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B M & T ••• November/December 2014 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 18 Museum) – The Kern County Museum offers a different kind of setting for your next business meeting, company party, wedding, reception, or reunion. There are more than 50 historic structures and exhibits set amid 16 acres of beautiful grounds, making it an ideal setting for numerous types of private and public functions for parties as small as 50 or as large as 5,000. www.kcmuseum.org There is plenty to check out in Bakersfield. There are walkable historic and art tours in the downtown area. Don't forget the aforementioned Buck Owens Crystal Palace, which is not only a unique venue but also a destination. There's Dewar's Ice Cream Parlor and Candy Shop, known across the country for its ability to bring a smile to the faces of kids and adults alike. www.dewarscan- dy.com There is also a variety of accred- ited museums including the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Buena Vista Museum and the Kern County Museum and CALM. When it's time to chill after a long day of meetings, there are 40 different hotels with about 5,400 hotel rooms from quaint to full service. It's time to convene. The Rabobank Arena Theater and Convention Center is the largest event facility in Bakersfield. The complex offers over 70,000 total sq. ft. of meeting and event space and 13 breakout rooms. The 29,500 sq. ft. exhib- it hall is perfect for a large convention or exhibit area. The adjacent theater includes 3,000 permanent seats with great sightlines and a modern stage house. Rabobank Arena offers 20,000 sq. ft. of floor space, 10,000 permanent seats, full video and audio capabilities. The complex is connected via indoor walkway with the Bakersfield Marriott at the Convention Center. Attendees will fly into Bakersfield's Meadows Field, which is 10 minutes from the center of town. JACKSON, MS Why do they call Jackson, Mississippi the "City with Soul? " "Well, for one thing, the people here are just about the friendliest you'll ever meet," said Yolanda Clay-Moore pub- lic relations manager of the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau. "There are so many fun things to do in Jackson, the largest city in Mississippi with a population of approximately 173,000. The African-American population is about 79.4 percent. Jackson, which boasts 2.81 million vis- itors annually, is not only the state capital, it is the largest city in the state of Mississippi. Located south of the Yazoo River, it is considered to be at the south- ern border of the Mississippi Delta and is one of two county seats of Hinds County, with the city of Raymond being the other. The city, the anchor for its metro area, is named after Andrew Jackson, who was honored for his role in the Battle of New Orleans and later was elected as U.S. president. Convention South Magazine Editors named Jackson to ConventionSouth's 2014 list of the "South's Top 10 Ministry- Minded Cities. When it's time to meet the Jackson Convention Complex is cutting-edge. Considered the centerpiece of the Jackson convention district, the facility has world-class amenities that include: more than 330,000 sq. ft. of meeting and conference space, more than 150,000 sq. ft. of luxurious flexible exhibit, ballroom and meeting space, a crystalline, folding- glass façade, a 382-seat, state-of-the-art theater, the latest technology and audio- visual capabilities, a 9,000 sq. ft. kitchen and catering facility, two full-service con- cession areas in the main exhibit hall, dual loading docks and a staging area, business center/café space and separate entrances for the exhibit hall and ballroom. In addition, the JCC is also one of only 10 convention centers in the country to be LEED-certified as a "green" facility. Nearby arts and entertainment help complete a great meeting experience with a variety of leisure activities. Jackson's growing hotel and lodging market is affordable with a myriad of options to accommodate every style and budget offering 46 hotels, many with meeting space, and approximately 4,600 sleeping rooms, with more than 1,800 located downtown. Jackson Convention Complex Photo Credit: Jackson CVB