Black Meetings and Tourism

FORT WORTH You can soak up some of Fort Worth's western style on a tour of the Stockyards National Historic District, where a daily cattle drive takes place. Another site, the National Cowboys of Color Museum and Hall of Fame, has a multicul- tural focus highlighting African-American, Hispanic, Native American and European settlers of the West. The new home of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History is expected to open this year, with a portion of its space dedicated to the Cattle Raisers Museum. The Amon Carter Museum, the Sid Richardson Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth are just some of the local options for viewing art exhibits. Meanwhile, the new Museum of Living Art, a habitat for reptiles and amphibians, is set to open at the Fort Worth Zoo in spring 2009. Other notable attractions include Sundance Square, the Texas Motor Speedway and the Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge. The city offers free bus transportation within the downtown area where many top visitor attractions are located. The Fort Worth Convention Center offers 254,226 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 58,849 sq. ft. of meeting space and a 28,160-sq. ft. ball- room. Fort Worth has more than 11,000 guestrooms, including more than 2,000 downtown rooms. SAN ANTONIO The Carver Community Cultural Center, a key institution in San Antonio's African-American community, was origi- nally the auditorium of the Colored Library Association. The city's most famous historical attraction is the Alamo, site of the famed battle of the Texas Revolution. Two others are the King William Historic District and San Antonio Missions PLANO It's only a short drive from Plano to the famous Southfork Ranch, where you can view all kinds of exhibits on the TV show "Dallas." Real farm life of the early 20th century is depicted at Heritage Farmstead, while at Fairview Farms, meeting groups can rent event space in the Fairview Corral Barn and kids can enjoy the pony rides and petting zoos. Other area attractions include the ArtCentre of Plano, the Biblical Arts Center and the Heard Natural Science Museum & Wildlife Sanctuary. The largest meeting venue is the Plano Centre, offering more than 33,000 sq. ft. of space. HOUSTON Houston's Buffalo Soldiers National Museum claims to have the world's largest collection of African-American military histo- ry. Other notable Black heritage attractions include the American Cowboy Museum on the Taylor Stevenson Ranch, the Project Row Houses art and cultural center and the historic Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, founded by freed slaves just after the Civil War. There's more history to explore at the 480-acre George Ranch Historical Park, while art lovers might head to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Houston Pavilions, a new downtown enter- tainment district featuring 360,000 sq. ft. of retail space, opened in October 2008. The Showgrounds at Sam Houston Race Park, another new attraction, hosts live entertainment. Kids in your travel group might especially enjoy a visit to Space Center Houston, the Downtown Aquarium, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, or the Houston Zoo. Houston's METRORail sys- tem links visitors to many downtown attractions, and the city recently launched a new electric car taxi service. The George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston contains 1.8 million gross sq. ft. of space, 862,00 sq. ft. of exhibit space in seven halls and nearly 185,000 sq. ft. of meeting space. Accommodations are provided by more than 60,000 hotel rooms citywide. Black Meetings & Tourism February/March 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 80 Aerial of downtown Fort Worth Texas Photo Credit: Fort Worth CVB Houston Space Center Plaza Photo Credit: Houston CVB Lunch time at the famed Southfork Ranch Photo Credit: PLaon CVB

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