Welcome, friends, to the Downtown BGKY blog and BRAND NEW website.
We’re SO excited to finally go live with all of this! With over nine months of hard work in development, we’re thrilled for you to finally see the product. Dedicated to showcasing our destination, sharing our stories, and providing resources to help you better navigate the Downtown BGKY landscape, let’s take a deeper dive showing you How-To navigate the new site.
You’ll notice a simple main navigation with menu options to further explore Experiences, where to Stay when you visit overnight, a Resources tab, and a [long-awaited!] Events calendar. There’s also a secondary navigation menu for our About section, this Blog, and an “in the News” tab.
No explanation’s really necessary for any of these, but in case you’re wondering…
Our Experiences tab has four main components showcasing all the “things to do” around the Downtown BGKY scene: Eat & Drink, Shopping, Entertainment, and last but not least, Fountain Row. Visit the first three sections to get a closer look at the places we love where you can dine and snack, have a cocktail, enjoy some retail therapy, take in a performance, or participate in an activity. We labeled them alphabetically and gave you access to their contact info, websites, and social media pages. The Fountain Row page gives you more information about our newest downtown amenity and destination in itself. Fountain Row is a designated licensed “entertainment destination center,” as of July 2022, giving over a dozen bar and restaurant patrons the chance to grab a to-go alcoholic beverage and walk thru public spaces to further explore and window shop. Take a look at the Fountain Row page to see a map of all participating locations where you can get a drink to-go, watch a video to learn the rules, and click on the interactive map to get a live-version on your phone based on your current location.
The Stay tab gives you a peek at the Downtown BGKY overnight accommodations we boast. From a couple of hotels to several super cute Air BnBs, we’ve got you covered. The listings take you directly to the booking site for each, helping you plan your Stay.
Resources tab is a little bit different, where we tried to provide you (any potential Downtown BGKY business or property owner, a prospective Downtown BGKY resident, a visitor who’s never been to BGKY, or really anyone else!) with answers to some of the most commonly asked questions we’ve received here at the Downtown Development Division of the City of Bowling Green. You’ll find our public parking map (our public parking lots also pop up on a Google Maps search), our Fountain Square Shop & Dine guide, our Food Truck FAQs, the Fountain Row map, and helpful links to our BG Area Chamber of Commerce, BG Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Warren County, Kentucky government.
The Events calendar section is a whopper! We need your help! We tried to find an easily navigable online calendar widget that keeps it simple. We have a running list of over 250 events happening this year in Downtown BGKY and are constantly updating it! Use the submission button to send us any events your Downtown BGKY business is hosting that are open to the public (can be free or ticketed), and help us promote these events for FREE!
Our About section gives you a little history of why we’re Downtown BGKY and connects you to the City of Bowling Green. The Blog button takes you…here. The News button showcases all the earned media mentions we receive when we tell Downtown BGKY stories! Click to see what you’ve missed!
There’s also a button at the bottom of the home page inviting you to PLEASE sign up for our monthly e-news. We promise we won’t spam you! This is how we share updates on projects, events to keep on your calendar, new Downtown BGKY businesses, and we send the Minutes of our monthly, in-person public Downtown Meet Ups—please come—they’re the second Wednesday of the month from 3-4pm at rotating Downtown BGKY venues to showcase their spaces and amenities. Our next one is at the Historic RailPark & Train Museum on April 12 at 3pm.
Without further ado—enjoy the site! And use the Contact Us to send us any feedback and let us know what we’ve forgotten to include or accidentally missed!
Sincerely y’all’s,
Telia Butler, Downtown Development Coordinator, City of Bowling Green
P.S. This blog is where we’ll be sharing unique stories, characters, events, and a ton more about the Downtown BGKY experience!