But those are just two small facts that explain why visitors are drawn to Louisville. The city is home to Churchill Downs, which features the “most exciting two minutes in sports” every May during the Kentucky Derby, and the world’s largest baseball bat at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory. You can also cruise along the Ohio River through downtown aboard the Belle of Louisville, the oldest operating steamboat in the nation. Befitting its moniker, the “Possibility City” is loaded with opportunities to mix and match the area’s traditions and legacies or stick to a theme and go all out.

Churchill Downs and its world-famous Kentucky Derby can easily be the main event, whether you are in town for the horse race itself or not; the city has year-round attractions dedicated to the “Run for the Roses.” The Kentucky Derby museum, which features more than 20,000 artifacts, reopened this past April after suffering severe damage following a flood in August 2009. New interactive exhibits give an inside look at the celebrities and fashion of the derby, as well as stories about the horses, jockeys and owners. Free historic guided walking tours of Churchill Downs are also available. Some tours include visits to the gravesites of famous past Derby winners, and others go behind the scenes to areas such as the stalls, jockeys’ quarters and press box.

While the official bat of Major League Baseball is certainly the highlight of the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory, visitors can also step into a batting cage, see all kinds of baseball memorabilia and get the inside scoop from famous players in videos. Custom tours can highlight a favorite team, city or era, and visitors receive a free mini bat. The museum is located on Main Street’s Museum Row along with eight other stop-worthy highlights. Check out yet another sports icon at the Muhammad Ali Center, which celebrates the hometown hero with exhibits, civil rights footage and inspiring stories. The Louisville Science Center lets kids dive into the scientific world around them through permanent and temporary exhibits.

Near all the activity and attractions in downtown Louisville is Kentucky’s largest hotel, Galt House. The property has 1,290 guest rooms, including 650 suites, and a newly renovated 16,000-sq.-ft. ballroom is part of the hotel’s 124,000 square feet of meeting space. The hotel is connected to the Kentucky International Convention Center by skywalk. Rivue Restaurant and Lounge is the hotel’s rooftop restaurant featuring two rotating dining rooms. It has views of downtown and the waterfront and consistently ranks as one of the city’s best restaurants. If that’s not enough, Galt House has six more restaurants and bars to suit a variety of tastes.

Another property option is the 21c Museum Hotel, but it isn’t just a place to stay. The 90-room, boutique hotel is also the only museum dedicated solely to 21st-century art. Maybe it’s the 5,000 square feet of art-filled meeting and event space, iconic red penguins or 9,000 square feet of curated exhibit space by a full-time museum director that helped the hotel win a first-place ranking among Condé Nast Traveler readers in 2009. Travel & Leisure also labeled it “one of the most ambitious unions of art and hospitality ever undertaken.”

When it comes to bourbon, don’t miss tours of the Heaven Hill Bourbon Heritage Center, Maker’s Mark distillery, Jim Beam distillery and Buffalo Trace Distillery. An Urban Bourbon trail features a different kind of tasting trek with a series of stops at Louisville bars and restaurants overflowing with the nation’s only native spirit. Each stop along the way boasts 50 different labels, bourbon flights, bourbon cocktails and all the expertise you need to complete the experience.

Ohio, Indiana & Illinois

Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal

The three-state sweep of rolling hills, sharp cities, green farmland and a wealth of Great Lakes access in Ohio, Indiana and Illinois remains reliable and affordable, yet the area continues to improve its meetings appeal.

In Cleveland, for example, plans call for a new $450 million convention center and medical mart near Tower City, complementing the Cleveland Convention Center (20 meeting rooms and 278,000 square feet of exhibit space) and the International Exposition Center (21 meeting rooms and an 800,000-sq.-ft. main exhibit hall). The Sharonville Convention Center, 15 miles north of Cincinnati, will more than double its meeting space to about 115,000 square feet by next year. The Greater Columbus Convention Center, meanwhile, has unveiled its new $40 million Battelle Hall as work continues on the upcoming 500-room convention center hotel, expected to open in 2012.

Marriott has found a home in Indianapolis. The company is spending $425 million building four new properties — JW Marriott Indianapolis, Indianapolis Courtyard by Marriott Downtown, Indianapolis Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Downtown, and Indianapolis SpringHill Suites by Marriott Downtown — that will add more than 1,600 guestrooms to the city when completed by next year. Planners can check out the new 130-room Comfort Suites near Lucas Oil Stadium, as well as two new downtown group eateries, Scotty’s Brewhouse and the Argentinean Taste of Tango.

The Indiana Convention Center expansion, meanwhile, will increase its exhibit space from 403,000 to 566,000 square feet (745,000 in combination with the new Lucas Oil Stadium) by year’s end. For a different take on the Hoosier experience, check out Bloomington, home of Indiana University and its host of unique and versatile educational venues.

