In Cleveland this past August, meeting decision-makers from major associations waited patiently to step into the busy Cincy Region exhibit booth and spend a few minutes with two of meetNKY’s veteran ambassadors: Stefanie Wyckoff, Director of Convention Sales, and Christy Staten, Senior National Account Manager.
At the 5,000-person trade show—part of the American Society of Association Executives’ annual meeting—these decision-makers wanted to learn more about the possibilities for hosting events in Covington and Newport, located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River overlooking downtown Cincinnati.
As they talk with their booth visitors, Stefanie and Christy highlight that groups of 800 to 1,200 can fit perfectly into the Northern Kentucky Convention Center. They also go over the Covington Convention package offered by meetNKY and its hotel partners.
Visitors to their booth were also eager to take part in a fun activity as they talked business with Stefanie and Christy: Screen-printing designs on t-shirts they could take home as mementos.
Christy and Stefanie at ASAE
“This is the third year we have done this activation at the ASAE meeting,” Stefanie says during a momentary refreshment break. “We also do this activation in our booth at the Religious Conference Management Association’s annual event, and it’s always been a hugely popular at these shows. We create a cool graphic that’s representative of both Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati, and we let the attendees and meeting planners screen-print that design on whichever style and color of shirt they want.”
This year’s t-shirt design highlights a part of Northern Kentucky’s heritage that will help draw more than 100,000 people to a four-day event in October 2025. Called America’s River Roots Festival, it celebrates the culture and traditions of America's inland river cities. Organizers say next year’s event will showcase the Ohio River and its role in the nation's history and development.
The festival will feature live performances from nationally recognized musicians, food from celebrity chefs, and riverboat cruises—which is why the t-shirt design features the words “Cincy Region” along with a riverboat cruising past the Roebling Bridge. “It’s fun to send planners home with something they like that reminds them of what our destination is about,” Stefanie says.
More Meeting-Planner Shows and Big NKY Events
Other industry shows attended by the meetNKY team include Connect Marketplace, Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress, and the Professional Convention Management Association Convening Leaders, Cvent Connect, Destination Showcase and Association Forum’s Holiday Showcase.
For these events, the screen-printing machines stay home to make way for other activations such as a German-inspired biergarten setting featuring local brews and warm pretzels—another way to showcase the unique flavor of Northern Kentucky to convention planners.
As they nosh and network, planners also hear about another large-scale biennial festival in Northern Kentucky known as BLINK. BLINK brings art & light to over 30 city blocks in Cincinnati, Ohio, Covington, and Newport, Ky, and drew more than two million people from 29 states and multiple countries in 2022.
As the nation’s largest immersive art event, Blink is a light, art, and projection-mapping experience that illuminates building facades and other outdoor surfaces with still and moving images and designs. Creating unique environments to explore during this free, 4-day event, it’s unlike anything attendees have experienced before. For instance, “light mapping and projection lets you have huge wall murals that seem to come alive as people walk down different streets,” Stefanie says. “It’s a fascinating thing to see.”
At each trade show Stefanie and Christy attend throughout the year, they make sure to inform meeting planners of the developments coming to Northern Kentucky over the next several years that will enhance the experience for event attendees.
“The area around our convention center is going to be transformed” Stefanie says. The Covington Central Riverfront District, will be a mixed-use neighborhood that will include offices, residential, retail, entertainment, and public spaces, along with Northern Kentucky University’s Chase College of Law and the NKU branch of UK’s College of Medicine.”
In fact, meeting planners who bring their events to Northern Kentucky will be able to more easily tap into the intellectual resources of those schools for speakers and presenters, making their meetings outstanding educational experiences. With everything else this riverfront region offers, it’s clear that Northern Kentucky is a perfect place for meetings and conventions.
