They may be pretty, but small towns aren’t just for show. From art and music to bourbon and outdoor adventure, these five small towns in Kentucky not only provide meeting groups with tailored experiences, but also offer unique event spaces where everyone can soak up the state’s history and culture.

Danville

Danville is considered the birthplace of Kentucky. It was the site of 10 constitutional conventions after the Revolutionary War that determined Kentucky would break off from Virginia and become its own state. The historic downtown could be featured in a Hallmark movie. The city recently spent $7 million on a major streetscape project that widened sidewalks to allow restaurants and coffee shops to have outdoor seating.

The town has a thriving arts scene with the Art Center of the Bluegrass and the GLASS National Art Museum, which has the largest collection of glass art by glass master Stephen Rolfe Powell, along with multiple theaters and performance venues. A downtown art trail takes visitors to see 20-plus sculptures and murals.

Danville’s Wilderness Trail Distillery is the 18th stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and the city is also home to Blue Rook Distillery, which is focused on sugarcane spirits instead of bourbon. Wilderness Trail Distillery offers tours and workshops to teach guests how the bourbon fermentation process works.

A former Presbyterian church is now 1828 Perryville Chateau, an event venue for up to 120 guests. The Art Center of the Bluegrass also has event space.

While in town, attendees can take a self-guided tour of Constitution Square and a guided tour of the McDowell House & Apothecary Shop Museum.

Danville has 455 hotel rooms and 50 short-term rentals, and the Holiday Inn Express, Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites by Hilton all have smaller event spaces.

danvillekentucky.com

Paducah

Paducah sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers in far Western Kentucky, on the border with Illinois. Designated a UNESCO Creative City, it’s one of only 10 in the U.S., and creativity and culture shape every experience. Downtown is filled with art and world-class museums, and the culinary scene is peppered with James Beard-nominated chefs. Downtown Paducah is walkable with galleries, local shops and eateries up and down its brick-lined streets.

There is a beautiful river walk with murals along the floodwalls that highlight Paducah’s history in art. The National Quilt Museum is a major draw for people around the world who make quilts or want to learn about them. Visiting groups can add signature experiences to their events, from making their own quilt blocks and taking behind-the-scenes tours to attending live performances.

With 2,000 hotel rooms and a wide selection of event spaces, Paducah has much to offer meeting groups. The Paducah-McCracken County Convention & Expo Center has 100,000 square feet of flexible indoor event space, including a 39,204-square-foot exhibit hall, 13 breakout rooms and 17 total event rooms. The largest space can host groups of up to 783 theatre style. The 123-room Holiday Inn Paducah Riverfront Hotel is next to the convention center.

The Carson Center for the Performing Arts has multiple large spaces for conferences and events. The 1857 Hotel & Events Center can host groups of up to 175, and The Grand Lodge on Fifth can host groups of 300.

paducah.travel

Owensboro

Located on a scenic bend of the Ohio River in Western Kentucky, Owensboro has made a name for itself in the barbecue, bourbon and bluegrass music scenes. It is considered the “Bluegrass Music Capital of the World,” and the city is home to the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, the ROMP Festival, the Kentucky Fiddle Championships, Bluegrass Unlimited magazine and the “My Bluegrass Story” TV series.

It is a mile walk from RiverPark Center to the Owensboro Convention Center, which has just under 102,000 square feet of event space, including a 44,000-square-foot exhibit hall. There are two ballrooms and a river view room on the third floor, and the Kentucky Legend Pier offers 8,900 square feet of event space on the Ohio River.

Three hotels on the riverfront are close to the convention center: Holiday Inn, Hampton and Home2Suites. Two of those have event space. Off-site venues include The Miller House restaurant, which is in a historic home and serves one of the largest bourbon selections in the area; Big Whiskey’s American Restaurant & Bar, which offers space to host private dinners and business meetings; and The Brew Bridge, serving brewpub fare like pizza, wings and sliders alongside their craft beers. For fun, groups can go to Maui’s Indoor Theme Park, which has duckpin bowling, miniature golf, go-kart racing, laser tag and arcade games.

visitowensboro.com

Cave City

Cave City is home to several public and private caves, including its most famous: Mammoth Cave National Park. And while Mammoth is the largest, Onyx Cave and Rock Shop, Jesse James Riding Stables and Outlaw Cave, Diamond Caverns, and Crystal Onyx Cave are known for their history and beautiful geological formations.

Downtown Cave City is a historic commercial district that grew with the arrival of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in 1859. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Rail District features a bookstore, pizza parlor, Dueling Grounds Distillery (the first distillery to open its doors in Cave City), MB Roland Distillery, and two popular bars, The Dive and The Roxglass. Located inside the historic Ace Theater, Ace Coffee also has an event space called The Ace Alley, a connected outdoor bar and entertainment venue with a stage and sound equipment, food truck and catering services, and a green space.

The Cave Area Conference Center is the largest event space in the area, boasting 24,000 square feet of interior lobby and meeting space, including a 700-seat auditorium and a 4,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion. The Conference Center can host groups of 20 to 1,000.

The city has 600 hotel rooms, along with cabins, teepees and RV parks.

For fun, groups can explore the life-size dinosaur replicas at Dinosaur World, go horseback riding, or enjoy outdoor adventure at Mammoth Valley Park, which has disc golf, an alpine slide, a chairlift and twin zip lines.

cavecity.com

Madisonville

Madisonville bills itself as an outdoor recreation destination because of its many parks, including Mahr Park Arboretum. Located about an hour south of Evansville, Indiana, and about two hours northwest of Nashville, Madisonville is a convenient regional destination.

The arboretum has two event venues: Barn A and Barn B. Barn A is former storage barn was converted to an indoor event venue that can host groups of 150. One end of the building has two overhead garage doors that can be opened to extend an event to an outdoor patio, and it comes with a catering kitchen. Barn B is a rustic, open-air venue featuring 4,400 square feet of covered event space plus an uncovered patio. The outdoor venue has capacity for up to 220 guests, but Mahr Park Arboretum has hosted much larger events, such as Madisonville Illuminated, a hot-air balloon glow event.

The Ballard Convention Center is located at the fairgrounds in downtown Madisonville. There are three event spaces in the building that can accommodate groups of 75 to 400. Madisonville City Park Clubhouse can hold 166 theater style. The city has about 560 hotel rooms and several short-term rentals.

Off-site venues include Tradewater Brewing Company, which can host gatherings in its taproom, and smaller groups can improve their game on the golf simulators. The Social Tap, near the convention center, has live music and pool tables. The Kentucky Sports Factory is a 90,000-square-foot indoor sports facility with an indoor turf soccer field and basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts. It has a small meeting room that can fit 50 people with plenty of opportunities for team-building activities.

visitmadisonvilleky.com