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What Else is Going on in Louisville, Including “Underground,” During The Utility Expo, Sept. 28-30?
MILWAUKEE – Along the banks of the Ohio River, Louisville, like its landmark waterway, has tended to serve as a gateway between north and south through much of its history.
“It’s an entirely different type of Southern,” said Zack Davis, vice president of destination services at Louisville Tourism. “From boundary-pushing twists on Southern cuisine that have made it one of the ’10 Best New Food Cities’ in America, to the one and only Urban Bourbon Experience, utility professionals will find Louisville is a unique experience.”
That Urban Bourbon Experience includes the Urban Bourbon Trail, the world’s only city-wide trail filled with award-winning micro-distilleries, exhibits and craft-cocktail destinations. On top of that, there’s a few intentionally hidden cocktail experiences.
Speakeasies are a returning trend, with some possibly hiding in your own hotel. Pin + Proof hides behind a painting in the Omni Hotel Louisville while The Wild Swann sits in the basement of The Grady Hotel. Outside your hotel, you can (maybe) find 100 bottles of whiskey on offer behind Torino’s Sandwich Bar at Gertie’s Whiskey Bar, or walk through Against the Grain Sandwich Emporium and down the stairs to The Flamingo Lounge.
If you’re walking along Whiskey Row and happen upon a glowing street orb that says “Hello Curio” (and you also happen to have reservations), you could find yourself in the swank, underground Hell or High Water Bar. If you don’t have reservations, but see a turquoise door on a gray brick building along Main Street, you will find the environmentally-forward Expo Bar, whose cocktails sometimes include ingredients like “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
If bourbon isn’t quite your thing, but you still enjoy a good mixed drink, maybe Louisville’s Margarita Mile will be more to your taste.
“Just 15 minutes north of the Kentucky Exposition Center, right by the river, there’s a one-mile stretch of Mexican places with some of the best, and most creative margaritas you can find,” said Davis. “There’s everything from well-made classics to spicy margaritas, to margaritas swirled with house-made sangria. And let’s not forget the food, ranging from classic Mexican staples to farm-to-table Mayan fare.”
And if you’re looking for experiences you don’t have to drink (but can), Museum Row on Main offers Utility Expo attendees and exhibitors a one-ticket experience for seven different attractions that saves nearly fifty percent versus getting tickets at the door. That ticket includes admittance to the Kentucky Science Center, KMAC Museum [art], Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, Muhammad Ali Center, the Frazier History Museum, as well as the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience and Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.
But if museums are a little…quiet…for your taste, it may be worth coming to town a little early for the Louder Than Life Music Festival, September 23-26, featuring performances from Korn, Snoop Dogg, Jane’s Addiction, Cypress Hill, Judas Priest, and two separate and unique performances from Metallica. Though, if your reservations are already set and you can’t change them, you can still make Twilight Thursdays at the historic Churchill Downs horse racing complex.
Utility pros who are already feeling the Halloween spirit can also catch the opening evening of the Louisville Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular on September 30, the last day of The Utility Expo. Featuring a 1/3-mile path with more than 5,000 carved pumpkins and a nightly art show at Louisville’s Iroquois Park, the Spectacular is a fun, and family-friendly way to kick off the fall season.
“The Utility Expo chose to partner with the City of Louisville for the long term because of the great experience utility professionals can have here,” said The Utility Expo Show Director John Rozum. “Louisville is one of those places where everyone can come together and encounter things that can’t be found anywhere else. That’s what The Utility Expo is about, bringing our industry together in a place that promotes business and features entertainment, too.”
“As you gather in Louisville for the biggest utility show of the year, we encourage you to explore and experience the one-of-a-kind attractions, exploding culinary scene and bourbon renaissance landing Louisville on PureWow’s list of ‘America’s Best Cities for a Long Weekend,’” Davis said. “With new tour options at legendary Churchill Downs, urban Bourbon distilleries and Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory – our city offers truly iconic attractions you won’t find anywhere else but Louisville.”
To learn more about what Louisville has to offer The Utility Expo attendees, check out GoToLouisville.com, and if you haven’t registered yet, get to TheUtilityExpo.com and get your badge so you don’t miss out.
Source: AEM News