Bowling Green
Bowling Green is a small college town in Northwest Ohio about 30 mi south of the Michigan border. Surrounded by miles of flat farmland, Bowling Green is best known for its public university, Bowling Green State University (BGSU), and its national tractor pull event. Locals often shorten Bowling Green to BG - pronounced "Bee Gee".
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94 places
- Do
Animarathon
Anime Marathon
Animarathon is an annual two-day student-run spring Japanese anime convention. Animarathon has taiko, cosplay competitions, a maid cafe, special guests, and panels related to anime and Japanese popular culture. The Student Union ballroom is used to host artists and vendors of Anime merchandise.
Sat 9AM-midnight, Sun 9AM-6PM$20 at door, $15 pre-registration
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Apple Butter Festival of Grand Rapids
Located in the riverside city of Grand Rapids, the Apple Butter Festival is a celebration of all things apple.
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Art Walk
Stroll through the historic downtown and visit the many galleries and exhibitions featuring visual and performing arts from all ages. Artists' demonstrations, family activities and performances continue throughout the day. Has a raffle with prizes.
Annual event held the last Sat in AprilFree
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ArtsX
BGSU's annual winter art talent show. Includes performance art, music, theater, fine art, and art sales.
Early DecemberFree
- See
BG Wind Farm
One of the first commercial wind farms in Ohio, it started in 2003, and recouped its costs in 2015. The site consists of four turbines that stand at over 250 ft tall that can generate over 7 megawatts. On clear days they can be seen from Wooster Street. Has an info board on site.
Free
- See
BGSU Planetarium
An planetarium open to the public. Has regular educational showings for all ages, and holiday features. Most shows feature a regular star talk, then proceed with the show. Upstairs there is an observatory where public stargazing sessions are offered after weekend showings at the planetarium, or separately when events such as eclipses are ongoing.
Tue 8PM, Fri 8PM, Sat 2PM, Sun 7:30PM during the school year$1 (suggested donation)
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Beaver Creek Preserve
A preserve with meadows and brush. Offers stargazing sessions.
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Beckett's Burger Bar
Sells burgers, mac & cheese, chicken, and sandwiches. Specialty drink is the "8-Ball" flavored vodka. Most of the menu is meat, but has some vegetarian and vegan options.
Sun-Thu 11AM-11PM, Fri Sat 11AM-midnight$10-20
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Ben's
A local craft store that also offers toys, candy and party supplies among a variety of other things.
9AM-8PM
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Biology Greenhouse
Contains a tropical plant collection, and a desert plant collection. Also houses a student projects room and an aquaponics lab. Tours are available if scheduled in advance.
Free
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Black Swamp Arts Festival
BSAF
Bowling Green's local artists come and share their work with the community to help celebrate the arts. Fine arts and crafts throughout the Downtown area. Children's activities, live music, demonstrations, and various art events all weekend.
Annually in early September - Fri 5PM-midnight, Sat 10AM-midnight, Sun 11AM-5PMFree. Parking shuttle may require cash, but it is possible to park and walk for free
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Black Swamp Preserve
A nature preserve connected to the Slippery Elm Trail. Has restrooms, a water fountain, resting areas, a bike repair stand, gardens, and descriptions of local wildlife on an educational board.
8AM-duskFree
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Black Swamp Pub and Bistro
The only pub on the BGSU campus. The pub offers higher end, classier dining then most venues on campus, and is also the only place to buy alcohol on campus. Mocktinis and non-alcoholic drinks also available. The only place on campus that expects tipping.
M-F 11:30AM-9PM, Sa 4-9PM, closed Sundays$5-20
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Bowling Green Bobcats
Bowling Green High School has an athletics program with a variety of sports, including football, basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, tennis, track, wrestling, bowling, hockey, golf, and lacrosse.
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Brathaus
Known for its "Legal Joint" - a sweet cocktail with orange juice and some kind of alcohol.
