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Select Traveler Conference Heads to Louisville in 2018

The annual Select Traveler Conference is a three-day event, but FAM tours before and after the conference will give delegates the opportunity to stay a while longer and explore the highlights of the region. Louisville, Kentucky, which will host the 2018 Select Traveler Conference February 4-6, has plans for great tours before and after the conference.

 

Preconference FAM

The preconference FAM trip will begin Thursday, February 1, with departure from Louisville to nearby Oldham County and a visit to Hermitage, a world-class Thoroughbred operation that has produced Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup winners. That will be followed by a ride to Covington, Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati. Friday, February 2, will bring a visit to the Creation Museum and its journey through biblical history featuring many exhibits.

Saturday, February 3, is reserved for a trip to the Ark Encounter, a full-size Noah’s Ark built according to the Bible’s measurements: 51 feet high, 510 feet long and 85 feet wide. Guests will tour the ark and imagine life as it might have existed for man and beast. That will be followed by a visit to Old Friends, a retirement farm for Thoroughbreds whose racing and breeding careers have ended. The preconference FAM group will return to Louisville in time for registration at the Select Traveler Conference.

The Louisville CVB has a fun event planned for all delegates the first night of the conference. “We’re planning a Sunday opening-night Super Bowl Party to be hosted at Tavern on Fourth at the Fourth Street Live! entertainment complex in downtown Louisville,” said the CVB’s Susan Dallas.

Postconference FAM

Right after the conference ends, postconference FAM tours will begin. On Tuesday, February 6, the group will visit famed Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby Museum, with a walking tour of the grounds. Next will be a visit to Speed Art Museum on the campus of the University of Louisville, followed by a tour of the historic Old Louisville neighborhood nearby. Dinner that night will be at the AAA Four Diamond English Grill in downtown Louisville’s Brown Hotel.

Stops on Wednesday, February 7, will include Louisville Stoneware, which has produced decorative pieces for homes and kitchens since 1815, and the Evan William Bourbon Experience, a minidistillery and museum on downtown Louisville’s Whiskey Row. Next will be the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, where world-famous Louisville Slugger baseball bats are produced.

Lunch will be across the river from Downtown Louisville in southern Indiana at Joe Huber’s Family Farm and Restaurant. Locals say the fried chicken is to die for. Next will be a stroll through the historic Culbertson Mansion in New Albany, Indiana. That evening’s dinner and entertainment will feature the Derby Dinner Playhouse for a buffet meal and Broadway-style show.

Thursday, February 8, will bring a stop at the Vintage Fire Museum, where historic fire trucks and artifacts are displayed. Then it will be on to Falls of the Ohio, along the Ohio River across from downtown Louisville. The trip will end with a stop at historic Schimpff’s Confectionary in Jeffersonville, Indiana, for a live candy-making demonstration.