Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/157113
•pg_30-43_ICI__BMT_pg3-58 8/12/13 8:48 PM Page 33 Tours South Beach. If it's a touch of African-American history you seek, your first stop should be Virginia Key Beach. This was the "colored only" beach prior to Civil Rights and features a 70-foot tunnel for miniature trains. The beach included a concession stand, bathhouse and an octagon shaped carousel house with three picnic pavilions. Both the miniature train and tunnel have been restored. The beach was added to the National Registry of Historic Places back in 2002. Other places of note for Black history buffs is the home of E.W.F. Stirrup, a Black pioneer who owned much of what is today Coconut Grove; and the Overtown home of D.A. Dorsey, Miami's first Black millionaire. The Haitian Heritage Museum and Little Havana are wonderful opportunities to expand your cultural horizons without leaving the city. For a little star gazing, Miami is home to numerous celebri- ties and hosts the African Black Film Festival each June. Meeting and convention venues are plentiful. The Miami Beach Convention Center spans four city blocks with over one million sq. ft. of meeting space. The Miami Convention Center has 34 meeting rooms, a 444-seat auditorium and a 117-seat lecture hall and can accommodate up to 5,000 people depending upon configuration. A third convention facility, the recently renovated Doubletree Hotel & Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC) adjacent to the airport features 172,000 sq. ft. of event or meeting space. A premiere location for social events, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts offers theater or outdoor plaza venues than can accommodate up to 6,000 people. From the famed Art Deco properties of South Beach to downtown, Miami has some of the best hotels in the world. Visit miamiandthebeaches.com for more information. PHILADELPHIA, PA Philadelphia cheesesteak. Then head to the Historic District where you'll find the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Carpenters' Hall. The Independence Visitor Center is the exclusive pickup center for free tickets to Independence Hall and offers personalized trip planning services. The Historic District features the African American The Philadelphia region is a "kid's kind of place" where history, horticulture, art, animals, gardens, galleries, tours and theme parks come together for a total family experience. Reading Terminal Market is the nation's oldest continuously operated farmers' market where you can dine on everything from a traditional Amish-style meal to an authentic When you're so close to your ocean view room, so close to famous art, and so near a café cubano, you'll know. No tweet, snapshot or posting will ever be enough. You so have to meet here to get it. MiamiMeetings.com 100,000 Sq.Ft. of Pre-Function Space © Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau – The Official Destination Sales & Marketing Organization for Greater Miami and the Beaches. 5:17:58 PM B M & T ••• July/August 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 33