In one of the Midwest’s largest cities, room stock is going up. Chicago’s new 216-room Dana Hotel and Spa, 225-room Hotel Felix and 298-room theWit are adding to the hotel landscape. If you’re headed downtown, don’t miss the Art Institute of Chicago’s new $300 million Modern Wing. But suburban Chicago is ramping up its meetings efforts, especially in the green sector. Lisle, about 30 miles west of Chicago, has four full-service hotels that specialize in green meetings and events. Another Chicago suburb encourages green meetings by making it easy to get outside. For sports events and meetings, few spots rival the group recreation and team-building options found in Galena/Jo Daviess County. This slice of northwest Illinois rules in outdoor activities, from golf and cycling to kayaking and horseback riding.

Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan

It’s not by accident that the state university mascots for Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan honor smart, intuitive and hard-working animals: gophers, badgers and wolverines, respectively. Those attributes could easily be applied to the folks who’ve settled into these Canadian-border states. They are people who work hard, know value and grasp the concept of customer service.

Detroit International Riverfront in Michigan

“While we tend to be more affordable that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice experience,” says Brent Foerster, vice president of sales and marketing for VISIT Milwaukee. Foerster, a native Minnesotan, says that when planners look at the bigger meeting picture they can appreciate all that his part of the Midwest delivers, especially its affordability. “When you look at all Milwaukee has to offer — great hotels and attractions, a vibrant restaurant community, museums and parks and a great waterfront — it all adds up at a very reasonable price point,” he says. “We’ve had attendees leave here saying, ‘Wow, I never knew.’”

Indeed, Wisconsin’s largest city, set on the west shore of Lake Michigan, is undergoing a renewal of its urban industrial roots with a new planetarium, open-air market, $240 million expansion of the Potawatomi Bingo Casino and The Harley-Davidson Museum. There’s a new Harley-friendly place for fans to stay nearby: the 100-room Iron Horse Hotel, set in a century-old warehouse. For Debbie Cowen, CMP, president of Summit Meetings in Denver, the city struck a chord with her and her attendees. “Milwaukee is a value-added city in a great location and really met our client’s needs,” she says. “We had a long conference and we needed somewhere to go besides the meeting rooms, and they have a lot of attractions for the attendees and their families.”

Wisconsin Dells raises the work-and-play bar as well, providing world-class meeting facilities (Chula Vista Resort, Wisconsin Dells Center and 200,000-sq.-ft. Exposition and Sports Center) in a country setting hailed for its water parks. Madison, the state capital and a prestigious arts and culture community, offers terrific options for government and educational networking.

Minnesota presents a multitude of options worth a planner’s consideration as well. Saint Paul features a pair of meeting halls: the RiverCentre, with 68,000 square feet of exhibit space and 15 meeting rooms, and the versatile Xcel Energy Center that seats up to 18,000 for all sorts of events. Minneapolis recently unveiled a host of new venues, including Target Field, the Minnesota Twins’ new stadium, and the University of Minnesota TCF Bank Stadium.

Michigan’s popular capital city of Lansing continues to add new properties to its metro area while updating others, including the Radisson Lansing Hotel and the East Lansing Marriott. In the Motor City area, meanwhile, the 453-room Westin Book Cadillac Detroit and the 203-unit Doubletree Guest Suites Fort Shelby have wrapped up renovations.

Iowa, Missouri & Kansas

Many planners and their attendees are pleasantly surprised after a meeting in the central states of Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. Sure, these states are covered in graceful rows of corn and wheat, but you’ll also find wineries, fine dining, arts and culture, colleges and universities, and sports and recreation.

Iowans take their meetings industry seriously. Witness the $42 million expansion and renovation getting underway at Des Moines’ Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Built in 1954, the auditorium, later known at “Vets,” became one of the leading events venues in the nation. Today, it’s part of the larger Iowa Events Center, which also has the 100,000-sq.-ft. Hy-Vee Hall for exhibitions, and the Wells Fargo Arena, which hosts concerts and sporting events. The renovation of the auditorium will add 32,875 square feet of meeting space and a 28,730-sq.-ft. ballroom.

East of Des Moines is Amana Colonies, a rural landmark and collection of seven villages known for its family-style cooking, homemade wine and furniture, and rock-solid Midwestern spirit. Buildings date back to the 1850s, echoing traditional German and American Colonial architecture. The colonies boast enough meeting space to accommodate 400 people.