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Brewing Green
A small venue to meet a few friends and drink some delicious brews made on site. As a nanobrewery they create some of their own drinks.
Tue-Thu 5-10PM, Fri 4:30-10PM, Sat 1-10PM, Sun 1-8PM
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Bridge Over Troubled Waters
The Elephant/The Dinosaur
A 14 ft tall memorial to the events of May 4th, 1970 that took place at BGSU's sister school, Kent State University during the Vietnam war. This is a sister sculpture of a piece that was pierced by a bullet at Kent State during the shooting, made by the same artist with the same metal.
Open now · open 24 hoursFree
- Eat
Call of the Canyon
A small deli that's southwestern from the food to the decor. Sell sandwiches, chili, BBQ, and roast beef. Has some vegetarian options.
Mon-Thu 11:30AM-8:30PM, Fri 11:30AM-9PM, Sat 11:30AM-3:30PM$8 entree, $3 chili cup, $5 chili bowl
- Drink
Campus Pollyeyes
Pollyeyes
Unlike its parent restaurant Pagliai's, Campus Polleyes is a pizza pub. It is best known for their stuffed breadsticks, which are foot long breadsticks filled with cheese and pizza toppings. It delivers, and has a smallish dining area. They sell pizza and subs too, but they're not well-known for them.
Sun-Thu 11AM-midnight, Fri Sat 11AM-1AM$7-18
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Campus Quarters
The southernmost local sports bar, next to campus near the Greek Village. Known for their shot club.
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Carillon Place
An on-campus dining hall. Frequented by freshmen. Also has a convenience store and a Creperie.
7:30AM-8PM$7-10
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Carter Park
Has a baseball complex, softball complex, volleyball courts, Disk Golf, picnic shelters, and a natural area. One of the largest parks in Bowling Green by size.
Free
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Cherry Blossom Festival
O-hanami
The Cherry Blossom Festival is held annually in April by the Japanese Club at BGSU. The Cherry Blossom festival hosts Japanese cultural programming, origami and shodo brush writing workshops, a Taiko drum performance, Martial Arts demonstrations, a bon-odori dance, kimono try ons, Japanese game tables, and free Japanese snacks including sushi and green tea. The event started as a small gathering of 75 people in 2001 to thank the support of Tokyo Alumni, and hosts over 800 people as of 2018.
Free
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City Park
City Park features the city pool and waterpark, skate park, rollerskating rink, the historic Needle Hall, and golf course at the adjacent country club. The waterpark includes a waterslide, lazy river, diving boards, and splash playground.
Free
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Cla-Zel Theater
Clazel
A former art-deco movie theater turned nightlife hub. While it's mostly a private venue for parties and weddings, it also hosts public events with bands and live entertainment.
- See
Clough Street
Clough Windmill
A residential street with many interesting houses built in a fanciful style. Notably, one house is a traditional style windmill. The inside is not open to the public, but it serves as a local landmark.
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Cochrane Stadium
BGSU's soccer stadium. The Stadium has bleachers, a modern design and hosts both men and women soccer games.
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Cyclewerks
A small bicycle chain in the Toledo metro. Sells bicycles, bicycle accessories, and offers bicycle repair services. For travelers who just need a bike for a short time, they offer daily rentals, although this can be more expensive than purchasing a cheap bike for periods longer than a few days.
Mon-Fri 10AM-6PM, Sat 10AM-5PM, closed Sun
- Eat
Dairy Queen
Myles Dairy Queen
One of the first Dairy Queens in the United States from 1940. It's a bit different from a normal Dairy Queen chain restaurant as the interior is much older and the food portions are more generous. Locals call it as Myles Dairy Queen or just Myles (which may also refer to a former pizza pub in town).
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Dance Marathon
DM / Ziggython
A charity dancing event in support of the Children's Miracle Network. The largest student-run event on the BGSU campus.
Annual 24-hour-long event in April
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