Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/34521
the site of the Harris Art Center, which also houses the Roland Hayes Museum and the Roland Hayes Music Guild, named for the pioneering African-American classical tenor who hailed from Curryville, GA. Calhoun has the Chattahoochee National Forest as its backdrop, offering outdoor lovers a variety of recreation- al choices. Other places to see in Georgia’s great outdoors include Okefenokee Swamp Park, Desoto Falls and the Chattooga River, a popular course for whitewater rafting. ATLANTA Georgia’s newest convention facility is now open for business in Greater Atlanta. Sporting a contemporary design, the 400,000- sq. ft. Georgia International Convention Center in College Park encompasses 150,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, a 94,009-sq. ft. lobby and registration concourse, 16,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 42,000-sq. ft. pre-function area and a 40,000-sq. ft. ballroom, the largest in the state. Connected to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport via the ATL SkyTrain, the building’s design was inspired by flight, with angled walls and silver and glass surfaces. It is the first U.S convention center to be directly linked to a major airport. The center holds a collection of commissioned art valued at more than $1 million. You can download an audio art Georgia International Convention Center tour from the website at http://www.gicc.com/art.asp.Other special features include a Green Room and a 9,800-sq. ft.CulinaryArts Center.There are more than 8,000 total guestrooms near the convention center, and a new 403- roomMarriott Hotel a 147-room SpringHill Suites hotel was added to the area in mid-2010. Black Meetings & Tourism May/June 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 43 Photo Credit: Atlanta CVB