Missouri makes it easy for people to get outside at meetings and events. Located in the Ozark Mountains in the southwest corner of the state, the Branson area has three lakes, theme parks and golfing for groups. Take an afternoon to explore Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a 10,000-acre park with rock bluffs, waterfalls, hiking and biking trails, and log cabins. Groups can go hiking and biking, horseback riding, trout fishing and kayaking. Of course, a trip to Branson should include a live entertainment show for which the town is famous. Watch one of more than 40 live daily shows at Silver Dollar City or listen to hits from the ’60s at Caravel Theatre.

Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Mo.

Missouri and Kansas share one big town: Kansas City. In Missouri, the city completed a $135 million renovation to the convention center in 2007, adding a 46,500-sq.-ft. ballroom, one of the 10 largest ballrooms in the nation. The center spans eight blocks and has 388,000 square feet of exhibit space and 45 meeting rooms. More developments followed, including the new Entertainment District, an $835 million project that added eight blocks of retail, dining and music venues to the downtown landscape three blocks from the convention center.

On the Kansas side, Overland Park offers large-scale meeting facilities in a laid-back, casual suburban town. The Overland Park Convention Center has 237,000 square feet of meeting space that includes an exhibition hall, seven meeting rooms and an outdoor veranda. Nearby Johnson County Community College has meeting space throughout campus, including the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art that can host groups up to 300 people and has on-site catering. If it’s arts, dining and abundant meeting space you want, you can find it on both sides of the border.

— Marc Boisclair

For more than 40 years, “Virginia is for Lovers” has been the most recognizable travel slogan in the nation, well before we let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas. It’s hard to pinpoint why the slogan has stuck around so long, but maybe it’s because everyone can relate to it. Virginia is for history lovers and beach lovers, for outdoor lovers and urban lovers. And as it turns out, Virginia is also for meeting planners, who love the state as a place to host events. That affection has poured into Virginia’s friendly neighboring states of Maryland and West Virginia, and cities throughout the Mid-Atlantic trio welcome groups with open arms.

Washington, D.C.

U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C.

One of the great things about Washington, D.C., as a meetings destination is that it can handle events big and small. Large-scale conferences find the space they need at the Walter E. Washington Conference Center with 703,000 square feet for exhibits or the D.C. Armory National Guard Building with 118,000 square feet of exhibit space. More intimate events can take advantage of convention hotels, such as the Marriott Wardman Park with more than 1,200 guest rooms and173,000 square feet to stretch out. Other hotels with convention and rooms space include the Hilton Washington, Grand Hyatt Washington and Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

Maddie Hilpert found everything she needed at the Omni Shoreham Hotel. With 783 guest rooms and 100,000 square feet of event space, it had plenty of room to accommodate more than 2,000 people who attended Hilpert’s annual Center for Lifelong Learning conference for the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. As director of corporate development, Hilpert plans ADHA’s events and booked the Omni five years ago when she expected about half as many attendees. But the hotel was more than happy to make room as conference numbers grew. And it was in the right price range, she says.

The other thing Washington offered for the ADHA attendees was the Capitol. Not to tour it, but to actually do some business. Hilpert added a lobby day to the conference agenda, and meeting attendees headed to Capitol Hill to advocate for oral health and access to dental care. “Having a lobby day created a lot of buzz around the event,” says Hilpert. Washington has all the great attractions, restaurants and meeting space you expect from a host city, but those qualities “don’t outweigh the ability to go to Capitol Hill,” she says.

Other associations and specialty groups don’t need a lobby day, but they do need good entertainment and food. Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has 7 million annual visitors, and the National Museum of American History turns 100 this year. Hilpert’s group likes city tours, and more than 50 companies offer varying kinds, including historic tours, ghost tours and illuminated monument tours. Dining for large groups shouldn’t be a problem with more than 90 metro restaurants that offer private dining space, including 10 within walking distance of the convention center.

Sometimes, planners spend too much time trying to convince members that it’s worth a trip to attend just to visit the host city. Washington, D.C. made that part of Hilpert’s job much easier. It sells itself. “You really don’t have to market D.C.,” she says. “Your attendees already know what D.C. is about.”

Virginia Beach, Virginia

Virginia Beach Convention Center

Blue and green. Those two colors define Virginia Beach. It’s blue because of the Atlantic waters that hug more than 35 miles of oceanfront property, and it’s green because of its 100 certified eco-friendly hospitality businesses, leading the state’s green movement. In fact, the Virginia Beach Convention Center, with 500,000 square feet of space, is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council and has a LEED Accredited Professional on staff to coordinate events.

The new Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center can accommodate up to 2,000 people for meetings, and the 1,300-seat Sandler Center for the Performing Arts has indoor and outdoor space. The aquarium recently opened its $25 million Restless Planet attraction, which has 12,000 square feet of new habitats and species, including Komodo dragons, cobras and hedgehogs. Convention hotels provide planners with plenty of options for meetings. The historic Cavalier Hotel has 18 meeting rooms, the largest of which has more than 16,000 square feet of space, and The Oceanfront Inn has meeting space and group tour packages like dolphin- and whale-watching trips, historic tours and “Taste of Virginia Beach” culinary excursions.

