African-american Guide To Meeting, Incentives And Traveling In The South
By Sonya Stinson
Heron Ridge Golf Course
On your list of reasons to plan a trip to the South, put these down: A laid-back atmosphere and friendly people. Soul-satisfying food and music. Quirky visitor attractions that will tickle you and unforgettable sites that will touch you deeply.
Thanks to a climate that ranges from temporal to tropical, outdoor recreation is usually accessible year-round in this region. The sightseeing vistas run the gamut from historic and modern architectural gems to a bounty of beautiful national treasures.
And don't forget to note the state-of-the-art meeting facilities, interesting offsite event spaces, a constantly expanding inventory of lodging accommodations and the general ease of getting there.
Now that you've considered these general Southern appeals, here's a state-by-state look at some specific destinations.
ALABAMA
Alabama's rich civil rights heritage is a major draw for African-American travelers, from meeting groups to families hosting reunions. In Tuscaloosa, you can visit the flagship campus of the University of Alabama, where a landmark desegregation case took place. The college town also is home to the Murphy African-American Museum, the Jemison Van de Graaff mansion and the Children's Hands On Museum of Tuscaloosa.
The National African-American Archives & Museum in Mobile showcases the history of Black carnival traditions in that Gulf Coast city. While the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center is Mobile's largest meeting venue, a local visitor attraction like Hank Aaron Stadium offers an interesting alternative for small groups having receptions or company training sessions.
Another coastal Alabama destination is Gulf Shores, where you can charter a boat for a fishing trip, enjoy a round of golf at Craft Farms and hold an event in The Estuarium at Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham is in the midst of a $194 million hotel building boom that will add more than 1,300 downtown guestrooms to the city's inventory. Currently the city has more than 14,000 hotel rooms, including 770 rooms directly adjacent to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The convention center contains 220,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 74 meeting rooms, a 25,000-sq.ft. ballroom and a 19,000-seat arena.
Exterior of the Birmingham Barber Institute of Fine Arts
Photo Credit: Birmingham CVB
Don't miss a tour of the Civil Rights District, which includes the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Kelly Ingram Park, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and other sites. The Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau offers a Birmingham Passport that gives you discounted admission to the Civil Rights Institute and other local attractions like the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Birmingham Zoo and McWane Science Center. These sites also offer space for after-hours group events.
Birmingham's list of cultural attractions extends to the Alys Robins Stephens Performing Arts Center, WorkPlay Theater and the Chris McNair Studios and Art Gallery, all of which also have event space. For an outdoor reception venue, you might consider the Birmingham Botanical Gardens or Aldridge Gardens in nearby Hoover, Alabama.
The historic Five Points South neighborhood is a popular spot for dining and entertainment. Throughout the year, the city stages cultural events showcasing the nation being highlighted in its annual Birmingham International Festival.
Shoppers will find plenty of diversions at the Riverchase Galleria, The Summit, the WaterMark Place outlet center in nearby Bessemer and other area retail venues.
Opportunities for outdoor recreation include golfing at several courses that are part of the state's Robert Trent Golf Trail; hiking and picnicking at Ruffner Mountain, a 1,000-acre nature preserve only five miles from the center of Birmingham; and a wide range of activities, from boating to backpacking, at Oak Mountain State Park.
HUNTSVILLE
A visit to the State Black Archives Research Center & Museum in Huntsville might turn up some interesting discoveries about the contributions of African-Americans to Alabama's history. Huntsville also is home to the state's largest antebellum district, the Twickenham Historic District.
Aerial of Downtown Huntsville
Photo Credit: Huntsville CVB
Other places to explore the state's history are the Alabama Constitution Village; the Early Works Children's Museum, which takes you back to Alabama's beginning in 1819; and Burritt on the Mountain, a unique natural history museum housed in a 14-room, X-shaped mansion that's surrounded by nature trails. From the grounds at Burritt on the Mountain, you can catch a stunning view of the city and Tennessee Valley below. Plans are in development to convert another historic landmark, Merrimack Hall, into a performing arts center.
If you're traveling with kids, then Huntsville's biggest attraction — the U.S. Space and Rocket Center — is a must see. The Huntsville Passport, available from the downtown Visitor Center, provides discounts on several of the city's most popular attractions.
The Von Braun Center hosts a variety of sports and performing arts events and serves as Huntsville's premier convention site, offering more than 130,000 sq. ft. of meeting, exhibit and banquet space and more than 20,000 sq. ft. of lobby and pre-function space.
MONTGOMERY
With Montgomery's new Civil Rights audio tour, visitors can learn the back stories of the historic sites they'll discover on a self-guided walk or drive. The striking Civil Rights Memorial is not to be missed. Montgomery also is home to the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. served as pastor, and the Dexter Avenue Parsonage Museum, the former King family home. Other notable Black heritage attractions include the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, the African American Center at Alabama State University and a historical marker at the site of Nat King Cole's birth home.
Bus exhibit at the Rosa Parks Library and Museum Rosa Parks, on which she refused to give up her seat.
Photo Credit: Montgomery CVB
Other local attractions include the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, spotlighting the famous literary couple who met while F. Scott was stationed at nearby Camp Sheridan, and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Blount Park — also home to the renowned Alabama Shakespeare Festival.
This year brings the opening of the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center, a $157 million project whose design by the Alabama architectural firm of Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood was inspired by the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
The 12-story resort — an affiliate of the state's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail — adjoins the Montgomery Convention Center, which is undergoing an extensive renovation. The resort itself contains more than 140,000 sq. ft. of meeting, exhibit and pre-function space, a 9,000-sq. ft. European-style spa, and a 1,800-seat Performing Arts Centre. With its plush décor and green, gold, lavender and red color scheme, it features LCD televisions and electronic connectivity panels in each of its 342 rooms and suites. In fact, the property has garnered a lot of attention for its high-tech amenities. Fine dining is provided by The House, which serves up “New South Cuisine,” while The Pub offers more casual bites with cocktails.
TUSKEGEE
Tuskegee University — one of the nation's most storied institutions of higher education — is also now a major meeting venue with the opening of its Kellogg Conference Center. The facility offers 17,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, including an auditorium, multimedia space and banquet rooms. The ballroom accommodates up to 350 guests, while meeting and breakout rooms offer space for board meetings and corporate retreats. A full-service hotel onsite contains 108 rooms and two parlor suites.
Kellogg Conference Center
Photo Credit: Noah Hopkins
The Tuskegee campus is home to the George Washington Carver Museum and the Tuskegee University Chapel, whose original building was constructed almost entirely by students. After that building was destroyed by fire in 1957, it was replaced by another remarkable structure. Built without any right angles, the new chapel has served as a frequent object of study by architecture students. Next to the campus is The Oaks, the home of university founder Booker T. Washington, which is constructed of bricks made by the students and faculty of what was then Tuskegee Institute.
At the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site & Moton Field, you can tour several exhibits, view historic films and take a guided walk through Moton Field, where the famed African-American pilots received their basic and primary flight training.
