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B M & T ••• May/June 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 36 TENNESSEE Between Memphis' famous Graceland mansion in western Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the east- ern side are a wide range of visitor attractions in the Volunteer 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 of Roots author Alex Haley in Morningside Park. The Beale Street Music Festival is 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. Top Nashville attractions include the Opry Mills shopping center, the American Negro Playwright Theatre, Belle Meade Plantation, Fisk University, and the Civil Rights Room, inspired by the sit-ins of the 1960s and located in the Downtown Public Library. VIRGINIA Virginia's oldest museum is found on the campus of the historically Black Hampton University. Hampton's Virginia Air & Space Center includes an exhibit on Tuskegee Airmen, and there is more history to explore at the Hampton History Museum, the Mariners' Museum and the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe. In the capital city of Richmond, some of the most significant Black heritage sites are in Jackson Ward. Visitors to this historic neighborhood can tour the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and view a statue of Richmond native Bill "Bojangles" Robinson that stands next to city's first traffic light, a gift from the entertainer. A Gall ery Walk at the Virginia Historical Society features exhibits on the Civil Rights Movement and the role of African-Americans in the Civil War. The list of recreational and sightseeing attractions in the Commonwealth includes Hampton's Buckroe Beach, Shenandoah National Park, Luray Caverns and the 343-mile Virginia Creeper Trail. NORFOLK Norfolk is located at the core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, named for the large natural harbor of the same name located at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay. It is one of nine cities and seven counties that constitute the Hampton Roads metro area, officially known as the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC MSA. Anchoring the city's meetings industry is the Waterside Convention Center, located in the downtown waterfront area and attached on three floors to the Waterside Marriott Hotel. The center contains 36,365 sq. ft. of function space, and 19 meeting rooms, while its largest exhibit hall measures 14,400 sq. ft. Norfolk celebrates the rich ethnic diversity of its population with sights, sounds, attractions and special events that pay tribute to the city's long multicultural heritage. Fun-filled festivals on the downtown water- front offer up the music, art and culinary delights of the city's diverse Asian-American, African-American, Pacific Isla nd, and Latin American communities, while the traditions of the region's first citizens – Virginia's Native American tribes – are celebrated through numerous exhibits and festivals throughout Hampton Roads. Norfolk's thriving arts community will welcome you into their stu- dios, their galleries, and their performance venues. From the working artists' studios located within downtown's D'Art Center, to the beautif ul Tiffany glass collection at the Chrysler Museum of Art, to live perform- ances at the historic Attucks Theatre, you'll find a multitude of opportu- nities to enrich your creative spirit. One of the many reasons travelers flock to Norfolk in the summer is because of its beautiful beaches and water activities. It is home to the world's largest naval station, one of the East Coast's largest ports, and wi th rivers and creeks all around, it should come as no surprise that water is part of the lifestyle here. Norfolk skyline Photo Credit: Norfolk CVB Memphis' Lorraine Motel Historic Site