Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/604020
B M & T ••• September/October 2015 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 19 by Oliver, the National Great Blacks In Wax Museum, America's first wax museum of African-American history and culture, features more than 150 life-size and lifelike wax figures. For more information contact Visit Baltimore at (877) BALTIMORE or www.baltimore.org. BIRMINGHAM, AL If you've never been to Birmingham, you may be pleasantly surprise by its beauty and charm. With the foothills of the Appalachians as a dramatic backdrop, the city is laid out on a series of lush rolling hills, with woodland- covered neighborhoods just minutes from downtown. That this Southern city has its own cosmo- politan personality is another eye-opener to visitors. It's hip without being pretentious. It's tuned-in without being pushy. It's very cool without the exertion. So if you thought you were coming to the Waffle House— -not that there's anything wrong with that—-you're com- ing to James Beard country instead. Reunion participants will be happy to learn that dining is one of the great joys of being in Birmingham. Anyone visiting the city should take great delight in the fine South ern cooking here. No one wants to leave without a meal of catfish, fried okra, fresh corn, tomatoes ripened on the vine, cornbread (made without sugar, please), all topped off by deep dish peach cobbler – hot – with a dol- lop of ice cream. Birmingham has experienced the recent openings of dozens of new art galleries of every sort. Clusters of galleries downtown and in nearby suburbs are giving reunion a tten- dees with an interest in art options on paintings, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics, fine art and folk art. Accommodations range from the quaint 8-room Cobb Lane Bed and Breakfast, Birmingham's first and only Bed and Breakfast, and 329-room Hyatt Regency Birmingham, The Wynfrey Hotel, to the 757-room Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, A modern convention center, adjacent to a world-class airport, surrounded by more than 5,000 hotel rooms. Atlanta's most convenient meeting destination. Make it Easy. Meet in the Park. Visit MeetCPGA.com College Park Convention & Visitors Bureau All in One. Birmingham's Sixteenth St Baptist Church