When the day’s meetings are over, Virginia Beach begs you to get outside. With more than 18,000 acres of state parks and miles of waterways, you can kayak, bike and hike your way through the city. Or, just stroll along the 3-mile-long boardwalk, where live bands play on oceanfront stages from May to September.

Virginia Beach is the ideal location where old and new attractions coexist. Gather in downtown’s newest area, Town Center, a 17-block collection of shops, restaurants and clubs, or stop by one of the nation’s oldest points of interest at First Landing State Park, the most visited park in Virginia, where John Smith landed in America in 1607 before heading north to Jamestown.

Roanoke, Virginia

No matter what museums and restaurants are added to Virginia’s Roanoke Valley, its natural landscape always will be its best attraction. Surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, Roanoke’s scenic location, affordable prices and abundant meeting space make it an ideal spot for meetings and events.

Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke

“The thing that just wowed us the most is that the city itself wanted our event there,” says Jo Ann Emmons, the Virginia State Harley Owners Group Rally coordinator. The folks in Roanoke went “above and beyond” for Emmons’ group of more than 2,000 Harley Davidson riders who cruised into town last July. The event included poker runs, observation rides, concerts and a parade of 1,300 bikes. So when Emmons says the whole town welcomed her, she means it, because the rally spread throughout town. Usually, the event lasts three days, but “Roanoke warranted four days of activities,” Emmons says.

H.O.G. Rally attendees visited attractions such as the Virginia Museum of Transportation, Taubman Museum of Art, Dixie Caverns and Valhalla Vineyards. The city has plenty of meeting space, including the Roanoke Civic Center with 110,000 square feet of exhibit space. Boxtree Lodge’s Braeloch building, which hosted the H.O.G. Rally’s pre-registration, has moutain and lake views. Its “quiet, secluded location set the tone for the rest of the event,” says Emmons.

For lodging, consider the historic 1882 Hotel Roanoke. With marble floors and vaulted ceilings, it looks like it’s from a bygone era, yet its 332 guest rooms and 35 meeting rooms have modern amenities. Trish Clark, co-chair for the National Association of Insurance Women, Region II, planned last year’s conference at the hotel. “The staff and attention to detail was amazing,” she says. “Several attendees approached me and said that we had fulfilled their life-long dream of staying at the Hotel Roanoke.”

Charleston, West Virginia

Where the Elk and Kanawha rivers meet in West Virginia sits Charleston, the state’s capital. Despite being the largest city in the state, Charleston maintains that small, family-friendly feeling. It’s Charleston’s focus on hospitality that makes it a destination to consider for meetings, says Patricia Bradley-Pitrolo, president and CEO of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Downtown Charleston

Pamela Meister agrees. As executive director of the Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC), she helps select the site of the annual convention. “Everybody was very invested in making it a great meeting for us,” says Meister, who brought a group of 200 museum curators and professionals from 12 Southeastern states to Charleston last October. “When we’re selecting a site, we insist that we’re invited by the museum community,” she says. In Charleston, that community is the West Virginia Division of Culture and History. “They were phenomenal,” Meister says of the team, who helped organize events at the newly renovated West Virginia State Museum, the governor’s mansion, and the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, which includes an art museum, science museum and a performing arts center. The SEMC also used the Charleston Civic Center, which has more than 50,000 square feet of exhibit space, as well as on-site catering, audio and visual equipment, and in-house pipe-and-drape services. “It’s really a one-stop shop,” says Meister.

Seven hotels sit within walking distance of the civic center, totaling more than 1,400 rooms, including the Marriott-Charleston Town Center, where the SEMC group stayed. For dining, Bradley-Pitrolo recommends Tidewater Grill, Laury’s, Chop House and Joe Fazio’s, and for shopping, she says the open-air Capitol Market with fresh fruit, vegetables, coffee and cheese is a can’t miss.

Located in the Appalachian Mountains, Charleston also has whitewater rafting, ATV trail riding, hiking, bridge tours of the New River Gorge and horseback riding in the 9,302-acre Kanawha State Forest.

Baltimore, Maryland

Sports bars cozy up with artist studios and crab shacks on the streets of Baltimore near the Patapsco River. That river — an arm of Chesapeake Bay — helped establish the city as a seaport town, and its location continues to draw visitors to Maryland’s largest city. “Baltimore is one of the most accessible cities in the country,” says Tom Noonan, president and CEO of Visit Baltimore.

