Kentucky’s college towns are as diverse as its landscapes.
From Morehead in the east to Bowling Green in the west, Kentucky has several college towns that offer everything a meeting planner could want, including full-service event and meeting venues, outdoor activities, top attractions, vibrant downtowns, plenty of guest rooms and a healthy dose of college spirit.
Berea
The town of Berea would not exist without Berea College, which was founded in 1855. The college was the first in the South to be coeducational and racially integrated. Today it has 1,661 students, many of whom came to the area from around the world.
Berea is known for its folk arts and its many hiking and biking trails. The Pinnacles in the Berea College Forest is one of the top hikes in the state, and the Boone Trace Trail allows visitors to walk in the steps of Daniel Boone.
Berea doesn’t have a specific downtown but instead is split into College Square and Artisan Village, both featuring artist studios and local shops and restaurants.
The historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant, which is owned by the college, is the top meeting venue in Berea. It was built in 1909 at the suggestion of Nellie Frost, the wife of Berea College’s president at the time. As the college grew, she couldn’t keep up with the number of guests she was expected to host at her home. The tavern was built and has been serving guests since that time. It has 63 guest rooms and space to host meeting groups of up to 150.
Other venues include Happiness Hills Farm, an 80-acre farm that offers lodging and event space for 100–150 people, and Honeysuckle at Churchill’s, a restaurant built within a former weaving factory. The restaurant is downstairs, and a large event space upstairs can accommodate up to 250. Meeting groups can take tours of Berea College’s campus or include speakers from the college at their events.
Danville
The home of Centre College, Danville is in the center of Kentucky. It is considered the birthplace of the state, which was once part of Virginia. In 1792, Kentucky split off and became its own state, with Danville as its first capital.
Meeting planners interested in Danville can take advantage of the first-class amenities at Centre College to bring a bit of school spirit into their events. The college recently spent millions of dollars renovating its sports facilities, including its football stadium. The Norton Center for the Arts on campus is a performing arts center that brings Broadway shows and big-name concerts to the town of 17,000 people.
Danville’s lively downtown features more than 20 unique restaurants, boutique shops and a robust public art scene. During the summer months, there is a farmer’s market with live music and vendors on Saturday mornings, as well as a monthly music series on the first Thursday of the month in front of the courthouse.
The local Hampton Inn has 72 rooms and a small meeting space for up to 50 people, while the Holiday Inn and Suites has 76 rooms and meeting space for 100. The Art Center of the Bluegrass has a third-floor ballroom that is currently being renovated. It is next door to the GLASS National Art Museum, which houses the largest collection of works by the late glass artist Stephen Rolfe Powell. Camp Horsin’ Around, which is about 20 minutes outside Danville, offers facilities for retreats, including five bunkhouses for up to 140 people and a dining hall that can seat 200.
Bowling Green
Bowling Green is a mid-size university town in the rolling hills of western Kentucky. Western Kentucky University is a major fixture in the city, providing entertainment, sporting events and meeting venues. The city itself is widely known as the home of the Corvette, and several caves in the area are a must see for visitors.
The National Corvette Museum and Motorsports Park has four unique spaces that can host groups from 50 to 1,500 guests, including its conference center, Chevrolet Theater; Corvette Boulevard, which is perfect for receptions, trade shows or conference center overflow; and the Skydome, a popular venue for receptions and special occasions.
Bowling Green has two convention centers, Sloan Convention Center and Knicely Convention Center at WKU. Both have about 35,000 square feet of event space. There are several barn venues in the area that make scenic off-site event spaces. Lost River Cave offers underground boat tours and can host 300 guests in its Cavern Nite Club or up to 60 in its River Birch Room.
Meeting groups can take advantage of the many cultural experiences available at WKU, including performances at Van Meter Hall, a visit to the Kentucky Museum or buying tickets to a WKU sporting event.
There are 3,300 hotel rooms in Bowling Green, including the Hyatt Place Bowling Green, which is connected to the WKU Alumni Center on campus, and the Holiday Inn University Plaza-Bowling Green, which is attached to Sloan Convention Center. The 195-room Embassy Suites features nearly 4,000 square feet of meeting space.
Highland Heights
Northern Kentucky University is located in a suburban area of northern Kentucky called Highland Heights. Truist Arena, a 10,000-seat multipurpose facility located on the NKU campus, is perfect for large sporting events, concerts, regional events and conventions. A specialty curtain system allows the venue to be cut to half its size. Two party decks can accommodate up to 100 people, and two party suites seat up to 50.
The Conference Management and Event Services Office at NKU can match conference guests with many types of overnight accommodations on campus, with over 1,400 beds. The Campus Recreation Center is another location that can host a variety of events, and the Student Union has numerous meeting rooms and a large ballroom that can hold up to 500 for a banquet. The University Center has a ballroom that can fit 200 at round tables, as well as the Otto M. Budig Theater that can hold 250.
Groups taking advantage of campus event spaces can buy tickets to NKU Norse sporting events or see a show at NKU’s Haile Planetarium. The planetarium will also bring its Roaming Dome to events held in the area. The inflatable planetarium can seat 35 adults at a time.
Because of its location, the closest hotels to NKU are in Wilder, which is about three-and-a-half miles from campus. The Holiday Inn and Suites Wilder, Hampton Inn and Suites Wilder, and Comfort Inn and Suites Wilder are all close enough to take advantage of the university’s meeting spaces.
Morehead
Morehead is a unique community in the heart of the Daniel Boone National Forest. Known as an official Kentucky Trail Town, Morehead rerouted the Sheltowee Trace National Trail along its main street downtown. It is also seven miles from Cave Run Lake.
Morehead State University permeates all aspects of the city, since college students spend time in its downtown entertainment district for shopping, restaurants and concerts, and many of the people working in the city attended college there. Groups can meet on campus, but the largest event venue in the area is the Morehead Conference Center, with 27,000 square feet of events space, including an 18,000-square-foot exhibit hall. Eagle Lake is within walking distance of the conference center, making it easy for attendees to hike around the lake during their free time.
The Hampton Inn Morehead has 64 guest rooms and a small meeting room. Meeting attendees can stay at one of the city’s hotels or motels or rent a cabin or campsite for their visit.
Morehead is an outdoor mecca with hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and camping. Groups wanting to incorporate the university into their plans can buy group tickets to a sporting event or invite a guest lecturer from the university to speak at their events. For fun, attendees can watch a show at MSU’s Star Theater planetarium.
