As AliKat said ... there is no need to 'work yourself up' to a larger show. Jump right in ... the water is lovely!!
Paducah also has the quilt museum ... a MUST SEE.
BUT ... if you haven't made hotel reservations for Paducah yet, good luck getting a room. I went with only a month or so notice and was lucky (due to a cancellation) to get a room 45 minutes away in Marion Il. It was a nice drive, all interstate and very pretty country, but I would have preferred to be closer.
I haven't been to Cincinnati but that show used to be held in Chicago and I went to that one and it was also plenty big. But everything was at the show. In Paducah you also have other quilt places to visit - the museum, Hancocks of Paducah (if you are building a stash - don't miss that place and be sure to check out the pre-cut table with $4.00 batiks and the 'back room' with pre-cuts at great prices), Eleanor Burns (both the store and her tent sale), and a few other places. When I went there was a place across from the museum in an old factory that had WOW and BOW fabrics for $3.00/yard ... I bought something like 25 yards!!
Go to Paducah. Bring lots of cash
