The Owensboro-Daviess County Visitor’s Bureau is trying to make their office one of the first stops in town for tourists looking for attractions or just trying to find what the community has to offer.
Mark Calitri, President/CEO of Visit Owensboro, said the board of directors challenged the organization to come up with a strategic plan to create the most significant economic impact on the community while also showcasing a story about Owensboro.
“Our board challenged us to rethink our visitor experience and how we engage with our guests and tell the unique, authentic story of Owensboro and Daviess County,” Calitri said.
With this in mind, their office at 215 East 2nd Street is getting a facelift, including a revitalized gift shop.
At the head of all the renovations is local artist and contractor Aaron Kizer. He said his inspiration for the whole project is the uniqueness of Owensboro.
“I love to see local culture come to life and Visit Owensboro is doing just that with bluegrass, barbecue, and bourbon,” Kizer said. “We’re bringing back the culture here and showing what makes Owensboro the most unique.”
To add to the art in the building, Kizer has a potential plan to create a living gallery for local artists to introduce visitors to the city’s art scene.
Visit Owensboro is also partnering with the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum and Green River Distillery on the project.
The building will be adding promotional signage for the Hall of Fame, including artwork facing the bridge for travelers to take in as they enter the city. Some instruments from the Hall of Fame will also be on display at the visitor center.
“All the creative elements coming together in the visitor center is an example of the larger economic strategy around cultural tourism and putting the uniqueness of Owensboro on display,” said Chris Joslin, Executive Director of the Hall of Fame.
Meanwhile, Green River Distillery will be donating different iconic parts of their facility to the visitor’s center. The desks at Visit Owensboro are set to have barrel staves, bourbon barrels will fill the room, and the walls will mimic the color schemes of the distillery. They will also be supplying Visit Owensboro a Terry Bradshaw and John Wayne memorabilia display as well.
Forrest Smallwood, Marketing Director for Green River, said that the partnership with Kizer and Visit Owensboro is crucial.
“For me it’s big,” he said. “We’re taking the brand of Green River far and wide and [Kizer] is known far and wide and we want to brand with him.”
