Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/3108
Black Meetings & Tourism April/May 2009: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 90 MISSISSIPPI Tucked into the Mississippi Delta Region most famous for its Blues heritage, Tunica is a favorite destination for gaming and entertainment, with seven local casinos. Visitors can also enjoy a Mississippi River cruise aboard the Tunica Queen. In Columbus, part of the Pine Region of northwestern Mississippi, points of interest include a historically Black business district called Catfish Alley and the homes of Dr. Theodoric V. James Home (believed to have been the city's first African-American doctor) and playwright Tennessee Williams. Located in the Hills Region that also includes the campus of Ole Miss in Oxford, Tupelo is home to the African American Historic and Cultural Society Museum & Gallery and the Elvis Presley Memorial Museum, honoring the city's most famous product. Attractions in Vicksburg, part of the Capital River Region, include the Jacqueline House African-American Museum, riverboat gaming and cruising, and Vicksburg National Military Park. GULFPORT This Mississippi Gulf Coast destination offers a variety of meeting venues, from hotel properties like the new Courtyard by Marriott, with 6,300 sq. ft. of meeting space and the Island View Casino Resort, to the Bayou Bluff Tennis and Recreational Club, the Center for Marine Education and Research and the Harrison County Fairgrounds. The Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, a favorite hangout for kids offering lots of hands-on experi- ences — from the "Celebrate the World We Share" exhibit to the Treehouse Village — also has event space. The area's largest meeting venue, the Mississippi Coast Coliseum & Convention Center in Biloxi, has been fully restored since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, and offers 180,000 sq. ft. of dedicated exhibit space and 23 meet- ing rooms. Gulfport has earned a spot on the Mississippi Blues Trail with its production of the American Blues Network, a Blessing of the Fishing Fleet Photo Credit: Mississippi Coast CCC