Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/10149
TEXAS For travelers with a special interest in outdoor activities, Texas offerings include horseback riding at Palo Duro Canyon State Park near Amarillo, exploring the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler, walking through the rainforest at Galveston’s Moody Gardens and hiking along the Laguna Madre Nature Trail next to the South Padre Island Convention Centre. Austin is home to Texas’ first Black neighborhood museum, the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center, while other African-American heritage attractions in the Long Star State include the Carver Community Cultural Center in San Antonio and Paul Quinn College in Waco. El Paso’s Camino Real Hotel, whose guests included President Howard Taft and Poncho Villa, and Heritage Farmstead in Plano are two more items on the list of state historical sites. Itineraries for art lovers might include stops at the Frontier Gallery in Arlington, the Art Museum of South Texas in Corpus Christi, or the world’s largest equestrian sculpture, the Mustangs at Las Colinas, in Irving. DALLAS There’s lots of new development under way in Dallas. The AT&T Performing Arts Center opened in the Dallas Arts District in October 2009. A new Dallas Area Rapid Transit station near Dallas Love Field Airport is coming in December 2010. Phase I in the construction of the new City Performance Hall is set to open in 2011. The Perot Museum of Nature & Science is expected to open its new facility in Victory Park sometime 2013. And plans to build a 1,000-room Dallas Convention Center Hotel are in the works. In the meantime, the Juanita Craft Civil Rights House and other Black heritage attractions welcome visitors. FORT WORTH The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History opened its new $80 million digs in November 2009. Earlier that year, the new Burnout Alley at the Texas Motor Speedway was completed, providing a host of amenities — from catering and concierge services to wireless Internet access — to groups traveling to the attraction by motorcoach. Among the many attractions showcasing Fort Worth’s western her- Stockyards National Historic District, where a daily cattle drive take place Photo Credit: Houston CVB itage is the National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame, which includes exhibits depicting the role of African-American, Hispanic, Native American and European settlers of the West. The list also includes the Stockyards National Historic District, where a daily cattle drive takes place, and the Cattle Raisers Museum, which is housed within the Museum of Science and History. A free shuttle service called Molly the Trolley makes stops at down- town hotels, the convention center and the Fort Worth Water Gardens. Another free shuttle goes to Sundance Square, a pop- ular local spot for shopping, dining and entertainment. Taking up 14 blocks, the Fort Worth Convention Center contains 253,226 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 58,849 sq. ft. of meeting space and a multifunctional area that holds 13,500. There are more than 11,000 area guestrooms, including over 2,000 located downtown. HOUSTON The Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Houston Zoo or the Downtown Aquarium might rank as must-see attractions for the nature enthusiast traveling to Texas’ largest city. Those looking to explore the city’s African-American heritage can visit the American Cowboy Museum on the Taylor Stevenson Ranch, the Project Row Houses art and cultural center, the historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church — founded by freed slaves just after the Civil War — or the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, which claims to have the world’s largest collection of African-American military history. The METRORail system provides easy transportation to many downtown attrac- tions. UTAH Each January, Utah becomes a mecca for fans of movie making during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. A year-round schedule of entertainment is on tap at Park City’s Eccles Center for the Performing Arts. The popular mountain retreat is home to three resorts, each serving up a wide range of outdoor recreation. 72 Downtown Aquarium, water spout area Photo Credit: Houston CVB Black Meetings & Tourism March/April 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com