Owensboro, Kentucky, is known as the "Barbecue Capital of the World," and no Owensboro trip is complete without trying out several barbecue hot spots like Old Hickory Bar-B-Que, Moonlite Bar-B-Q, Ole South Barbecue, Mama's Place, and many others.

The world's largest and most popular barbecue festival, the International Bar-B-Q Festival brings hungry guests from all over the world to barbecue. Owensboro holds this annual barbecue competition and festival the second weekend in May, which awards the "Best Barbecue in Kentucky."

Owensboro is also home to the Temple Adath Israel, one of the oldest synagogues in the United States. The International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a must-visit for bluegrass fanatics and is the only museum of its kind in Kentucky. The museum has hundreds of interactive exhibits, costumes, memorabilia, and more.

The settlement that became Owensboro was originally known as the "Yellow Banks," after the color of the land along the Ohio River. In 1817, Yellow Banks was founded as a town under the name of Owensborough, named after Colonel Abraham Owen, and then later shortened to Owensboro in 1893.

Owensboro is located at a bend in the Ohio River and is situated about 35 miles southeast of Evansville, Indiana.

Owensboro is home to a regional campus of Western Kentucky University, along with Brescia University, Kentucky Wesleyan College, and Owensboro Community and Technical College. Daymar College also has a campus in the city.

The Owensboro Transit System (OTS) provides bus service for all residents.

Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport is one of the region's major commercial airports, along with Evansville Regional Airport. The area attracts large industrial companies because of the Ohio River, which provides important transportation routes. Companies such as steel, steel mills, chemical plants, oil and gas companies, and the manufacturing industry are among the most important sectors that have expanded in this region.

Non-farm employment grew 6.7 percent in Owensboro last year, outperforming Kentucky and the nation. A recent survey in Owensboro showed general optimism about the local economy, with 65 percent of contacts expecting economic conditions to improve this year and 16 percent expecting conditions to remain the same as last year.