A more shameful period in history is commemorated at the Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center, which displays photos and videos about the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The center also has put together walking and driving tours featuring 40 related sites.
Other local points of interest include the Rosa Parks Library and Museum, the Tuskegee Heritage Museum — which contains Creek Indian artifacts and memorabilia related to Booker T. Washington, George Washington Carver and the Tuskegee Airmen — and Butler Chapel AME Zion Church, which played an important role in the local voting rights movement and houses a museum in the basement.
ARKANSAS
Music lovers will appreciate the rich blues heritage that sprouted in Arkansas' Mississippi River region. In Helena, the Delta Cultural Center preserves that heritage through its exhibits and programs and by hosting the King Biscuit Blues Festival each fall.
Arkansas earns its nickname, “the Natural State,” with a bountiful array of outdoor sightseeing attractions. One of the most unusual is Crowley's Ridge, a geological formation stretching 200 miles from southern Missouri south through eastern Arkansas that is believed to result from the action of water, ice and wind over 50 million years. The only other known similar form is found in Siberia.
You can see and buy diamonds in jewelry stores everywhere, but you can't get closer to the source than at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro. It's the world's only diamond-producing site that's open to the public. The nation's largest diamond, at 40.23 carats, was discovered in the park.
HOT SPRINGS
Situated in valley of the Ouachita Mountains, Hot Springs is aptly nicknamed “the Spa City” in honor of its 47 thermal springs. America's earliest resort and still the top tourist attraction in Arkansas, Hot Springs offers a host of cultural, entertainment and recreational amenities.
Bathhouse Row
Photo Credit: Hot Springs CVB
On historic Bathhouse Row, you can tour the Fordyce Bathhouse Visitors Center and enjoy a treatment at one of the modern spas. Other area attractions include the Fine Arts Center of Hot Springs; the new Gangsta Museum of America; and the Magic Springs/Crystal Falls theme and water park — home of the X-Coaster, with its hair-raising, 150-ft. upside down inversion.
LITTLE ROCK
Arkansas' capital city is home to a major U.S. Civil Rights landmark, Central High School. A museum and a visitors center are located across the street from the school, which was the site of one of the nation's most important desegregation cases. A related attraction is Arkansas State University's The Little Rock Nine Memorial, made up of nine life-size bronze statues representing the students who integrated Central High in 1957.
Statue of the Little Rock Nine
Photo Credit: Little Rock CVB
Kids should enjoy a visitor to the Little Rock Zoo's, where the welcoming complex now houses the restored historic Over the Jumps Carousel and the new Sports Hall of Fame & Museum inside the Alltel Arena.
PINE BLUFF
The Band Museum and the Southeast Arkansas Arts and Science Center are two of Pine Bluff's main visitor attractions. At Bluff-Jefferson County Regional Park, you can tour the Delta Rivers Nature Center, and if you go in September you can join in on the Smoke on the Water barbecue and music festival. Be sure to check out the series of 22 historical murals that adorn the facades of several of the city's downtown buildings.
Historical Mural
Photo Credit: Pine Bluff CVB
The Pine Bluff Convention Center not only offers more than 90,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space, it's also home to the Arkansas Entertainers Hall of Fame.
FLORIDA
The first Florida Resort open to African-Americans was American Beach on Amelia Island, off the coast of northeast Florida. A bit further to the south is the area known as St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches. St. Augustine is America's oldest city, boasting144 blocks of historic homes and other preserved landmarks.
Daytona Beach also has several Black heritage attractions, including the campus of Bethune-Cookman College.
The Space Coast area east of Orlando includes Cocoa Beach, a hot spot for surfing, as well as Melbourne, Merritt Island and Titusville. Two notably upscale destinations on Florida's Atlantic Coast are Palm Beach, in the state's Gold Coast area, and Boca Raton.
The Florida Keys off the state's southernmost tip are a big draw for visitors interested in diving, sport fishing or exploring historic attractions. On Florida's western coast, you'll find Fort Myers, home to the Williams Academy Black History Museum at Clemerk Park; Saratoga, site of the John and Mable Ringling Museum; and St. Petersburg/Clearwater, site of the Carter G. Woodson African American History Museum.
Inland Florida offers such destinations as Citrus County, where a historic African- American church is part of the state's Black Heritage Trail; and the capital city of Tallahassee, home to Florida A&M University, a historically Black school famous for its marching band.
FORT LAUDERDALE
The Clean Beaches Council recently named several Fort Lauderdale area beaches as Blue Wave Beaches — those considered to be the cleanest, safest and most user-friendly.
Fort Lauderdale's Hollywood Broadwalk
Photo Credit: Fort Lauderdale CVB
For a glimpse into the area's African-American heritage, you can visit the African-American Research Library and Cultural Center, where an impressive collection of Black books is housed along with permanent and changing exhibits of artifacts from North and South America, Africa and the Caribbean. The first school created for Black students in Broward County is now home the Old Dillard Museum, which also showcases displays related to African-American history and culture.
Other local historical attractions include the Old Fort Lauderdale Village & Museum; the Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum, focusing on the heritage of the Florida Seminoles; and the Stranahan House, a museum that previously functioned as a trading post, town hall, post office and bank.
An evening out might include a visit to one of the several area gaming facilities, such as the Gulfstream Park Horse Racing & Casino in Hallendale, the Isle Casino & Racing in Pompano Beach or the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood — or perhaps some live entertainment at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts or the theaters and clubs along Riverwalk.
Shoppers can check out the over 400 outlet stores at Sawgrass Mills, hunt for additional bargains at the Festival Flea Market or browse the more upscale fare on Las Olas Boulevard or at the Galleria Mall.
Fort Lauderdale's largest meeting venue is the Broward County Convention Center, which offers 600,000 sq. ft. of space on three levels. The center encompasses the 1,300-sq. ft. Executive Teleconference Suite, two large ballrooms, and nearly 200,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space. There are more than 33,000 guest rooms in the greater Fort Lauderdale area, including more than 3,500 located within a mile of the convention center.
JACKSONVILLE
One of Jacksonville's biggest selling points as a travel destination is a long list of free attractions and activities. The possibilities include 22 miles of area beaches; tours of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery and the Peterbrooke Chocalatier Production Center; free Tuesday evening admission to the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens; free Wednesday evenings and Sunday family days at the Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville; Friday and Saturday night concerts at Jacksonville Landing; Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville; and the always free Jacksonville Maritime Museum and Fort Caroline National Memorial. You can even take a free trolley to many of the city's downtown attractions.
One of the area's most compelling historic attractions is the Olustee Battlefield Monument, the site of the Civil War battle in which the all-Black Massachusetts 54th regiment — portrayed in the Academy Award-winning movie “Glory” — fought for the Union Army. Other local Black heritage sites include Bethel Baptist Institutional Church; the Clara White Mission, which serves as both a Black history museum and a center for the homeless; the Ritz Theatre, a thriving jazz and blues venue in the 1960s; and LaVilla Museum, which chronicles the African-American history in the community once known as “the Harlem of the South.”