Bo Brooks Restaurant, Baltimore

For meetings, planners need to look no further than the Baltimore Convention Center. Located in the heart of downtown, the center has 300,000 square feet of exhibit space, and it’s “just two feet away” from hotels, restaurants and sports venues, says Noonan. It’s also linked by overhead walkways to Inner Harbor, the city’s premier entertainment district with shopping, museums, live music and local pubs. More than 8,500 hotel rooms are within walking distance of the convention center, including the new 757-room Hilton Baltimore Convention Center Hotel.

No trip to Baltimore is complete without sampling fresh crab. Noonan recommends Bo Brooks or Captain James Landing Restaurant on the waterfront for big groups. For a taste of history, head to Fort McHenry, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. Sports fans can visit the Babe Ruth Birthplace or Sports Legends Museum. The National Aquarium is also a popular destination and can serve as a non-traditional space to host an event.

America’s Southeast is caught between the past and the 
present, and that’s what makes it such an appealing destination. Convention facilities are housed in century-old buildings, yet they have modern audio and visual equipment. Hotels are newly renovated, but they maintain the charm of generations past. Restaurants serve delicious and impeccable dishes, but the 
recipes date back decades. It’s in the Southeast, from Mississippi and Alabama all the way east to 
North Carolina, that Southern hospitality meets technology and professionalism, resulting in a 
refreshing mix that brings satisfying rewards for meeting participants.

Atlanta, Georgia

Big city amenities and Southern hospitality: That’s what you’ll find in Atlanta. As the ninth largest metro area in the country, Atlanta has more restaurants, hotels and meetings facilities than you’ll ever need, but it’s the way the city caters to each group individually that makes it stand out.

I Have a Dream Museum, Atlanta

Amanda Scott experienced Atlanta’s warm hospitality the minute she stepped off the train downtown. Banners hanging from the light poles and inside the Hilton hotel welcomed her group, the Association of Baccalaureate Social Work Program Directors (BPD). “To come off of the metro and see a welcome BPD sign, we knew they really went out of their way for us,” says Scott, the association manager. The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau coordinated the signage.

More than 900 participants attended the conference. “With the economy, we were worried we’d make our numbers,” says Scott. “But because of the destination, people decided to come anyway.” Scott looks for destinations with civil rights attractions, which appeal to the association of social workers. Atlanta’s Martin Luther King, Jr., National Historic Site, which includes his birth home and the church he attended as a child, was the most-visited attraction among attendees. Many members bring their spouses and children, so downtown’s World of Coca-Cola museum and Georgia Aquarium were also popular spots. Atlanta’s location made it easy for so many families to attend, says Scott. “Atlanta is a great central location for people to come. It’s not too far south, or too far east, especially when you have people coming form across the U.S.”

The location also made Matt Wales’ job easy. “Atlanta has the largest airport in the country, which makes it easy for our members to get there,” says Wales, meetings and events manager for the Washington, D.C.-based American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE). Atlanta was also a good match for a few other reasons. “For us, it was that great combination of having that first-tier city access to all the attractions, restaurants and things that make it an attractive place at a price that was extremely affordable for us,” he says. He recommends the Hyatt Regency Atlanta for its combination of meeting space (180,000 square feet), newly renovated rooms, and convenient downtown location.

There’s so much Wales liked about Atlanta, he’s considering returning for the AACTE 2015 conference that he’s currently planning. “I will go on record saying of all the events I’ve done, they were the best CVB I’ve ever worked with,” he says. “Atlanta is big, vibrant, action-packed, very diverse. It’s not just geared toward one type of individual and that’s what makes it attractive to our attendees.”

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Whether you’re a college football fan, Cajun cuisine lover or enthusiast for the pristine nature surrounding Bayou country, Baton Rouge has a wealth of draws for meeting planners. Culture in this southeastern Louisiana town may come with a little Tabasco or even a tiger’s growl, but it’s all covered in a good bit of genuine warmth and hospitality.

As the state’s capital and home to Louisiana State University, attractions, dining and entertainment are never hard to come by. Groups such as the Midwestern Travel Writers Association, meeting in Baton Rouge this month, use the LSU Rural Life Museum’s new meeting space to liven up an event. The exhibits in the museum take visitors to Louisiana before the Industrial Revolution. The college town is also filled with live music for a night out or swamp tours that take attendees way off the beaten path if so desired.

An elegant event at Nottoway Plantation, the largest plantation home in the South, has an authentic South Louisiana feel to it. New accommodations are on the grounds as well as the renovated Mansion restaurant, which can be converted to banquet or meeting space. The barn at Magnolia Mound is also a popular venue for an old-fashioned crawfish broil set against a rare Creole plantation house surrounded by gorgeous Magnolia trees.

