Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/244474
•pg_13-27__BMT_pg3-58 1/8/14 6:35 PM Page 18 Center at AmericasMart, as well as 200 Peachtree. Additionally, there are top attractions like the World of Coca-Cola, Georgia Aquarium and CNN Worldwide, all of which double as unique event facilities. There is much to see and do in Atlanta. Atlanta Running Tours allows tourists the opportunity to tour the city on foot. Electric Car and Segway Tours Discover some of the city's historical and eclectic neighborhoods on this 90-minute guided tour.The Atlanta Experience Tour is perfect for tourists interested in learning about Atlanta's history, culture and local restaurants. Atlanta Specialty Tours offers a variety of tours including city, dining, theatre and weekend tours that can be customized to individual and group needs. Concentrated along a short mile and a half of Auburn Avenue, the Sweet Auburn Historic District reflects the history, heritage and achievements of Atlanta's AfricanAmericans. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, located in the Sweet Auburn District, is open year-round and free to the public. Tour King's birth home, visit the gravesite of Dr. King and his wife, Coretta, and take the self-guided GPS Ranger Tour. Take a walking tour of the neighborhood, with a 45-minute podcast narrated by civil rights activist Andrew Young. Visit The African-American Panoramic Experience (APEX) Museum, which showcases artistic and historic exhibitions of Atlanta's African-American heritage, including a model of Georgia's first Black-owned drugstore. Atlanta, with an estimated population of 5.5 million (2012) and an African American population of 1.7 million, had an estimated 42.3 million U.S. visitors in 2012. (D.K Shifflet & Associates) The airport is about 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta. BERKELEY, CA. "Berkeley offers meeting planners an inspiring range of venues in a perfect San Francisco Bay location," said Barbara Hillman, president of Visit Berkeley. "We're a university town filled with great minds, and ideas seem to flow naturally here. Memorable meetings are enhanced by quality opportunities to network and make new connections outside the sessions, and in this regard, Berkeley is exemplary with 18 Berkeley downtown with view of Bay-bridge and San Francisco in background Photo Credit -Introvert fantastic restaurants, theaters and local sporting events." It's easy to figure out why so many meetings are held in Berkeley. First of all, Berkeley is a small city with a big reputation. With a population of 112,580 (2010 census) and African-American population of 11, 241 (2010 census), it has a vibrant setting for great meetings, events, and celebrations. Events gain focus, clarity and status from Berkeley's university-town climate of thought leadership. After all, this is the home of the University of California and the birthplace of the Free Speech Movement! It also offers group venues ranging from historic grand ballrooms and modern conference hotels to LEED-certified spaces for green meetings and dramatic theatre spaces. Berkeley gets about 1.2 million visitors annually. Maybe it's because of the sparkling San Francisco Bay. Maybe it's because Berkeley is a city of diverse districts and great discoveries, where visitors come for the culture, stay for the food, and depart with their imaginations, taste buds and memories fully engaged. Across its 18 sq. miles, Berkeley, which is east of the Golden Gate Bridge, offers a cultural and culinary bounty: music and performing arts, great local shops, restaurants, and outdoor recreation. Berkeley's thriving cultural scene is home to the Downtown Berkeley Arts District and Berkeley Art Museum. Aurora Theatre Company, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Cal Performances present world-class productions. The food scene in Berkeley is delicious and exciting. Walking, hiking, and biking trails race along the bay-front and through the city's landmark regional parks. Visitors can enjoy championship golf and beautiful botanic gardens. Adventure-seekers can rock climb, kayak, skateboard and sail. From foodie North Shattuck and flashy Fourth Street, to hip-hop Telegraph Avenue, chic Solano Avenue and the vibrant Downtown Berkeley hub, each of Berkeley's "boroughs" has hyper-local authenticity. There are several walking tours of Berkeley. In the Gourmet Ghetto district, Edible Excursions offers twice-weekly guided Berkeley Culinary Walking Tours (www.edibleexcursions.net). There is also a walking tour of the UC Berkeley campus, offered in both guided and self-guided options. The Free Speech Movement and flower power are forever in the city's "DNA," but Berkeley has evolved into a meeting and conference destination with a "green" soul. There are 1,390 hotel rooms in the city. Oakland International Airport is 13 miles from Berkeley, and accessible via ground transportation and train (Bay Area Rapid Transit). For more information, please call the meetings and group sales representatives at (800) 847-4823. http://visitberkeley.com B M & T ••• November/December 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com