The Greatest Challenge: When tornadoes roared through our community December 11, 2021, the loss of lives and destruction of property created the greatest challenge our community has faced in modern time. This is our story of resiliency through the eyes of your City employees and other community leaders. Read Our Story

If you'd like to contribute your own personal tornado story, please email your story to tornadobook@bgky.org. Stories may be edited at the City's discretion.

Downtown Development Division

Fountain Square Park

*Photo care of Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce

Downtown BGKY is the heart of the city and a cultural destination as Corvette’s historic hometown and hub of Kentucky’s Cave Country. This thriving Downtown’s foundations are its vibrant food and drink scene, big small town charm, arts and entertainment community, growing residential opportunities, and international influence.

The Downtown Development Division’s goal is to be an economic development driver by building the best Downtown BGKY destination experience for locals and visitors. Growing connections with more opportunities internally, assistant coordinating events, and growing communication between Downtown and all of Bowling Green will elevate the Downtown BGKY brand and destination presence. Opportunities can be found from scenic Riverwalk Park to Western Kentucky University’s campus.

Goals include building a Downtown database for development opportunities and improved communications, an event calendar to share any happenings within Downtown or citywide event that may impact Downtown (and provide marketing strategy planning for Downtown businesses), establishing the digital and social Downtown BGKY destination brand, launching an Entertainment Destination Center with iconic BG branding, and ultimately growing existing Downtown assets appealing to young professionals, growing families, and anyone seeking a vibrant Downtown experience.

Fountain Row: Entertainment Destination Center

Duncan Hines Days

Downtown BGKY - Destination Site

News & Announcements

September 2023 Downtown Meet Up Minutes

September 2023 Downtown Meet Up Minutes

Sep 18, 2023

The September 2023 Downtown Meet Up was hosted at Ment CoWork in the Ackerman Building at 911 College St., Second Floor, on Wednesday, September 13, 3-4pm. Here are the Minutes from that meeting.

August 2023 Downtown Meet Up Minutes

August 2023 Downtown Meet Up Minutes

Aug 15, 2023

The August 2023 Downtown Meet Up was hosted at the Lisa Rice Library at 1225 State St, meeting room 2, on Wednesday, August 9, 3-4pm. Here are the Minutes from that meeting.

July 2023 Downtown Meet Up Minutes

July 2023 Downtown Meet Up Minutes

Jul 18, 2023

The May 2023 Downtown Meet Up was hosted at Ridley Roasthouse Coffee on Wednesday, July 12 at 3pm. Here are the Minutes from that discussion.

Inaugural Duncan Hines Days 2023 Recap

Inaugural Duncan Hines Days 2023 Recap

Jun 16, 2023

At least 16,000 people attended a Duncan Hines Days event, representing at least 28 states based on zip code tracking, and a conservative economic impact of $2.28 million was spent in the BG/WC area. This inspired new conversations with 50+ community partners, creating a new layer of BG experiences.

Downtown Food Truck/Mobile Push Cart Policies

Downtown BGKY is open for Food Truck and Mobile Push Cart business! We welcome these entrepreneurs with open arms! A permit is needed to sell on Fountain Square and on the adjacent Downtown side streets (as defined in the ordinance). Specific rules for operating these businesses in these public rights-of-way also apply.

Downtown Food Truck FAQs

Click the button below for a full PDF containing the permit application, ordinance, and code compliance guidelines.

Information & Application

Telia Butler - 2022 Telia Butler
Downtown Development Coordinator
telia.butler@bgky.org
270-393-3617

Email:
downtown@bgky.org

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Suggestions or problems with this page?

Let us know if anything is wrong with this page. However, please don't include any personal or financial information.

Would you like a reply?

We'll only use this to reply to your message.