A different side of Cajun country can be tasted along one of the Louisiana Culinary Trails that go through the area. The Louisiana Office of Tourism and Tabasco has created culinary tours throughout the state, but the restaurants on the trail that cuts through Baton Rouge are enough to satisfy groups with their combination of Cajun, Creole and French flavors.

In 2005, the Baton Rouge River Center expansion added a 70,000-sq.-ft exhibition hall to the existing arena and theater for the performing arts. More than 200,000 square feet of new and renovated space is available in the downtown complex.

Birmingham, Alabama

For a metropolitan area with a population of more than a million people, the shopping, entertainment and dining options in Alabama’s largest city are not surprising. Sports dominate with bass fishing, golf and attractions such as the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum and nearby Talladega Superspeedway. The city plays host to the IRL Grand Prix of Alabama and the USTA Federation Cup this spring. It is a regular host of the SEC baseball tournament and last year it welcomed tennis’ Davis Cup first-round match.

Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Birmingham

Civil rights are a huge part of the city’s history and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 16th Street Baptist Church and Kelly Ingram Park are among the many highlights of a civil rights tour of the city, each providing its own distinctive setting for meaningful offsite venues.

Your group can spend an afternoon shopping in the charming neighborhoods close to downtown from Mountain Brook to Homewood and the Highlands. There, they’ll find cute boutiques and nationally recognized restaurants. But the Summit and Riverchase Galleria malls have it all when it comes to name-brand shops and restaurants.

As one would expect in a city the size of Birmingham, large convention space is plentiful. The Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex (BJCC) has 220,000 square feet of exhibit space while smaller venues are available throughout the region, such as the Cahaba Grand Conference Center with 22,000 square feet or the Gardendale Civic Center’s 16,000 square feet of meeting space.

The big news for meetings in Birmingham is the $530 million expansion and renovation of the BJCC set to begin in 2011 and completed in 2014. The expansion includes a 57,000-seat facility that includes 160,000 square feet of flat floor space and long-awaited updates to the existing space.

Charlotte, North Carolina

It’s hard to be the first of anything anymore, but the Charlotte Convention Center can claim one very important first: the first convention facility to go green in North Carolina. It has switched to biodegradable cups and eco-friendly cleaning supplies, maintains constant internal heat and air-conditioning temperatures, and recycles all aluminum, glass and plastic bottles used by groups. Green initiatives have crept into every aspect of convention planning, which makes going green in Charlotte the standard rather than a hassle.

Charlotte Convention Center

The Charlotte Convention Center, with more than 90,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, anchors Charlotte’s Center City convention district. The area boasts nearly 100 restaurants, as well as art and science museums. Susan Perry of The Perry Group has been planning events for 25 years, and she looks for three things in destination cities: affordability, support and location. “Charlotte had all that,” says Perry, who plans the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association conference every year. “We were able to work with the city so we could afford it.” More than 900 attendees headed to Charlotte, and Perry found that the convention center and area hotels offered more than enough space for the group’s needs. In fact, she only used one-third of the convention center. The Westin Charlotte, Hilton Charlotte Center City, Omni Hotel and Charlotte Marriott Center City are all large hotels with space for groups to spread out (and hold meetings, if need be) within walking distance of the convention facilities.

A trio of new destinations within the city gives visitors plenty to do during non-meeting hours. Perry’s attendees spent a lot of free time at the EpiCentre, an entertainment venue just blocks from the convention center with shops and restaurants. It’s become the heart of the nightlife scene in Uptown. Nearby, the Wells Fargo 
Cultural Campus is an arts mecca, with newly opened galleries including the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art and Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts and Culture. Mint Museum Uptown, a 145,000-sq.-ft. museum of American, contemporary and craft art, opens in October. And the newly opened NASCAR Hall of Fame is a 150,000-sq.-ft. space dedicated to the history of auto racing. The museum, which includes interactive exhibits and a racing “Hall of Honor,” is adjacent to the convention center.

Charlotte has always been a good destination for business meetings, but has changed dramatically in the past 10 years, notes Perry. “The city is much more alive.” From viewing the orchids at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden to riding the roller coasters at Carowinds, Charlotte is a charming Southern town that warrants an extra day or two after the meetings are done.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

On the water and surrounded by mountains, it’s no wonder that Chattanooga is committed to protecting its environment. Area businesses are also promoting the locavor movement. Local produce not only fills the menus of farm-to-table restaurants but the Chattanooga Convention Center serves it from its own kitchen as much as possible.

Keith Quatrano, the five-star chef behind the catering at the convention center, embraces Southern cuisine while partnering with local growers to keep the menu fresh and as local as possible. The eco-friendly 185,000-sq.-ft. convention center uses natural lighting, recycles, and donates non-consumed food to the Chattanooga Food Bank’s Second Helpings program as part of its green initiative.

