Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/34521
SOUTH CAROLINA From relaxing at the beach to taking a wild ride on an alligator swamp tour, South Carolina’s waterways and coastal setting offer all kinds outdoor recreation.The coastal area is also home to one ofAmerica’smost interesting cultural communities, theAfrican-AmericanGullah andGeechee people whomake their home in the Low Country. Myrtle Beach, at the northern end of theAtlantic Coast, is the center of a 60-mile stretch known as the Grand Strand. Visitors can hit the links at one of many area golf courses, enjoy a walk along the Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade or head to Broadway at the Beach for shopping, dining and entertainment. A horse-drawn carriage tour is a charming way to see the sights of historic downtown Charleston. You can buy sweet grass baskets from Gullah artisans at Charleston’s City Market and enter the sanctuary where the slave rebel Denmark Vesey preached at Emanuel AME Church. COLUMBIA One of the top entertainment spots in Columbia is theVista, the city’s warehouse district, where you’ll find a host of restau- rants, galleries and nightclubs. One of the most unique places for evening entertain- ment is the BigApple, a synagogue-turned- dance club. Families as well as travelers on business Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on incentive trips or corporate teambuild- ing retreats might enjoy outdoor activities like hiking, kayaking and canoeing atThree Rivers Greenway or camping at Congaree National Park. An interesting local Black heritage attraction is theMann-Simons Cottage, the home of CeliaMann, a slave who walked from Charleston to Columbia after gaining her freedom. TENNESSEE Between Memphis’ famous Graceland mansion in western Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the eastern side are a wide range of visi- tor attractions in theVolunteer State. In Chattanooga, you can view Lookout Mountain and Ruby Falls from the world’s steepest passenger railway, as well as tour the Chattanooga African-American Museum. Visitors to Knoxville can browse Black history exhibits at the Beck Cultural Exchange Center and view a 13-ft.bronze statue ofRoots author Alex Haley inMorningside Park. The Beale StreetMusic Festival is Memphis' Pink Palace part of the month-long Memphis in May International Festival, but you should make a point to visit the historic entertainment district no matter when you go. This springNashville is reopening one of its top attractions, theOpryMills shopping center,which had been closed since the 2010 flood. Still in the works is the $17 millionAfricanAmericanMuseum ofMusic,Art and Culture on the Bicentennial CapitolMall. Black Meetings & Tourism May/June 2011: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 51 Photo Credit: Columbia CVB Photo Credit: Columbia CVB