KISSIMMEE
Beyond serving as an affordable lodging place for visitors to the popular theme parks in nearby Orlando, Kissimmee offers a number of attractions and meeting facilities that are ideal for small groups.
Kissimmee cattle round-up
Photo Credit: Kissimmee CVB
The Old Town shopping, dining and entertainment district provides lots to see and do, while there's more entertainment on tap at the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park. Recreational options include 15 championship-caliber golf courses, sports events at the Osceola County Stadium, airboat rides and tours of Lake Tohopekaliga.
Kid-friendly attractions include Gatorland, the Medieval Life Village and Florida Eco Safaris at Forever Florida in St. Cloud.
Favorite local shopping haunts include The Loop, a 400,000-sq. ft. complex, Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores and a host of antique shops in downtown Kissimmee and St. Cloud.
Major meeting venues include the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, which has 400,000 sq. ft. of meeting and function space and 1,406 guest rooms, and the Exhibition Building at Osceola Heritage Park, which contains 89,500 sq. ft. of flexible event space. The Kissimmee Museum, located at Kissimmee Gateway Airport, offers a unique setting for special events in its 10,500-sq. ft. hangar. Two more choices for offsite event venues are the Osceola Center for the Arts and Lakefront Park.
GREATER MIAMI
Several of the buildings in Miami's Liberty City neighborhood have their exterior walls covered with murals of African-American heroes. You can hold a reception at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center in Liberty City, which is one of several Miami area neighborhoods where Black American and Caribbean communities have formed.
Aerial view of the seashore in Miami shows deep green and blue waters
Photo Credit: Celso Diniz
The oldest of these communities is Coconut Grove, where Bahamian immigrants have settled since the late 19th century. Miami's Caribbean heritage thrives in areas like Little Haiti and Little Havana. Another notable section is Overtown, which the site of the historic Lyric Theater and the home of the city's first Black millionaire.
A number of other popular cultural and entertainment sites double as event venues, including the Ancient Spanish Monastery, the Bass Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Miami Museum of Science & Planetarium, the Miami Beach Botanical Garden and Dolphins Stadium.
For some unforgettable sightseeing, head for the vibrant Art Deco Historic District in South Beach, or marvel at the amazing the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in Coconut Grove. If your sights are set on shopping, Bal Harbour Shops, Dolphin Mall, Aventura Mall and Coral Gables' Miracle Mile are just a few of the area's many great venues.
The new dolphin exhibit at the Miami Seaquarium is sure to intrigue any kids in your traveling troop, who also might enjoy a visit to Parrot Jungle Island — located between downtown Miami and South Beach — Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, or the Miami Metrozoo.
For the adults, the 5,000-sq. ft. tasting room at Schnedly Redland's Winery offers a chance to sample the vintage while gazing at a beautiful tropical waterfall
The area's largest meeting venue is the Art Deco-style Miami Beach Convention Center, which contains more than 500,000 gross sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit space and 70 meeting rooms.
ORLANDO
Besides being one of the world's favorite destinations for pure fun, Orlando's biggest tourist draw also offers a great setting for meeting, networking, teambuilding and special events. Walt Disney World boasts more than 600,000 total sq. ft. of function space spread out among six convention resorts.
Disney's Magical Express Bus
Photo Credit: WDW Parks and Resorts
The largest of these venues is the Southwest-themed, 1,921-room Coronado Springs Resort, which offers more than 220,000 sq. ft. of meeting and event space and a prime location near Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom. The resort's 60,214-sq. ft. ballroom can accommodate up to 6,684 theater-style or 4,800 for banquets, while its 45 meeting rooms provide a variety of options for planners.
Other Disney event facilities include the 90,000 sq. ft. of meeting and function space at the Contemporary Resort, 73,000 sq. ft. at the Yacht & Beach Club Resorts, more than 40,000 sq. ft. at the Victorian-style Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and 20,000 sq. ft. at the Board Walk Inn. There's also the option of staging a floating event aboard one of the two luxury ships in the Disney Cruise Line, which also contain meeting space.
Each of the resort properties offers state-of-the-art amenities like hi-speed and Wi-Fi Internet access. Disney Event Group can help organize special group events at the theme parks or customized tournaments at one of Disney World's five championship golf courses.
PENSACOLA
Pensacola's National Museum of Naval Aviation is one of only two U.S. facilities where guests can experience authentic military flight training simulators with real controls. Another local site with a link to the area's military history is Johnson Beach, which is named for an African-American soldier from Pensacola who died in the Korean War.
Pensacola National Naval Aviation Museum
Photo Credit: Pensacola CVB
Julee Cottage, located in Historic Pensacola Village, is a museum housed in what was once the 19th century home of a free Black woman. Other local points of interest include the T.T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum, the Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola Greyhound Track and Gulf Islands National Seashore.
TAMPA
Tampa has several new and upcoming visitor attractions. The Museum of Science and Industry, a unique venue for offsite events, has a new permanent exhibit, The Amazing You, focusing on the workings of the human body. The African safari-themed Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Adventure Island, which also offers event space, recently opened a new four-acre attraction called Jungala in the Congo area featuring play spaces, rides and live entertainment.
Tampa City Skyline
Photo Credit: Tampa CVB
The new Glazer Children's Museum is being built along the Hillsborough River, while the Lowry Park Zoo recently debuted a new white alligator exhibit and water flume ride, and the Tampa Museum of Art is moving to a new location in downtown's Curtis Hixon Park in fall 2009.
Two of the most interesting places to explore the city's past are the Tampa Bay History Center and the Henry B. Plant Museum, housed in the Moorish-style building that once held the historic Tampa Hotel. Ybor City, the cultural center of Tampa's Cuban-American community, is home to the Centro Ybor shopping and entertainment center, Ybor City Museum State Park, the historic Columbia Restaurant and several nightclubs.
Other local attractions include the Florida Aquarium, the American Victory Mariners Memorial & Museum Ship, and the Ford Amphitheatre.
GEORGIA
You might be surprised to learn that Atlanta's prestigious Morehouse College originated in Albany in 1897 at the site of Mount Zion Baptist Church, a major local civil rights meeting place that now houses the Albany Civil Rights Museum.
Augusta's Springfield Baptist Church is one of the oldest Black congregations in North America. Georgia's largest Black heritage museum is the Tubman African American Museum in Macon.
Columbus, the birthplace of Coco-Cola, offers a 23-site, self-guided Black heritage driving tour. Decatur is the gateway to Georgia's biggest tourist draw, Stone Mountain Park.
On the southeast Atlantic Coast are the historic seaport city of Brunswick — home to the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation — and the Golden Isles. Jekyll Island offers sightseeing in its National Historic District and meeting space in the Jekyll Island Convention Center.