A free, zero-emission electric shuttle system, a revitalized downtown with green space, a wetlands preservation area and 25 miles of walking paths in the surrounding community encourage people to get out of their cars and get outside. Other city initiatives include a goal to have at least 20 LEED-certified buildings downtown by 2011 and to double the tree canopy in the central business district.

The First Tennessee Pavilion seats up to 4,000 attendees in the great outdoors when not occupied by concerts or the seasonal Chattanooga Market. Attendees can enjoy an outdoor break from meetings as well as local attractions ranging from the Chattanooga Nature Center and Chattanooga Aquarium to whitewater rafting, kayaking or hiking. Nearby, Ruby Falls and Rock City are popular natural attractions.

Greenville, South Carolina

Debbie Motz has taken her biannual Eastern Outdoor Reps Association trade show to several cities throughout the Southeast, but none seem to draw the attendance that Greenville does. So instead of bouncing from city to city, the association holds its Southeast regional show every February and August in Greenville. “It seems Greenville is that magical destination that everyone will go to,” says Motz, EORA executive director. “It’s great because the interstate systems and airport make it easy for people to get there.”

Trolley in Downtown Greenville

Convenience may attract attendees, but a revitalized Main Street holds their attention. The EORA uses the Carolina First Center and surrounding hotels for its event, but Motz has found that more and more attendees are choosing to stay downtown and drive the three miles to the convention center in order to take advantage of the restaurants, shopping and entertainment within walking distance. She blocks rooms in hotels both near the convention center, which include a Hyatt, Hilton and others along the Haywood Road corridor, and one downtown hotel to satisfy attendees. The historic Westin Pointsett anchors downtown and a 135-room Courtyard Marriott is scheduled to open in June.

“What’s great is that at 5 p.m. our sidewalks don’t roll up,” says Todd Bertka, vice president of sales at the Greenville CVB. The summer season brims with concerts on Thursday and Friday nights, outdoor dining and the arts scene. “There really isn’t a slow night from now until October,” Bertka says.

Whether it’s a Greenville Drive baseball game at Fluor Field or a concert at the Peace Center, attendees seem to take full advantage of what’s available to them in their off time. Bertka refers to the city as having a lot of surprising unknowns. Meeting venues range from the conventional — the First Center, which completed a $22 million renovation on its 280,000 square feet of exhibit space and 60,000 square feet of meeting and conference space in 2008 — to the creative, such as Zen, a swanky 12,000-sq.-ft. flexible space on Greenville’s West End.

Amidst its variety of activity, downtown is bookended by Falls Park and Heritage Green. Falls Park is a green space with nature trails, a pond, gardens and Liberty Bridge, a 355-foot bridge supported by a single suspension cable overlooking a waterfall. Four museums make up the arts and cultural campus of Heritage Green. Your group can visit the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Museum and Gallery at Heritage Green and The Children’s Museum, or you can host an event at the Greenville Little Theatre or the Upcountry History Museum.

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is a city of complementary contrasts. Downtown has historic churches alongside areas with active shopping, dining and nightlife. Antebellum homes are just minutes from the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

Dr. Margaret Kelly was more than happy to welcome close to 3,000 fellow Delta Sigma Theta sorority members and guests to her hometown in June 2009 for the sorority’s 42nd Southern Regional Conference. As the president of the Huntsville Alumnae chapter, Kelly served as conference coordinator and made the winning bid for her city to host the biennial conference based on its hospitality, the civic center’s ability to hold such a large conference and all the activities the city.

In newsletters leading up to the event, Kelly suggested attractions including the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Huntsville Botanical Garden, Burritt on the Mountain, golf and EarlyWorks Children’s Museum to keep attendees entertained.

Big Spring Park, Huntsville

Kelly worked with the Huntsville/Madison County CVB to arrange discounts with local restaurants. The CVB welcomed the group with banners and signage. “The hotels and convention center went beyond the call of duty,” Kelly says. In turn, the sorority members donned their colors when they came to town. “We brightened the city with red,” Kelly says.

The sorority was able to hold all of its events, from workshops to a gospel fest, at the Von Braun Center, while staying at area hotels. Currently the center, which has 170,000 square feet of meeting space, is undergoing a $25 million makeover. The renovation, updating the 1,950-seat concert hall and 8,500-seat arena, is scheduled for completion by spring 2011.

Adjacent to the center, construction has begun on the Constellation Development, a shopping, office and retail mixed-use facility. Two hotels are part of the project, including a 153-room Springhill Suites by Marriott set to open winter 2011.

