Inside the Colby Visitors Bureau: October 2026

Welcome to the October edition of Inside the Colby CVB!

Our blog looks a little different these days. Instead of weekly posts focusing on one topic at a time, we’re using this space to give our community a more in-depth look at what is happening behind the scenes at the Colby Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The past month has been BUSY! From college rodeo and celebrating a pretty big CVB birthday to traveling across Kansas, welcoming visitors to Colby, and working on some projects you’ll soon see along the highway, there has been plenty happening.

So, here’s a look at what the Colby CVB has been up to from September into October!

CCC Rodeo Kicks Off a Busy September

September started off with one of our favorite weekends of the fall — Colby Community College Rodeo!

The CCC Rodeo brought athletes, families, fans, and visitors to Colby for a great weekend of competition. Events like this are a perfect example of how Colby Community College plays such an important role in local tourism. Visiting teams and their families need places to stay, somewhere to eat, fuel for the trip, and hopefully a little time to ex

plore Colby while they’re here.

And the rodeo fun doesn’t have to end when the big event is over!

The CCC Rodeo program is giving the community another opportunity to experience the action throughout the year. On Wednesdays, spectators can come out and watch the team practice bull riding. It’s a fun opportunity to see our CCC athletes in action and experience a little bit of rodeo right here in Colby.

We love having these events in our community and getting the opportunity to welcome everyone who travels to Colby to support our Trojans!

The Colby CVB Turned 40!

September also brought a pretty exciting milestone — the Colby Convention & Visitors Bureau officially turned 40 years old!

We celebrated our 40th birthday at the Visitor Center with cookies, free gift bags, and a chance for people to stop in and celebrate with us.

Forty years of promoting Colby is something worth celebrating. Over the years, tourism has changed, Colby has changed, and the way we reach travelers has certainly changed, too. But the overall goal remains the same: encourage people to stop, stay, explore, and experience what makes Colby special.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Visitor Center to celebrate with us and to everyone who has supported the Colby CVB throughout the years. Here’s to the next 40!

Taking Colby Across Kansas

From September into October, there has also been a lot of time on the road for the CVB.

One part of tourism work that people may not always see is how much happens outside of Colby. The CVB participates in tourism boards, organizations, meetings, conferences, and conversations with tourism professionals from communities all across Kansas.

Over the past several weeks, that has meant plenty of traveling for tourism board meetings throughout the state.

These meetings give Colby a seat at the table when conversations are happening about tourism in Kansas. They also provide opportunities to learn what other destinations are doing, build relationships with tourism professionals, share ideas, and make sure northwest Kansas and Colby continue to be represented.

Every trip might take us away from the Visitor Center for a little while, but the purpose is always to bring new ideas, connections, and opportunities back home to Colby.

Giving Our Colby Billboards a Fresh Look

If you’ve traveled across Kansas, chances are you’ve spotted a billboard encouraging travelers to make their way to Colby.

Some of those billboards have been around for a while — and they are ready for a refresh!

The CVB has been working behind the scenes on refacing and updating Colby tourism billboards located across Kansas. The goal is to replace outdated designs with fresh messaging and visuals that better represent Colby today.

Billboards remain an important way for us to reach travelers who are already on the road. Whether someone is planning to stop in Colby or simply sees our name while traveling across the state, every impression is another opportunity to put the Oasis on the Plains on their radar.

Keep an eye out while you’re traveling. You may start noticing a fresh face for Colby along Kansas highways!

Welcoming Quilters from Across Kansas

More recently, Colby had the opportunity to welcome quilters from across the state for a weekend sewing retreat at the City Limits Convention Center.

Throughout the weekend, attendees participated in sewing, games, lectures, meetings, instruction, and plenty of fellowship with fellow quilters.

Events like this are a great reminder that tourism comes in many different forms.

When an organization chooses Colby to host a retreat, conference, meeting, or gathering, those visitors stay in our hotels, eat at our restaurants, shop locally, purchase fuel, and experience our community while they are here.

Facilities like the City Limits Convention Center help make it possible for Colby to welcome groups of all kinds from across Kansas and beyond. Our location, lodging options, restaurants, meeting spaces, and amenities make Colby a natural gathering place in northwest Kansas.

We appreciate the Kansas quilters choosing Colby for their weekend retreat and hope everyone who attended enjoyed their time in the Oasis on the Plains!

A Little Sneak Peek at Next Month!

We have some exciting changes happening behind the scenes at the Colby CVB, and one of the biggest is right around the corner!

The CVB and Chamber are moving offices!

After plenty of planning, conversations, and preparation, we’re getting ready to make a move that marks an exciting new chapter for the CVB and Chamber. There are still a few things to get squared away, but we’re looking forward to sharing more about what this transition means for our organization and the community.

We won't give away all the details just yet, but stay tuned for next month's edition of Inside the Colby CVB, where we'll take you along for the move and share what's next!

Big things are happening at the Oasis on the Plains!

And That’s Just Part of It!

One of the reasons we changed our blog from weekly stories to these longer monthly updates was to give our community a better look at what actually goes into tourism behind the scenes.

Sometimes that means welcoming hundreds of visitors for an event. Sometimes it means sitting in a tourism board meeting somewhere across Kansas. Other days, it might mean working on billboard designs, promoting an upcoming event, helping a visitor at the Visitor Center, updating our website and app, or working with another local organization.

It all comes back to the same goal: getting people to Colby, giving them a reason to stay, and making sure they remember the Oasis on the Plains when they leave.

There is plenty more happening as we move further into fall, and before we know it, the holiday season will be here. We’re excited to keep you updated on what’s happening inside the Colby CVB!

Until next month,

Colby Convention & Visitors Bureau

Oasis on the Plains