Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/3108
MONTGOMERY Overlooking the Alabama River, the Montgomery Convention Center is the premier meeting venue in Alabama's capital city, containing 73,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space and a 1,800-seat performing arts theater. The adjacent Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa offers 25,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and a 14,000-sq. ft. ballroom. The recent $29 million convention center expansion is part of a major development of the downtown riverfront that also includes the Riverwalk Amphitheater and the Riverwalk Stadium. A Civil Rights audio tour can guide visitors through a self-paced exporation of several local landmarks, including the spectacular Civil Rights Memorial, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church (where the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was pastor) the Parsonage Museum in the King family home and the Rosa Parks Library and Museum. Another local Black heritage site, the home of Nat King Cole, has been moved from its original site to the campus of Alabama State University. Other local attractions include the Historic Union Station — which houses the Visitor Center and Depot Gift Shop — the Governor's Mansion and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts in Blount Park, which hosts the famed Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Another point of interest for literary buffs is the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum. TUSKEGEE Accommodations at Tuskegee University's Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center may be the ideal fit for a small group. All with a full-service hotel, the facility offers 17,000 sq. ft. of meeting space in several rooms and a ball- room that holds up to 350 people. The National Park Service conducts tours on the Tuskegee campus of the George Washington Carver Museum and The Oaks, the home of the school's founder, Booker T. Washington. There also are guided tours available of the National Tuskegee Airmen Museum and Moton Field, where the legendary pilots received their flight training. ARKANSAS The tiny southern Arkansas town of Hamburg has a bit of star power with the opening of the Pippen Meadows Golf Course. The owner of the facility is former NBA player Scottie Pippen, who hails from the town. A more likely meeting destination in the Timberlands region where Hamburg sits is Pine Bluff, where thousands of visitors gath- er each September for the Smoke on the Water barbecue and music festival. A notable year-round attraction is the Southeast Arkansas Arts and Science Center. In Hot Springs — the state's biggest tourist draw — top attractions include Bath House Row in Hot Springs National Park, Magic Springs theme park and the new Gangster Museum of America. Hot Springs conventioneers with time for a day trip might consider a visit to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, the world's only dia- mond-producing site that's open to the public — and the spot where the nation's largest diamond was discovered. LITTLE ROCK Two major meeting venues in Arkansas' capital city are the Robinson Center and Statehouse Convention Center, both located in Statehouse Plaza on the banks of the Arkansas River. Be sure to include a visit to the Little Rock Nine Memorial, erected on the grounds of the State Capitol, as well as a tour of the Central High School National Historic Site. A new local Black heritage attraction is the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, whose third floor houses to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. The building is a recreation of a 1911 structure that was home to a Black fraternal organi- zation. Black Meetings & Tourism April/May 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 75 Civil Rights Memorial Photo Credit: Montgomery CVB Tuskegee University Campus Photo Credit: Noah Hopkins Kids playing at the Museum of Discovery Photo Credit: Little Rock CVB