One part of the conference was held outside the Von Braun Center. The Southern region chapters presented $10,000 and school supplies to area schools during a special ceremony in Big Spring International Park. The downtown green space earns its designation as an international park because gifts acquired from around the world, including 60 cherry blossom trees from Japan, a 1929 fog bell from Norway and a park bench from Britain.

Tampa, Florida

If being near the water is important for your meeting, Tampa is a destination to consider. Located on the west coast of Florida, the city sits on Tampa Bay, which leads to the Gulf of Mexico.  The Tampa Convention Center has waterfront views and is accessible from hotels, shops and restaurants by an electric streetcar, water taxi or the Tampa Riverwalk.

“The CVB is fantastic and the convention center is very easy to work with,” says Liz Tarver, sales and marketing manager for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Tarver organizes the aviation association’s annual summit, which has a few special demands. The convention center must be within three miles of a general aviation airport because the event has an indoor exhibit at a convention hall and an outdoor show at the airport. Tampa Bay and Co., the city’s CVB, helped make what can be a difficult process very easy for Tarver, which isn’t the case in all cities, she says.

Conference attendees have a number of hotels to choose from. The Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel and Marina downtown has water views and a full-service spa. Renaissance Tampa International Plaza and the InterContinental Tampa are within steps of shopping, dining and entertainment at Westhore Plaza and International Plaza and Bay Street. And the Mainsail Suites and Conference Center features a new 17,000-sq.-ft. conference facility.

Ybor City, Tampa

Cigar makers founded Tampa’s landmark historic district, Ybor City, in the 1880s. Today, it’s a diverse neighborhood with a wealth of international restaurants housed in old buildings. Columbia Restaurant is a family-owned dining dynasty in Ybor City and offers 15 separate rooms that can accommodate 10 to 200 guests for fine 
Spanish and Cuban cuisine accompanied by live flamenco nightly.

Professional sports fans will not be disappointed by Tampa’s choices. From MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays to NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, groups can plan large outings to games. If you’re more into culture than sports, Tampa has a full list of festivals throughout the year, from Historic Ybor City’s Fiesta Italiana to the annual Florida State Fair. With nice weather almost year-round, outdoor festivals in this pedestrian-friendly city are always welcome, as are all the attractions near the convention center. More than 2,400 hotels rooms are within walking distance of the center, including the Embassy Suites Tampa-Downtown, connected to the convention center by SkyBridge. The hotel has a 20-story glass-enclosed atrium and 9,000 square feet of meeting space.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The 60-mile beachfront stretch, also known as “The Grand Strand,” of the Myrtle Beach area is swimming in accolades: best beach, best hotel, best weekend getaway, best value. The sunny Southern spot, which includes 12 communities from Little River to Pawleys Island, has won it all. It’s known for its golf courses, shag dancing, Calabash seafood and historic rice plantations, but it’s also a popular meetings destination.

A golfer’s paradise, the area has seven of America’s 100 Greatest Public Courses, as rated by Golf Digest. Meetings attendees won’t be disappointed by the courses at Caledonia, Dunes, Grande Dunes, Heritage, Tidewater or Barefoot. For meetings that welcome the family to come along, more than 50 area courses allow kids to play free, says Steve Mays, senior director of marketing for Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. Better at putting than driving? Myrtle Beach is considered the “Miniature Golf Capital of the World.” In fact, more than 50 courses line the seaside stretch of the Grand Strand.

For those jonesing for some low-country cuisine (such as the Southern specialty shrimp and stone-ground grits), the Murrells Inlet Marsh Walk, set in a historic fishing village, is brimming with restaurants serving up fresh seafood caught right off the dock. Big decks line a saltwater estuary, which serves a backdrop for live bands that play nightly almost year-round.

Myrtle Beach adds a new attraction to its beachside location: the Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade, which stretches 1.2 miles along the coast, divided into three sections. The north section allows for a peaceful walk on a raised, wooden deck. The central section invokes a carnival atmosphere sporting cafes and souvenir shops. The south section is less developed, and has windng paths through natural sand dunes.

Dunes Golf and Beach Club, Myrtle Beach

With your free time accounted for, it’s back to business. The international airport, 89,000 area rooms (including condos and beach cottages), and Myrtle Beach Convention Center make meetings a snap. More than 20 of the area’s hotels and resorts offer meeting facilities for groups up to 2,000 people. In 2009, Travel and Leisure readers named the Marriott Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes (with modern meeting facilities) as one of the Top 500 World’s Best Hotels. The plethora of outdoor activities in the area also makes it ideal for team-building exercises. Test out Jet Ski races, deep-sea fishing trips or kayak excursions.

A century after families first started vacationing in what was originally called New Town, this coastal gem is now packed with affordably priced activities and lodging for meetings and events.

— Jennifer Garrett and Libby Hoppe