Owensboro

Owensboro is a town on the banks of the Ohio River in Kentucky's Western Coal Fields. It bills itself as the Barbecue Capital of the World and has had some interesting figures call it home over the years, such as Beulah Annan, whose story inspired the play and movie Chicago; Florence Henderson, aka Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch; NASCAR great Darrell Waltrip (as well as his brother Michael, also a longtime NASCAR driver); and Johnny Depp. On a darker note, it was also the site of the last public hanging in the United States, the subject being an African American, in 1936.

By car
The Owensboro aka Glover Bridge connects Owensboro with Indiana, whereas I-165 connects it with Bowling Green to the south and US Route 60 with Henderson to the west.

Do




Events
Owensboro is known as 'The City of Festivals', serving host to many local and international festivals and fairs. Some of the more popular, recurring events include:
 * Friday After 5, offering multiple venues of live entertainment along the beautiful riverfront every Friday starting around Memorial Day and running through Labor Day.
 * The International Bar-B-Q Festival, second weekend of May
 * The River of Music Party (ROMP), a 4-day bluegrass music festival held at Owensboro's Yellow Creek Park.
 * The Apple Festival
 * The Owensboro PumpkinFest, held in September
 * The Owensboro Air Show, held on a weekend in September along the riverfront, with a static aircraft display at the airport the day before.

Buy
Like most U.S. cities of its size, Owensboro has the usual assortment of "standard" retail chains, such as Walmart, Target, Kohl's, etc. However, for a more unique retail buying experience, a visit to the stores listed below is recommended.

Eat
While Owensboro is best known regionally for two dishes, barbecue and burgoo (a traditional stew made with mutton, chicken, beef and vegetables), its restaurant scene has broadened to include a number of fine and unique dining establishments.











By phone
Most telephone numbers in Owensboro consist of +1 270 plus a seven-digit number, but the western third of Kentucky is now served by an overlay complex of two area codes, with +1 364 being the second. A local or in-state telephone call now requires all 10 digits of the local number be dialed (omitting just the leading +1 from a local landline call). The same is true on the Indiana side of the river, which has its own overlay complex of 812 and 930.

Signage on many established businesses may still display the original seven-digit numbers; dial 270 before these if no area code is indicated (or 812 if in Indiana).

Go next
Henderson, to the west, is the home of Ellis Park, a thoroughbred horse track that races in the summer months.

To the south are two towns that gave birth to musicians. Rosine is the birthplace of Bill Monroe, the father of Bluegrass music. Central City is the birthplace of Don Everly, the older of the two Everly Brothers, famous for countless hits including "Bye, Bye Love" and "Wake Up Little Susie". (The other brother, Phil, was born in Chicago.)