Valdosta's James H. Rainwater Conference Center is a great setting for smaller meetings and events, with 47,000 sq. ft. of space overlooking a cypress pond.
ATLANTA
Coming in 2010, Atlanta's Center for Civil and Human Rights, will house the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection, as well as meeting and performance halls. Meanwhile, another venue, the new Energy Performing Arts Centre at the Cobb Galleria, opened in September 2007 with 10,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.
MARTA train in front of Capitol skyline
Photo Credit: Kelly Mills
The cultural center of Atlanta's Black community is the famous Sweet Auburn District. The neighborhood is the site of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, a must-see attraction that includes King's birth home and burial site, Ebenezer Baptist Church and a visitor center.
The Georgia Aquarium — the largest in the world — completed a 10,000-sq. ft. expansion in October 2007. The addition provides space for a new alligator exhibit, diving and swimming with the whale sharks and sleepovers for kids. Groups from 50 to 1,500 can meet or hold events at the Aquarium, with food service provided by Wolfgang Puck catering. All-day meeting packages include Aquarium admission
Last spring, the new 75,000-sq. ft. home of The World of Coca-Cola opened next door to the Georgia Aquarium, which shares an event plaza with its neighbor. Other local attractions include the High Museum of Art, the CNN Studio Tour, Six Flags Atlanta, Zoo Atlanta, the shops and restaurants at Atlanta Station, Centennial Olympic Park and the Atlanta History Center, which features a wing dedicated to the 1996 Olympic Games. The convention and visitors bureau's Atlanta CityPass provides discounted admissions to many area attractions.
With the its recent $57 million upgrade, the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel downtown features a 50,000-sq. ft. conference center, 90,000 total sq. ft. of meeting space, a 15,000-sq. ft. grand ballroom and 760 guest rooms and suites.
The city's premier meeting and convention venue, the Georgia World Congress Center, offers 1.4 million sq. ft. of exhibit space, 12 exhibit halls, 105 meeting rooms and two grand ballrooms.
GWINNETT COUNTY
Gwinnett County, located 20 minutes north of Atlanta, is a viable setting for small to mid-sized events. The Gwinnett Center in Duluth encompasses the Arena at Gwinnett, the Performing Arts Theatre and the Convention Center, which contains a 50,000-sq. ft. exhibit hall, 14 meeting rooms, a 21,600-sq. ft. grand ballroom and 7,500 sq. ft. of lakefront pre-function space.
Gwinnett Center encompasses a Performing Arts Theatre and Convention Center
Photo Credit: Gwinnett County CVB
Area attractions include the Hudgens Center for the Arts, located next to the convention center; Lake Lanier Islands Resort, which features a beach and water park; and the Gwinnett Environmental Heritage Center in Buford, which also is home to the 2.2 million-sq. ft. Mall of Georgia.
SAVANNAH
Home to Georgia's oldest Black community, the city of Savannah in the charming coastal Low Country region is celebrating its 275th birthday in 2008. America's oldest historically Black Baptist church, First African, is located here, while another notable Black heritage attraction is the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum.
Savannah Riverfront, a Historic District
Photo Credit: Savannah CVB
Savannah also boast's the nation's largest National Historic Landmark district, which is best viewed on a walking or trolley tour. Major landmarks include the Juliette Gordon Low Home, birthplace of the Girl Scouts founder; the King-Kingsdell Cottage; the Wormsloe Historic Site; Old Fort Jackson; and the Owens-Thomas House, which is operated by the Telfair Museum of Art — the South's oldest public art museum. The 2006 addition of the Jepson Center for the Arts at the Telfair Museum provided dedicated space to exhibit African-American and Southern art.
The galleries along the River Street and in the City Market areas offer more places to view art, and these areas also are popular shopping and dining venues. Tybee Island and Eco-Adventures offers kayaking, deep-sea fishing, a wildlife refuge and a host of other recreational facilities. Visitors to the island will also be rewarded with a great view of one of the area's most significant landmarks, the Tybee Island Lighthouse.
The area plays host to more than 150 annual festivals, including the Savannah Black Heritage Festival in January, the Savannah Music Festival in March, the Savannah Jazz Festival in September and the Tybee Festival of Arts in October.
Savannah's premier meeting facility is the 260,000-sq. ft. Savannah International Trade & Convention Center. Meeting planning is made easier through a four-hotel cooperative known as the Savannah Accord. Member hotels, including the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa, the Savannah Marriott Riverfront, the Hyatt Regency Savannah and the Hilton Savannah DeSoto, offer 1,383 guest rooms combined.
KENTUCKY
Along with being home to one of the world's most famous people — Muhammad Ali — the Blue Grass state also produced such African-American legends as jazz musician Lionel Hampton and America's first Black novelist, William Wells Brown.
The Underground Railroad was a key part of the history of this border state. In Covington, located just across the river from Ohio, the Behringer/Crawford Museum organizes a tour of local Underground Railroad sites.
Lexington's African American Heritage Trail has 10 sites, including the Isaac Murphy Home, the Polk-Dalton Infirmary and several historic churches. About 25 miles south of Lexington is the nation's largest restored Shaker community, the Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill.
One of the biggest attractions in Bowling Green is the National Corvette Museum, which showcases more than 70 models of the iconic sports car, including the very first one off the assembly line. The museum also offers space for corporate events.
LOUISVILLE
Muhammad Ali's Presidential Medal of Freedom and the jewel-encrusted robe that was a gift from Elvis are just two of the artifacts you'll see on a tour of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville. The 93,000-sq. ft. facility chronicles the life story of the Louisville native through 40 interactive exhibits in six pavilions designed to reflect Ali's core values of respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, spirituality and giving.
Visitor at the Louisville Kentucky Derby Museum
Photo Credit: Louisville CVB
Besides the Ali Center, other must-see attractions in Louisville include Churchill Downs and the onsite Kentucky Derby Museum, Fourth Street Live! — downtown's dining and entertainment district — and the Kentucky Center for African-American Heritage.
LOUISIANA
Louisiana tourism officials recently rolled out the state's new African-American Heritage Trail, with an expanding list of 26 initial sites. Travelers seeking a guide to Louisiana's unique cuisine can soon consult the online Culinary Heritage Trail that's now under development.
The city of Lafayette is the heart of Louisiana's Acadiana region, and you can get a taste of authentic Cajun culture at several local attractions. To explore a bit of the area's Black heritage, check out the African American Museum in St. Martinville, just a short drive away.
Louisiana's oldest city is Natchitoches, part of the central Crossroads region. Prominent area attractions include the downtown historic district and Melrose Plantation, once the property of a former slave and home to famed folk artist Clementine Hunter.
In the region known as Sportsman's Paradise, the Northeast Louisiana Delta African-American Heritage Museum in Monroe displays works by Black artists and exhibits on the Civil Rights Movement.
BATON ROUGE
Louisiana's capital city is home to the nation's largest historically Black University. If you visit the campus of Southern University, be sure to check out the Red Stick Monument and the Southern University Museum of Art.
