Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/101952
ICI •pg_29-34__BMT_pg3-58 12/21/12 3:45 AM Page 34 YOUR HARLEM EXPERIENCE BEGINS AT THE APOLLO THEATER Great artists and great audiences alike visit the Apollo Theater for Amateur Night, Apollo Music Café and to explore local shops, restaurants and late-night attractions. On your next visit to New York, make the world famous Apollo Theater your destination. 34 BM&T ••• September/October 2012 Toronto Skyline City Hall or HarbourFront Centre. Both sites have onsite skate rentals, music and lots of hot chocolate. One of the best zoos in all of North American is the Toronto Zoo with over 5,000 animals representing some 500 species. The only thing you need to remember about a trip to Toronto is your passport. If you need assistance planning a reunion in Toronto, go to seetorontonow.com and click on the meeting planners link or call (416) 203-2600. In Philadelphia, the AfricanAmerican reunion business, while still robust has declined somewhat in recent years, but an improving economy will change that. In a given year 30 to 40 reunions are booked through the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB), with many more booked by families themselves or outside agencies. Ninety-five percent of all African American reunions booked in the City of Brotherly Love are family reunions. Philadelphia's Historic District is one of the top attractions with many points of interest within the district free to the public. Other family reunion venues are Fairmont Park the nation's largest urban park; Penn's Landing Waterfront, which hosts free and low cost events throughout the summer; and the Reading Terminal Market, Philly's historic farmers market. Both the PCVB and the Multi Cultural Affairs Congress (MAC) offer a wide range of support to meeting planners from assistance with hotel accommodations to sample itineraries, walking maps, visitors guides and assistance navigating city resources. Virginia Beach is a family reunion paradise. The beach is the top destination with tons of free entertainment all summer long including: Beachstreet USA, nightly music and shows in the parks along the boardwalk; and fireworks on Sunday and Wednesday during July and August. Families also enjoy outings to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, Dolphin Watching boat trips, Captain Jack's Pirate Ship and the region's numerous parks for those family picnics. There are several oceanfront hotel properties as well as properties on Chesapeake Bay and the Town Center area that host reunions and banquets. The Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau assists families by sending out leads to hotels in the area. Once booked at a Virginia Beach hotel the CVB has bags, attraction brochures, nightly entertainment schedules, dining guides and post cards for each family reunion member. While we've focused on specific destinations, the cruise line industry has garnered a sizeable piece of the African-American family reunion business. Cruises offer a one-stop, all-inclusive resource that allows travel agents and planners to quickly put together packages to exotic foreign locales. Cruises lines can accommodate the cost-conscious or the high-end traveler and everything in between, often on the same ship with prices starting at around $350 for a 3-day cruise, not including airfare. Most cruises are booked through travel agents who specialize in family reunions and cruises. If booked far enough in advance (minimum 12 months), travel agents and cruise lines allow for easy payment plans, with final payments due 60 days before departure. Cruise lines leave from ports up and down the eastern seaboard, the Gulf of Mexico, or the U.S. west coast. There is bound to be a port-of-call nearby to save money on airfares. Carnival, Holland America, Disney, Royal Caribbean and others have activities that are age specific. So while adults are enjoying the spa the kids are enjoying fun activities all organized by the cruise line. Cruise lines can also tailor family activities specific to your family. And finally, planners and travel agents should be aware that cruise lines are not all alike. Disney built their reputation on the family; while others cruise lines are better suited to the party crowd. ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com