Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/770136
B M & T ••• July/August 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 34 MEETING & TRAVELING IN 'THE BEAVER STATE' BY SOLOMON HERBERT II There are 7 Wonders of the World, and not a single one of them is here in Oregon. All we can figure is whoever came up with the list must have never set foot here. They must have never seen Mt. Hood or the grandeur of the Columbia River Gorge. They certainly did- n't explore the Oregon Coast. The exposed earth of the Painted Hills, Smith Rock's towers of volcanic ash and the alpine peaks of the Wallowas were over- looked as well. Even Crater Lake, the deepest lake in America, was left off their list. Oregon serves as an option meeting planners can send their clients' groups where great hospitality is plentiful and the outdoors is your playground. ••PORTLAND•• You want a unique place for a meeting and affordable accommodations to match. You want great culture, memo- rable meals and delicious microbrews with no side order of sales tax. You want delegates to be zipped easily from the air- port to the convention center while being easy on the environment, too. You're not asking for too much. You just want a place like Portland. The Oregon Convention Center (OCC) is the largest convention facility in the Pacific Northwest. The facility offers 255,000 sq. ft. of contiguous exhibit space, 50 meeting rooms, two grand ball- rooms, full-service catering and an 800- space underground parking garage. Visitors can get to and from the down- town hotel core and Portland International Airport with ease via city light rail. Portland offers a wide array of hotels and lodging in the downtown and conven- tion center area for conference atten- dees' convenience. Many of these hotels are designed to hold large events in house. For this reason Portland serves as one of the most conference friendly cities when it comes to hotel service. Despite daunting barriers and discrim- ination, African-Americans have made important contributions to Oregon in poli- tics, medicine, the environment, sports and the arts. The historic heart of Portland's African-American community is the Albina district of North and Northeast Portland. This is where you will find civic institutions such as the Urban League of Portland and the Portland Trail Blazers Boys and Girls Club, as well as beauty stores, barbers, African groceries, music and dance clubs. The Portland International Airport (PDX) is located nine miles north of downtown Portland and is conveniently connected to the city center via MAX light rail train. The trip between the airport and downtown Portland via MAX light rail takes about 38 minutes. ••EUGENE•• Find your inner meeting genius or meeting nerd in this forward-thinking des- tination. From mountains to coast and everything in between, this region can offer exactly what you're looking for and help you along the way. Come early or stay late to play in all the natural beauty that is the Eugene, Cascades & Coast region. The Eugene - Springfield metro area has over 3,800 hotel rooms. With confer- ence spaces like: Eugene's Lane Events Center with 75,000 sq. ft. exhibit space, Matthew Knight Arena seats 12,500, the Hilton Eugene provides 30,000 sq. ft. of conference space and the University of Oregon Conference Services with the newly renovated EMU at 22,000 sq. ft. Then there are many more convention hotels, performance halls, indoor and out- door sports venues and constellations of facilities that can accommodate large numbers including retreats, camps, churches and educational buildings. The Eugene, Cascades & Coast region offers numerous intimate meeting spaces, comfortable lodging options, and unique team-building activities perfect for retreats, small meetings and reunions. WHO YOU GONNA CALL? Eugene, Cascades & Coast – Travel Lane County – 800) 547-5445 www.eugenecascadescoast.org AREA GUIDES O R E G O N Oregon Convention Center Photo Credit: Oregon C.C. • • • STATS • • • HOTEL ROOMS Hilton Portland & Executive Tower 782 Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront 503 EXHIBITION FACILITIES Oregon Convention Center Total Exhibit Space 375,000 sq. ft. Meeting Rooms 52 WHO YOU GONNA CALL? African American Chamber of Commerce (503) – 796-8667 Travel Portland – (503) 275-9750 www.travelportland.com