Skyline of downtown Baton Rouge, as seen from the Mississippi River, and the state capitol building at the left.
Photo Credit: Pattie Steib
The Odell S. Williams African American History Museum houses exhibits on Black inventors, African art and rural artifacts. If you have some extra free time, plan a visit to the River Road African-American Museum in Donaldsonville, which is situated between Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
The city's Art Deco-style Capitol is the tallest in the nation at 34 stories high. The building's 350-ft.-high observation deck provides a great panoramic view of the city. A bust of P.B.S. Pinchback, America's first Black governor, is located in the capitol's front lobby. Pinchback, who had been elected lieutenant governor, served as governor for 35 days during the Reconstruction era while the state's elected governor was being impeached.
Other local attractions include the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, the Old State Capitol, the Louisiana State Museum and the Shaw Center for the Art. A swamp tour, a visit to the BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo or a tour of the doll exhibits at the Enchanted Mansion might enchant the kids in your group.
NEW ORLEANS
The roots of jazz can be traced back to the playing of African drums in Congo Square, located in what is now New Orleans' Armstrong Park. The site is located in Treme, America's oldest Black neighborhood. While the park is currently closed, visitors can see other neighborhood sites such as St. Augustine Church, one of the nation's oldest Black Catholic churches, and the New Orleans African American Museum, converted from the historic Meilleur-Goldthwaite House. The museum's rear courtyard can be booked for special events.
Mardi Gras float riders
Photo Credit: New Orleans CVB
Long-term plans call for a portion of Armstrong Park to be developed into the main site of the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park, which currently consists of music programs and a small exhibit area in a French Quarter visitor center.
The French Quarter, with its shops, restaurants, and galleries, is the city's biggest tourist attraction, while the Warehouse District and Fulton Street in the Central Business District have also emerged as popular dining and entertainment spots. Other points of interest include the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas, the Riverwalk Marketplace, the National World War II Museum, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art and the Louisiana Children's Museum. Harrah's New Orleans Casino, the Contemporary Arts Center and Blaine Kern's Mardi Gras World — which is building a new facility near the convention center — are three more notable attractions that also offer after-hours event space.
The famous St. Charles Streetcar line is back in operation, with the final leg along Carrollton Avenue expected to be running sometime in spring 2008.
New Orleans' largest meeting venue is the Morial Convention Center, which contains more than 1.1 million sq. ft. of exhibit space, 140 meeting rooms, a 4,000-seat conference auditorium and two large ballrooms. About 32,000 guestrooms of the metro area's pre-Katrina inventory of 38,000 are currently available.
SHREVEPORT
Free evening trolley tours offered on the third Thursday of each month provide a quick overview of some of Shreveport's most interesting downtown attractions, including the Municipal Auditorium, the Logan Mansion, Sci-Port Discovery Center and the Southern University Museum of Art-Shreveport. Of course, you can visit any of these sites on your own and linger a bit longer.
Shreveport-Bossier Skyline
Photo Credit: Shreveport CVB
Other notable attractions include the African American Museum; the Multicultural Center of the South; five area riverboat casinos; and the shops, restaurants and clubs in the Red River District. Another popular shopping and dining haunt is the Louisiana Boardwalk, located across the Red River in Bossier City.
MISSISSIPPI
The new Mississippi Blues Trail, with about 16 of the total 130 identified sites unveiled so far, will make it easier for travelers to visit the places linked to the state's rich musical heritage.
The Mississippi Delta, a region synonymous with the blues, is home to Tunica, a destination also popular for seven Las Vegas-style casinos. Two sites in Tunica commemorating blues legends Son House and James Cotton are part of the Mississippi Blues Trail. Tunica RiverPark encompasses a museum, an aquarium and hiking trails.
In Tupelo, best known as the hometown of Elvis Presley, notable attractions include the African American Historical & Cultural Society Museum & Gallery, the Tupelo Chicasaw Village and, of course, the Elvis home and museum.
A Blues Trail marker honoring Willie Dixon is located in Vicksburg, which also has dockside casinos, the Jacqueline House African American Museum, Vicksburg National Military Park and the Southern Cultural Heritage Complex.
COLUMBUS
Catfish Alley, Columbus' main Black social and business district in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, now boasts a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail that honors the music heritage of north Mississippi.
Local Jazz Musician
Photo Credit: Columbus CVB
Other interesting African-American heritage sites in Columbus include Concord CME Church; the Street Bridge Site, the former location of one of the works of Horace King, a former slave who become one of the most respected bridge builders in the South; and the former site of the Queen City Hotel. Built by a former slave, the hotel hosted may Black entertainers and baseball players.
GULFPORT
A marker paying tribute to the role of Gulfport's American Blues Network in Mississippi's musical legacy is one of the latest tourism-related developments in this destination.
Schooner Race off the coast
Photo Credit: Mississippi Gulf Coast CVB
Gulfport's post-Katrina tourism comeback also includes the opening of the Island View Casino Resort, with 563 guestrooms, more than 2,100 slots and 47 game tables. The old Gulfport Beachfront Hotel is reopening this spring as the Courtyard by Marriott, following a $96 million conversion. The 148-room property will contain 6,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. All of the beaches along the Mississippi Gulf Coast are now open.
For more outdoor adventure, visitors can tee off at one of more than 20 championship golf courses in the area, charter a boat for deep-sea fishing, take a dolphin-watching cruise or head to the Gulf Coast Motor Sports Park for the kart races.
A notable historical site is Fort Massachusetts, located on an island just off the Gulf Coast, where African-American Union soldiers were part of a Civil War raid. You can book a tour of the fort with Ship Island Excursions. The Mississippi Sound Maritime Historical Foundation Museum and the CEC & Seabee Memorial Museum offer more places to explore the area's history.
Art lovers can browse the Gulfport Galleria of Fine Art — a co-op featuring artists from the Gulf Coast — the Williams Gallery or the Rue Vingt Fine Art Studio and Gallery. Those who love the art of shopping might want to check out some of the antique shops, Hardy Court Shopping Center or Prime Outlets Gulfport.
The Bayou Bluff Tennis & Recreation Club, Gulf Islands Waterpark, and Lynn Meadows Discovery Center all offer event space in addition to their fun activities.
There are currently about 11,000 guestrooms in the Mississippi Gulf Coast area, with several hundred more openings on line.
JACKSON
The legendary Subway Lounge in Jackson was housed in the basement of the Summers Hotel, one of two local lodging places that served African-Americans during the days of segregation. The Subway was an important fixture in the city's music culture, as was the Trumpet Records studio on historic Farish Street. Both sites are now part of the new Mississippi Blues Trail.
Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame Museum
Photo Credit: Jackson CVB
The historically Black Farish Street Entertainment District is also home to Farish Street Baptist Church and the Alamo Theatre. Other local Black heritage attractions include the Medgar Evers Home Museum, Jackson State University and the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, which features a large exhibit on vernacular housing. One of the few homes in the city to survive the Civil War is the Boddie Mansion, located on the campus of Tougaloo College, another historically Black institution. The nation's first permanent civil rights exhibit is housed in Jackson's Old Capitol Museum.
