Black Meetings and Tourism

54 Black Meetings & Tourism June/July 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com Phoenix Art Museum, the Heard Museum, the Hall of Flame and Rawhide, a recreat- ed 1880s western town. For more information call (877) 633- 8749. PLANO, TX Largest meeting venue: Plano Centre — 86,400 sq. ft., including 21,600 sq. ft. of exhibit space Number of area guestrooms: 4,100 As part of its effort to provide both cost-efficiency and convenience to visi- tors, the Plano Convention & Visitors Bureau offers three great tools on its Web site. Convention and travel planners can search the site for "Hot Rates" on local hotel rooms and find coupons for dis- counts on lodging, transportation and attractions. They also can fill out an on-line request for a Plano Perks card, described as "a cell phone-based concierge" that gives them access to help with shopping suggestions, dining reservations, event tickets and more with a single phone call. The CVB's convention services are free for groups using at least 50 peak night rooms. The perks include vendor leads and bid proposals, site inspections, information brochures, transportation coordination, planning tours and events and on-site registration assistance. Air travel to Plano is made easy by the city's proximity to two major airports: Dallas/Fort Worth International and Love Field in Dallas. The local DART Rail light rail service and DART bus service provide economical ways for visitors to get around town. The Plano area is home to one of Texas' most popular visitor attractions, the Southfork Ranch in Parker. A special fea- ture of the guided tour is the "Dallas Legends: Fact to Fantasy" exhibit, con- taining artifacts like the gun that shot J.R. and lots of other memorabilia from the famous television show. Back in the city, a walking tour of Historic Plano takes in the shops, old homes and brick-paved streets of the downtown area. The Interurban Railway Museum, which spotlights the history of railway transportation in north Texas, is located in this district. Another local attraction with a historical focus is Heritage Farmstead, a three-acre museum depicting farm life in the early 1900s. Visitors can get a taste of today's local agricultural harvest at Fairview Farms Market Place, which includes a farmer's market and an event facility called the Fairview Corral Barn. For lovers of the arts, the ArtCentre of Plano offers theater performances to see and art galleries to browse. For more information call (800) 81- PLANO. TOPEKA, KS Largest meeting venue: Kansas Expo- centre — 116,000 sq. ft. of meeting and exhibit space Number of area guestrooms: 3,000+ "Kansas has always been a very affordable area when compared to other states," says Olivia Simmons, president and CEO of Visit Topeka, Inc. "However, affordable doesn't mean what it should if you do not have the distinctive choices for shopping, dining and entertainment to offer visitors." Simmons says visitors to the state's capital city — with its rich history, central location and great hospitality — will dis- cover "a plethora of attractions, muse- ums, outdoor activities, festivals and per- forming arts." She goes on to say that the local tourism industry is offering a variety of Old railcar restored and preserved near Downtown Plano rail station Photo Credit: Yuile Reutovich

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