Throwback Thursday: Southern Kentucky Hospitality returns to the state fair
For generations of Kentuckians, August has meant one thing: it’s state fair time. But the Kentucky State Fair we know today, with its rides, concerts, livestock, exhibits and endless supply of fair food, has a history stretching back more than two hundred years. And believe it or not, it all started at Churchill Downs.
Kentucky’s agricultural fair tradition dates to 1816, when Fayette County farmer Colonel Lewis Sanders organized an early fair and livestock show. But the official Kentucky State Fair was created by the General Assembly in 1902, intended to promote and improve Kentucky’s livestock, agriculture and related industries. That first official fair was held at Churchill Downs, but it didn’t stay put. The second fair went to Owensboro in 1903. After skipping 1904 during a legal dispute over state funding, it moved to Lexington in 1905 before returning to Louisville.
Louisville eventually became its permanent home. For decades, Kentuckians poured through those gates for cattle and horse competitions, tobacco and produce displays and agricultural demonstrations. But there were also businesses showing off the latest products and technology, along with music, food, and entertainment. The state fair became part agricultural competition, part entertainment, and part giant showcase of Kentucky life.
By the middle of the 20th century, Kentucky had outgrown those old fairgrounds. In 1946, state lawmakers authorized bonds for a new fair and exposition center. A decade later, in 1956, the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center opened near the Louisville airport, and it’s been the state fair’s home ever since.
And this year, one of those communities has returned to the state fair in a big way. For the first time in more than 25 years, Bowling Green and Warren County are represented in the Hall of Counties, thanks to the Southern Kentucky Hospitality Association. The fair is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, and our area’s hospitality businesses felt now was the time to return.
The association sponsored the BGKY-area booth, giving our area attractions, hotels, venues, restaurants, city, and county a place to introduce themselves to the over half million folks from across the Commonwealth who visit the fair. Every day, attendees can enter giveaways for a free overnight stay in Bowling Green, along with admission tickets to our area’s major attractions.
The Southern Kentucky Hospitality Association represents more than 40 area hospitality businesses and is the biggest group advocate for the industry of travel and hospitality in this area. The association is open to any business or organization that represents the hospitality industry. It’s a modern version of something the Kentucky State Fair has been doing for more than 120 years: giving Kentucky’s communities a place to show the rest of the Commonwealth who they are and invite people to come experience it for themselves.