One of Jackson's entertainment hot spots is Birdland, a club that showcases live jazz, continuing the legacy of the great musicians who played there when it was known as the Crystal Palace.
Art enthusiasts can tour the Mississippi Museum of Art and the Jackson Municipal Art Gallery, while science and nature lovers might be interested in the Russell C. Davis Planetarium, the Ronald E. McNair Space Center or the Jackson Zoo. Two other attractions with nature as their theme — the Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum and the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science — also have rentable space for meetings and receptions.
The design-award-winning, 74,000-sq. ft. Mississippi Telecommunications Conference and Training Center is expected to welcome a new, bigger neighbor in early 2009: the $65 million, 246,000-sq. ft. Capital City Convention Center. The new facility and the TelcCom Center will together be known as the Capital City Convention Center Complex.
NATCHEZ
With more antebellum homes than any other U.S. city, Natchez is filled with architectural treasures for visitors to explore. Melrose Plantation and the William Johnson House are but two examples of the historic homes visitors can see. A number of homes are open to tours during the annual spring and fall pilgrimages.
Natchez Great Mississippi River Balloon Race
Photo Credit: Natchez CVB
Three churches are also among the city's major historical landmarks: St. Mary's Basilica; Trinity Episcopal Church, which has two stained-glass windows designed and installed by Louis Comfort Tiffany; and First Presbyterian Church, which as a photo gallery in its Stratton Chapel Gallery that chronicles nearly 100 years of Natchez history.
The Natchez Museum of Afro-American History and Culture and the Mostly African American Market showcase the city's Black heritage, while Native American culture is preserved at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. Two other notable tourist attractions are the Old South Winery and the St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge.
The Natchez Convention Center Complex, located in the heart of downtown, contains more than 89,000 sq. ft. of divisible meeting and function space and a 1,825-sq. ft. reception area. The new Country Inn & Suites, the official host hotel for the Natchez Convention Center, opens this spring.
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina's Vance County, a recreational area surrounding Kerr Lake just 45 minutes north of Raleigh, might be just the place for a family reunion, small meeting or corporate retreat.
Raleigh itself is home to a host of recreational and cultural attractions, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Garden and the African American Cultural Complex. In nearby Durham, the Hayti Heritage Center showcases African-American art, dance and literature.
High Point, best known for its furniture industry, is home to the Rosetta C. Baldwin African-American Museum and the High Point Museum, which has a special exhibit on its famous native son, John Coltrane.
In Fayetteville, you can visit the historic Evans Metropolitan AME Zion and several military museums. North Carolina's oldest remaining African-American Church is St. Philips Moravian in Winston-Salem.
In the beautiful Smoky Mountains region, Asheville offers trolley tours of its historic areas, while several African-American historical exhibits are on display at the YMI Cultural Center.
CHARLOTTE
Charlotte's Afro-American Cultural Center is getting a new home and a new name. When the nearly 50,000-sq. ft. facility opens in summer 2009, it will be known as the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, in honor of a former mayor of the city. The center's design was inspired by the paintings of the Mbuti people of the Congo. The $18.6 million structure will be more than four times larger than the current facility in the former Little Rock AME Zion Church. It will house the Hewitt Collection of nearly 60 art works by 20 Black artists, including Charlotte native Romare Bearden.
Charlotte Skyline at night
Photo Credit: Charlotte CVB
The current center is one of the stops on a Black heritage tour offered by Queen City Tours that also includes a slave cemetery and the city's first Black hospital, Good Samaritan. Another notable historical attraction is the Charlotte Museum of History, which has the city's oldest surviving building, the Hezekiah Alexander House, on its grounds.
Charlotte's list of outstanding cultural sites also includes the Levine Museum of the New South; the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, which presents the annual Broadway Lights series; and ImaginOn: The Joe and Joan Martin Center, which combines live performances with changing interactive exhibits. The visual arts are in the spotlight at the Mint Museum of Art, North Carolina's first art museum, and the Mint Museum of Craft + Design, where exhibits include furniture, fiber art, jewelry and more. Charlotte also is home to one of the region's most acclaimed science museums, Discovery Place.
The city's premier meeting venue, the 850,000-sq. ft. Charlotte Convention Center, contains 280,000 sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit space, a 35,000-sq. ft. ballroom and 46 meeting rooms. The metro area offers more than 30,000 hotel rooms, 4,100 rooms within walking distance of the convention center.
GREENSBORO
If you travel to Greensboro, be sure to visit the campus of North Carolina A&T State University for a view of the statue honoring the African-American students who took part in the 1960s Woolworth's lunch counter sit-ins. On South Elm Street, you can see another tribute to several African-American North Carolinians on the Walkway of History.
Greensboro's Historical Museum
Photo Credit: Greensboro CVB
Other local attractions include the African American Atelier Gallery, Blandwood Mansion and Old Greensborough. The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum, located 10 miles east of Greensboro in Sedalia, is named in honor of the African-American founder of the Palmer Memorial Institute, which once occupied the site.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The new Upcountry History Museum in Greenville, South Carolina, highlights the regional heritage of northwestern portion of the state.
Jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie hailed from the town of Cheraw, in northeastern South Carolina's Old English District. Gillsepie's birthday marks the occasion for the annual South Carolina Jazz Festival in October.
The popular Atlantic coastal destination of Myrtle Beach has a new attraction: 140-acre Hard Rock Park, featuring an amphitheater, amusement rides and restaurants. At the southern end of the coast lies the state's Low Country region, where the town of Beaufort hosts the Gullah Festival each weekend before Memorial Day. On nearby Hilton Head Island, key visitor sites include the Harbour Town Lighthouse and the Coastal Discovery Museum.
South Carolina's best-known city, Charleston, has completed an extensive renovation of the Charles Town Landing Historic Site, while another local landmark, Magnolia Plantation, has undertaken a major renovation of its slave cabins.
COLUMBIA
Art lovers visiting South Carolina's capital city now have more to explore with the addition of the new collection of ancient art at the Columbia Museum of Art. Columbia also boasts the largest children's museum in the South, the 67,000-sq. ft. EdVenture. Three more notable kid-friendly attractions are the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, the Columbia Marionette Theatre and the Challenger Learning Center.
South Carolina's only national park, Congaree Swamp, is located a few miles southeast of Columbia. Lake Murray is another popular recreational site that's home to an earthen dam that was once the largest of its kind in the world.
TENNESSEE
One of Tennessee' top visitor destinations is the Smoky Mountain town of Gatlinburg. Along with taking a tour of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you can explore the local arts and crafts community, browse the exhibits at a museum or the Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies, and have your own aqua adventure on a whitewater rafting trip.
