Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/79688
IN THE NEWS James E. Rooney, executive director of the Massachusetts BOSTON TEA PARTY SHIPS & MUSEUM Deal Allows Boston Conventions to Use Historic Venue for Off-Site Meetings & Events MCCA AND HISTORIC TOURS OF AMERICA PARTNER TO RE-OPEN Convention Center Authority (MCCA), recetly welcomed the return of the historic Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum to Congress Street in Boston, re-establishing one of America's most historic sites while allowing Boston-bound conventions and meet- ings to use the space for off-site events. "The convention marketplace is extremely competitive, and meeting planners are always looking to offer their attendees a unique experience," said Rooney. "Now within walking dis- tance of the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center and a short drive from the Hynes Convention Center, we can offer our customers this new world-class and historic venue for off-site events." The Tea Party Ships & Museum are themed around the historic event, which took place nearby at what is today 470 Atlantic Avenue on Dec. 16, 1773 when Colonists protested after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain. Rather than let the tea be unloaded, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident was the colony's first organized act of insurrection and remains an iconic event of American history, beginning a series of escalating protests that led to the start of the American Revolutionary War in 1775. "For years, this great city marked the events surrounding the Boston Tea Party – one of its most famous events – with a plaque and little more," said Mayor Thomas M. Menino. "Now, thanks to this unique collabo- ration between the city, the MCCA and Historic Tours of America, the Boston Tea Party will have a permanent home that will show visitors from around the globe what this singular event meant to the future of America and the world." The Museum offers a stunning 360-degree view of the Boston waterfront, and the facili- ties can cater to standing reception or seated dinners for 120 to 300 attendees. Whether in Abigail's Tea Room, on the ships and the deck, or under the "Complete Museum Experience," the MCCA and the Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum offer a new, historic venue to make Boston events even more memorable. Museum experience tours will start in a mini-replica of a Colonial meeting house, where protesters met before marching to Griffin's Wharf on Dec. 16, 1773. Tickets will assign identities to all guests as they play a role in the reenactment of the Tea Party with live actors before marching to the ships and throwing crates of tea overboard into the Fort Point Channel. The Boston Tea Party Ships & Museum also has two replica ships – the Eleanor and Beaver. A third ship – the Dartmouth – will be built on site at a later date. The site also contains a gift shop and museum, featuring the Robinson Tea Chest, one of only two surviving authentic tea chests from the Boston Tea Party. The Museum experience uses state-of-the-art technology, including the same sound and 3-D projections systems as used by Universal Studios in Florida. The new site includes a chance for visitors to re-enact the protest. Abigail's Tea Room is accessible to the general public and can also be used as events space. The site, which officially opened June 26, is expected to generate some 400,000 to 500,000 visitors annually, quickly making it one of the coun- try's top tourist destinations. BREATHTAKING SCULPTURE PAYS HOMAGE TO Underwater sculpture, in Grenada, in honor of ANCESTORS LOST AT SEA ourAfricanAncestorswhowere thrown overboard the slave ships during the Middle Passage of the African Holocaust. 12 Black Meetings & Tourism July/August 2012: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com