another perk is the park’s low price tag compared with other amusement parks.
“Tickets are super affordable compared with Disney, but it’s a big family destination so it mixes really well with what we offer here,” said Kirk.