Visitors to Tennessee's capital city might be interested in a Black heritage tour, taking in such sights as First Baptist Church Capital Hill, a major local meeting place during the Civil Rights Movement, as well as Nashville's historically Black institutions of higher learning: Fisk University, Meharry Medical College and Tennessee State University. The Fisk campus is home to the famous Jubilee Hall and two major collections of art at the Carl Van Vechten and Aaron Douglas galleries. Nashville's Hadley Park, established in 1912, is believed to be the nation's first park ever created for African Americans.
CHATTANOOGA
Booker T. Washington State Park, located just north of Chattanooga on the shores of Chickamauga Lake, offers a setting for picnics, biking, hiking, boating, fishing and other recreational activities at its 353-acre site. The park would make an ideal special event venue for a group holding a meeting or family reunion in the city.
Caribbean Dancers performing at the Chattanooga Market Festival
Photo Credit: Chattanooga CVB
Another interesting offsite venue is the Chattanooga African American Museum and the adjoining Bessie Smith Hall, which offers space for luncheons and receptions. The Tennessee Aquarium, which is the world's largest freshwater aquarium, and the Hunter Museum of American Art, which offers beautiful views of the Tennessee River and surrounding mountains from its perch atop an 80-ft. bluff, have event space as well.
For some truly spectacular sightseeing, don't miss a visit to Ruby Falls, a 145-ft. underground waterfall on Lookout Mountain, and Rock City, with its sprawling garden and amazing ancient natural formations.
Other points of interest include the Bluff View Art District, the Creative Discovery Museum for Children, Chickamauga-Chattanooga National Military Park and Ross's Landing, a riverfront park that commemorates the forced Native American migration known as the Trail of Tears.
Shopping choices include Warehouse Row, the Hamilton Place Mall and the riverfront boutiques along Frazier Avenue.
KNOXVILLE
Summer visitors to Knoxville might be able to catch the Kuumba Festival, which takes place in late June and early July in Chilihowee Park. The city's Sundown in the City series of free Thursday night concerts in Market Square runs during spring and summer.
Drummers performing at the annual Kuumba Festival
Photo Credit: Knoxville CVB
Throughout the year, you can visit Knoxville's top Black heritage attraction, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center, which houses exhibits chronicling the history and culture of African Americans in east Tennessee. The rooftop garden at the Beck Center can accommodate meetings and other events for up to 150 people.
Groups as large as 2,000 can stage an event at the Knoxville Zoo. The Ijams Nature Center, encompassing 150 acres of woodlands, meadows and nature trails on the banks of the Tennessee River, is another option for outdoor-loving visitors. They can also take a scenic riverboat cruise or stroll through Volunteer Landing, a popular downtown riverfront dining, shopping and entertainment district.
Other interesting places to see include the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, the Knoxville Museum of Art — which has a collection of works by African-American folk artist Bessie Harvey Haley — and Heritage Square in Morningside Park, which displays a 3-ft. bronze statue of Roots author Alex Haley.
MEMPHIS
Beale Street is the place to be for any Memphis visitor who's looking for great nightlife and a chance soak up some the city's legendary music history. The Beale Street Music Festival brings throngs of blues fans to the area each May. Year-round attractions in the Beale Street Entertainment District include W.C. Handy Park and the W.C. Handy House Museum — which pay tribute to the musician nicknamed “the Father of the Blues — the Beale Street Walk of Fame and a variety of nightclubs, restaurants and shops.
Neighboring Beale Street is another popular haven for shopping and live entertainment known as is Lee's Landing Garage. For some educational as well as entertaining displays of the city's music heritage, head for the Smithsonian's Rock ‘n Soul Museum, Soulsville: the Stax Museum of American Soul Museum or Sun Studio.
Don't miss a tour of the National Civil Rights Museum, located at the site of the hotel where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Other notable African-American heritage attractions include the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum; the Art Village Gallery; and the Alex Haley Museum in the town of Henning, 35 miles south of Memphis.
Memphis' most popular visitor site is Graceland, which draws thousands searching for a peek at how Elvis lived. Other places to see include the Memphis Zoo in Overtown Park; the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Tennessee's oldest fine arts museum; and the historic Peabody Hotel, where the popular march of the ducks through the lobby has been an ongoing traditional for 75 years.
The city's largest meeting facility is the 350,000-sq. ft. Memphis Cook Convention Center, which has 190,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 31 breakout rooms with 74,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 28,000-sq. ft. ballroom, and a 2,100-seat performing arts center. There are approximately 21,000 guestrooms citywide.
VIRGINIA
The historic Natural Bridge in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley provides a striking focal point for small gatherings at the Natural Bridge Inn & Conference Center. To the (east) of this area is Charlottesville, the site of the Thomas Jefferson estate, Monticello, and the new Free Speech Monument.
Along with their close proximity to the cultural and historical attractions in the nation's capital, Alexandria and Arlington offer several points of interest, including Arlington National Cemetery, the Arlington Arts Center, Old Town Alexandria and the Alexandria Black Heritage Museum.
Richmond celebrates its African-American heritage during the Second Street Festival in October, but you can tour the city's Black History Museum & Cultural Center year-round.
Colonial Williamsburg incorporates a number of features commemorating the lives of slaves who arrived in that area. Jamestown/Yorktown, a special segment of the living history park, includes glimpses into the role of African-Americans in the Jamestown settlement and the Revolutionary War. In Newport News, the history of African-Americans in the military is the theme of the “Marches Toward Freedom” gallery in the Virginia War Museum.
HAMPTON
Hampton's amenities for meetings and tourism are set to expand with its $200 million Crossroads Development Project. When the project is complete, the area surrounding the Hampton Roads Convention Center and the Hampton Coliseum Arena will have a new hotel, theater, restaurants and shops. The 344,000-sq. ft. Hampton Roads Convention Center contains a 108,000-sq. ft. exhibit hall, a 28,000-sq. ft. ballroom and a conference center.
Hampton Roads Convention Center
Photo Credit: Hampton CVB
Among its current attractions, the city can boast America's oldest Black museum: Hampton University Museum, founded in 1868. Exhibits include a large collection of African-American fine arts and many examples of African art and artifacts. The Hampton University campus is also the site of Emancipation Oak, the spot where the city's former slaves first heard the Emancipation Proclamation.
Another notable Black heritage attraction is the Aberdeen Gardens Historic Museum, which chronicles the building of a neighborhood by and for African-Americans as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program.
The Virginia Air & Space Center, whose exhibits include a Martian meteorite and an Apollo 12 command module, is one of Hampton's most popular tourist attractions. Other favorites include Buckroe Beach, the shops and restaurants at the Peninsula Town Center and cruises in the Hampton Roads Harbor.
NORFOLK
Norfolk's Waterside Connection, an alliance of four local convention hotels, is designed to make meeting planning easier. Groups can book rooms in the Waterside Marriott, the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside and the Radisson Hotel Norfolk and access a combined pool of 1,200-plus committable guest rooms and suites, 55 meeting rooms and 121,000 sq. ft. of convention space. The alliance also incorporates the Waterside Festival Marketplace and the 85,000 sq. ft. of meeting space in the Norfolk Scope Arena.
