Festivals

APPLE FESTIVAL

4818 Kentucky 144 • reidorchard.com

Billy and Kathy Reid started the Apple Festival in 1986 as a way to invite the community together to celebrate, educate and provide for one another. That first year, it had 20 craft booths, three rides for the younger children and approximately eight food booths. It has since grown to 100 craft booths, 20 food booths and an entire carnival with 20 rides. The festival has been named a Top 10 event by the Kentucky Tourism Council and a Top 20 event by the Southeast Tourism Society, which covers 11 states.

CHRISTMAS AT PANTHER CREEK

5160 Wayne Bridge Road • daviesscountyparks.com

In 2003, Daviess Fiscal Court launched Christmas at Panther Creek, which was then billed as “western Kentucky’s premier holiday lights driving tour.” An estimated 10,000 vehicles, with people from several counties, toured the park. The idea was to familiarize people in the area with where Panther Creek Park is located. There was no admission charge in 2003. Today, admission is $5 a carload. Fiscal Court splits the money received with five nonprofit agencies that collect admission fees each night from the day after Thanksgiving until Jan. 2. In 2020, an estimated 10,000 vehicles drove through the park looking at 500,000 Christmas lights, raising $50,000.

OWENSBORO AIR SHOW

INTERNATIONAL BAR-B-Q FESTIVAL

2200 Airport Road and Downtown • OwensboroAirshow.com

In 2012, the City of Owensboro created the Owensboro Air Show as a way to celebrate the reopening of Smothers Park after a $68 million expansion. An estimated 13,000 people turned out for the event. The air show has continued every year except 2020, when it was among many events canceled by the coronavirus pandemic. When the air show returned in 2021, it was “one of the Top 10 air shows in the country,” according to Tim Ross, the city’s public events director. Ross said the performers “commented about how much they love coming to Owensboro because of the way they’re treated here.” He said, “I’m proud of the fact Owensboro has built a brand as far the air show industry goes. Cities like Nashville don’t get the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds and the Snow Birds as often as we’ve had them.”

Every second weekend in May, Owensboro’s riverfront draws thousands to its famed celebration of barbecue. Most years see up to 35,000 people from several states converging into downtown for Owensboro’s annual two days of gluttony, where calories are forgotten during festival time downtown. Tons of chicken, mutton and pork are cooked over hickory logs, and the aroma drifts throughout downtown. The smoke signals barbecue fans to head for the riverfront. In addition to the tons of local barbecue, out-of-town food vendors offer everything from Greek to Italian to Mexican to emu to fast food. Anything that can be deepfried likely will be. The event was created in 1979 to promote Daviess County barbecue. In 2016, it was named the nation’s third-best barbecue festival in USA TODAY’s 10 Best Barbecue Festivals Readers’ Choice competition. But locals will argue that it should be No. 1. What’s now the All-American Fourth of July in Owensboro began more than 40 years ago as part of Summer Festival, an event that replaced the Owensboro Hydrofair, which had replaced the Owensboro Regatta. Before 1981, fireworks had been part of the boat races, which rarely fell on July 4. But Summer Festival began including fireworks, along with a pops concert by the Owensboro Symphony every year on Independence Day. When the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, the city created the Healthy at Home Fireworks — shooting fireworks from several places in the city so people could enjoy them without being in crowds. “The unique way we celebrated [in 2020] with locations throughout the city was a huge success,” Tim Ross, director of public events, said. “Other cities around the country even began using that same concept due to crowd size restrictions after seeing how well it worked here in Owensboro.”

Downtown • bbqfest.com