With ROMP just a month away, the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum is shifting its focus from planning to site preparation.
“It is like building a small city,” said Marketing Director Carly Smith.
The festival, which will celebrate its 16th year, has loyal partners, Smith said, who are familiar with what it takes to get ready for the four-day event, making the process like a “well-oiled machine.”
One of those partners, Visit Owensboro, has released an events and transportation guide for festival goers. When the much-anticipated lineup is not on the main stage, ticket holders are encouraged to explore Owensboro. Visit Owensboro rents Owensboro Transit System trolleys and shuttles ROMP guests for free to the two downtown hotels, the Hall of Fame and Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens. O.Z. Tyler Distillery will also run its own shuttle during ROMP.
“ROMP gives us an opportunity to showcase the rest of Owensboro to an audience we don’t regularly reach,” said Visit Owensboro’s Dave Kirk. “The more reasons we give people to visit Owensboro, the more often they’ll come back.”
The Hall of Fame will offer a documentary in the Woodward Theatre, a discounted rate into museum exhibits, meet and greets with ROMP musicians and live music in the lobby.
“Our traffic during previous ROMPs at the former museum was high,” Smith said. “So many people are looking for other things to do during the hottest part of the day.”
Smith said with the Hall of Fame’s new location, she believes many festival goers will explore downtown Owensboro’s shops and restaurants.
Another stop available on the trolley will be Western Kentucky Botanical Gardens, which will be celebrating a festival of its own. The 10th annual Dazzling Daylilies Festival will be taking over the garden from June 20-29, offering ROMP goers a unique outing for just $3 per person.
“We have fun receiving them,” said Garden Director Susie Tyler.
While the garden has hosted ROMP ticket holders before, this year they will offer a popsicle station for visitors to cool off.
“The popsicles will be given by the garden as a gesture of hospitality,” she said, adding that the idea came from the Visit Owensboro partnership.
O.Z. Tyler Distillery Master Distiller Jacob Call values the partnership with ROMP, which he said has been successful in the past.
“Our visitor numbers absolutely increase,” Call said of ROMP week. “Some of the guests have visited distilleries before, but this does give them opportunity to visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail while in Owensboro.”
ROMP ticket holders can buy a distillery tour ticket for $10.
Smith said she is happy that Visit Owensboro recognizes the influx of visitors ROMP brings to the community.
“They understand that this is a great way to showcase all Owensboro and Daviess County has to offer,” she said.
Last year ROMP brought 27,500 people to its Yellow Creek Park venue site. Smith said with ticket sales so far, she believes the festival is tracking to see the same number again next month.