Norfolk Wine Festival, being held along the water front
Photo Credit: Norfolk CVB
With its prominent maritime history and variety of family-friendly attractions, Norfolk is a great destination choice for military and family reunion groups. The local Convention & Visitors Bureau offers special itineraries for such events.
One on the city's most outstanding Black heritage attractions, the Attucks Theatre, provides space for banquets and other events. Other sites that highlight Norfolk's Black history and culture include the Martin Luther King Memorial and three historically-Black congregations: St. John AME Church, First Baptist Church and the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Norfolk's biggest Black cultural event is the AFR'AM Fest held in Town Point Park each Memorial Day weekend.
The West Point Monument in Elmwood Cemetery honors the contributions of African-Americans who served in the Civil War and the Spanish American War. But the city's best-known military heritage site is Norfolk Naval Base, the world's the largest naval facility.
Other local attractions offering both meeting and event space and family fun include the Virginia Zoological Park, Norfolk Botanical Gardens, the Chrysler Museum of Art , Nauticus, The National Maritime Center, and the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center.
Shoppers can check out Granby Row, Historic Ghent and the MacArthur Center Mall. A Passport to Fun card, available for purchase from the CVB, provides discounts at several major attractions, restaurants and shops.
ROANOKE
The new, 81,000-sq. ft. home for the Art Museum of Western Virginia in Roanoke, projected to open in November 2008, will be quadruple the size of the current facility. Another place to explore the culture and history of this Blue Ridge Mountain destination is at the site known as Center in the Square. Contained within the historic Farmer's Market, the center includes the History Museum of Western Virginia, the Science Museum of Western Virginia, the History Museum of Western Virginia and Mill Mountain Theatre.
Hilltop view of the city of Roanoke Valley
Photo Credit: Roanoke CVB
The Harrison Museum of African-American Culture is located on the ground floor of Roanoke's first public high school for Black students. Neighboring Hardy, Virginia is the site of the Booker T. Washington National Monument, with a visitor center, reconstructed historic buildings, walking trails and an heirloom garden on its 207-acre grounds.
Other local attractions include the Virginia's Explore Park, Virginia Museum of Transportation, the O. Winston Link Museum, Dixie Caverns, Mill Mountain Zoo, Loch Haven Lake and Elmwood Park. Each September, Elmwood Park hosts the Taste of Blue Ridge Blues and Jazz Festival and the Henry Street Heritage Festival, an event sponsored by the Harrison Museum to celebrate the area's African-American heritage.
VIRGINIA BEACH
The earliest African-American participation in the Civil War occurred at the city of Pleasant Hall in Virginia Beach. Another notable historic landmark is Morning Star Baptist Church, standing since 1892 as one of the city's oldest remaining Black churches.
Virginia Beach Convention Center
Photo Credit: Virginia Beach CVB
Virginia's only remaining boardwalk cottage has been converted into the DeWitt Cottage Atlantic Wildlife Heritage Museum. With its restaurants, live music and other activities, the Virginia Beach Boardwalk is a favorite for tourists and locals alike.
Two more popular shopping haunts are Lynnhaven Mall and the Hilltop Shopping Center, and visitors will have a new venue to explore when the downtown Town Center opens. The first phase of the development will include shops, restaurants, hotels, and a new performing arts center will be added later.
Adventurous travelers might want to join one of the whale watching tours organized by the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center from December through March. The aquarium recently debuted a new exhibit, “Restless Planet,” with several “immersive habitats” that look, sound, feel and smell like the real thing. Space for group events is also available on site.
Other local venues providing unique settings for meetings and events include the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia; the Chesapeake Bay Center, which features historical and environmental exhibits, facilities for kayaking and other outdoor activities; and the surrounding First Landing State Park, which has a beach, camp sites and hiking trails.
The city's premier meeting facility, the Virginia Beach Convention Center, contains more than 516,000 sq. ft. of space, including more than 150,000 sq. ft. of column-free exhibit space, nearly 29,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and a 31,000-sq. ft. ballroom. The area has more than 12,000 hotel rooms.
WEST VIRGINIA
Famous for its natural beauty, the Mountain State also is home to a unique manmade landmark: the New River Gorge Bridge, which is the world's largest single-arch, steel span bridge.
Visitors have long flocked to West Virginia for its handmade crafts. The number one U.S. manufacturer of handmade glass is Fenton Art Glass in Williamstown, situated north of Charleston on the Ohio border. At Blenko Glass near Huntington, visitors can tour the factory and find discounts on decorative glassware at the outlet store.
Huntington is home to Camden Park, West Virginia's only amusement park, and Douglass Junior and Senior High School, Carter G. Woodson's alma mater.
Just south of Charleston, former 19th century home in Malden has been turned into a popular handcrafts co-op called Cabin Creek Quilts. African Zion Baptist Church, where Booker T. Washington was once a member, is also located in Malden and open for tours.
CHARLESTON
West Virginia's capital city has several notable Black heritage sties, including Garnet High School; the Elizabeth Harden Gilmore House, home of the first female funeral director in Kanawha County; the Mattie V. Lee Home, where the state's first Black female physician lived; and the Samuel Starks House, home of nation's first Black state librarian.
Outdoor activities abound in Charleston
Photo Credit: Charleston CVB
One of the state's most popular sightseeing attractions, the New River Gorge National Recreation Area, is an hour's drive from the city. Other places to see include the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia and the shops, restaurants and architectural landmarks along Capitol Street.
The list of fascinating things to see and do in the South runs long. One of the region's best assets is its abundance of African-American heritage sites, but as you can see, the area also has a diverse array of other cultural and historical attractions. Add in great recreational and entertainment venues and top-rate meeting and lodging accommodations, and you've got plenty of reasons to take your next meeting, incentive trip or reunion to the South. Contacting the state tourism offices shown here, or visiting their Web sites, may lead you to discover even more.
GETTING IN TOUCH
Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel
(800) ALABAMA
www.800alabama.com
Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
(800) NATURAL
www.arkansas.com
Visit Florida/Florida Tourism and Marketing Corp.
(888) 7-FLAUSA
www.visitflorida.com
Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism
(800) 847-4842
www.georgia.org/Travel
Kentucky Department of Tourism
(800) 225-8747
Louisiana Office of Tourism
(800) 677-4082
www.louisianatravel.com
Mississippi Division of Tourism Development
(866) SEE MISS
www.visitmississippi.org
North Carolina Division of Tourism
(800) VISIT NC
www.visitnc.com
South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism
(888) SCSMILE
www.discoversouthcarolina.com
Tennessee Department of Tourist Development
(800) GO2TENN
www.tnvacation.com
Virginia Tourism Corp.
(800) VISITVA
www.virginia.org
West Virginia Division of Tourism
(800) CALL-WVA
www.wvtourism.com