Another year has come and gone and it’s time for the yearly reflection. However, we’re going to take things one step further and look back on the entire decade! So sit back, grab your favorite hot beverage, and reminisce with us.
- The completion of the Bowling Green City Pool and Water Park
Probably the best thing to think about right now is a summer day at the BG City Pool and Water Park! Remember when the Water Park first opened in 2013? Take a look at this great video by the Sentinel Tribune and plan on getting a pool pass for the summer so you can spend the warmer days poolside! - Black Swamp Arts Festival
In 2017, the Black Swamp Arts Festival celebra
ted its 25th year as a festival. The poster for the 2017 festival won a silver ADDY award, Sunshine Artist Most Creative Concept, and Sunshine Artist Top 200. The festival also won Ohio Magazine’s Best Festival in Ohio for the 2017, 2018, and 2019 years. The 2018 poster also won the Sunshine Artist Award. See the history of the Black Swamp Arts Festival as well as past poster designs here. - Aardvark
Speaking of anniversaries, Aardvark Screen Printing and Embroidery celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2017. They celebrated with a ribbon cutting for their remodeling and acquisition of a new press. - GOBA
The Great Ohio Bicycle Adventure (or GOBA) came back twice this past decade. Once in 2015 and again in 2019. The 2019 visit to Bowling Green was the 5th time GOBA had an overnight stay here making it the most of any Ohio Community. While it rained through much of the 2019 festivities, the Wood County Fairgrounds were very gracious in letting the festivities continue indoors at their new Pavilion. Check out some of the pictures from the 2019 Kickoff Celebration here. - Motorcycle Cannonball Run
The Motorcycle Cannonball Run made a stop in Bowling Green in 2018. The run is a cross country ride that features about 100 riders on motorcycles that were made before 1929. Bikes of all kinds parked outside of the Bowling Green Buffalo Wild Wings and community members were invited to come out and see all of the vintage bikes. Check out some of the photos from the event! - Grounds for Thought
2019 was a big year for Grounds for Thought. This past year brought about their 30th anniversary and they celebrated with a weekend of great music by local artists. They also won an Arts and Business Partnership award from Americans for the Arts. You can learn more about this prestigious award here. - BGSU Letters
In the Spring/Early Summer of 2019, BGSU installed huge letters in their Union Oval (perfect for prospective and current students to snap a photo). Take a look at this sweet photo and video from our friend ZakFilms that feature these letters! - Interstate Completion
Construction was no joke in 2019! It seemed that everywhere was under construction and it was never going to end. Finally it happened. The clouds lifted, the paint dried, and we had brand new roads to drive on! What was once a plain exit off of Interstate 75, became a beautiful roundabout that invited people into Bowling Green! Think we’re being dramatic (we probably are)? Take a drive out there at night when the intersection is lit up, and you’ll see what we mean. - Firefly Nights Festival
Held on the 3rd Friday in Bowling Green’s Summer months, Firefly Nights Festival came to Downtown Bowling Green in 2018. This festival has quickly become a summer favorite and has something for the whole family to enjoy! From kids activities to live music and a beer tent, this festival is all about promoting a neighborly atmosphere in our Downtown. - Flatlands Coffee
I think it’s safe to say that we take our coffee seriously in BG. So seriously in fact, that two baristas from Flatlands made it to the Specialty Coffee Association National Barista Championship in 2019. Shortly after the barista championship, Flatlands hosted a Latte Art Throw-down which had 16 baristas from the 419 area creating beautiful and delicious drinks. To learn more about the Barista Championship, click here. You can also watch a video of the Latte Art Throw-down by clicking here. - BGSU Sports
Falcon Athletics has had no shortage of accolades this past decade. Falcon Hockey made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 (their first appearance since 1990). Women’s Soccer won the MAC title in 2019. Rugby celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018 by winning the National Championship and then followed it up in 2019 by winning their 39th consecutive MAC title. Let’s not forget that BGSU Football defeated UT in the home Battle of I-75 in 2019. Football also clinched MAC titles in 2013 and 2015, and Women’s Basketball had MAC titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014 and appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2010 and 2011. We also celebrated 50 years of Falcon Hockey along with the renaming of the Slater Family Ice Arena in 2017 and 50 years of Falcon Football in 2019. - Winterfest
Winterfest BG Chillabration has had no shortage of fun things happening this past decade. 2016 saw Winterfest hold a logo design contest for the community to enter. Dale Smith won the contest with the logo they are currently using today. In 2017, the committee introduced the now popular Frozen Swamp Tent which features beverages and live music on the Saturday of Winterfest Weekend. The Frozen Swamp Tent also houses a Winter Market during the day and is surrounded by a garden of beautiful ice sculptures and live ice carving demos. In 2018, we celebrated 10 years of Winterfest. The 2018 Winterfest also saw the creation of the Chocolate Crawl, where participants can travel through Downtown Bowling Green to get chocolate treats and help raise money for United Way. 2019 brought some big names to our town. The Curling Center hosted Olympic Curling Champion Tyler George, who taught some learn to curl classes and told stories of his olympic adventures. Slater Family Ice Arena held the Scott Hamilton Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer fundraiser. The fundraiser had a skating show, reception, and public skating sessions which Scott Hamilton appeared at. - Best Hometown
One of our favorite memories to look back on is how we won Ohio Magazine’s Best Hometown in 2017. This was the second time that Bowling Green had won Best Hometown (first in 2007). Ohio Magazine stated that we were chosen because of our vibrant college town atmosphere, strong sense of community, and shared vision for the future. To determine the Best Hometowns, Ohio Magazine conducted site visits across the state and evaluated nominees in six categories – community spirit, education, entertainment, health and safety, business environment, and culture and heritage. You can read the spotlight we got in Ohio Magazine for our Best Hometown honor by clicking here.
So many great things have happened this past decade, but we also have some great things on horizon for our next decade. The Wood County Historical Museum is celebrating their 150th anniversary and Wood County is also celebrating their bicentennial in 2020. We can also look forward to the completion of the Mauer Building at BGSU, the new Veterans Building at City Park, and the Home 2 Suites!
What were some of your favorites things that happened this decade? Leave a comment and have a safe and happy New Year!