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OHIO Akron defines family-friendly with attractions such as; the American Toy Marble Company, Akron Zoo, Invent Now Museum and the MAPS Air Museum. Visit Cincinnati's National Underground Railroad Freedom Center on the banks of the Ohio River. Cincinnati is a thriving meeting and convention destination for African Americans. The 750,000 sq. ft. Duke Energy Center is within three blocks of 3,000 hotel rooms, shopping and the Fountain Square entertainment district. Columbus, the capital and largest city has the 410,000 sq. ft. Greater Columbus Convention Center with over 2,000 hotel rooms connected or adjacent to the facility. Dayton, the "Birthplace of Aviation," features the Dayton Aviation Heritage Museum National Historic Park and the National Museum of the United States Air Force at nearby Wright Patterson Air Force Base Sandusky is Ohio's playground. Challenge Park is a collection of four exciting family-friend activities: Challenge Golf, Challenge Racing, RipCord and Skycraper. Toledo, the "Water Recreation Capital of the Midwest" is more than water, with art, architecture, sports, recreation the Hollywood Casino and the world famous Toledo Zoo. CLEVELAND From a sleek, new downtown convention center to dozens of new and/or renovated hotels, Cleveland has the meetings and convention infrastructure covered. But attendees want much more than just a great meeting space. They want nightlife, social-media worthy culinary offerings, and a great arts & culture scene. Cleveland has all of that and more. Cleveland is full of dynamic gathering spots that can empower your meeting with a motif. Whether you're looking for a hotel ballroom, theater style seating or outdoor event space for rental, this city has great facilities that offer unfor- gettable experiences. The new $465 million Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland is the city's primary meeting facility, providing 750,000 sq. ft. of underground tech-friendly sensibility. The exhibit hall floor is 225,000 sq. ft. of Class A exhibit space with 90 ft. of col- umn spacing, 30-ft. ceilings and direct access to 17 truck bays. The exhibit hall floor holds 1,000 10x10 tradeshow booths with direct access to water, electricity, air and other utilities. The complex is within walking distance of 14 downtown hotels and most restaurants and nightlife, and is connected to the Global Center for Health Innovation and the new 600-room Hilton conven- tion center hotel. For pre- and post-convention free time, Cleveland has an array of attractions and entertainment opportunities to fit every interest. Popular attractions are the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cedar Point Amusement Park, and the Cleveland Aquarium, to name a few. This city is home to over 100 different ethnic groups and there's a festival celebrating most, if not all of them. Annual events include, the Vintage Ohio Wine Festival, the Taste of Cleveland, Tri-C JazzFest and the Martin Luther King Jr. Concert. CINCINNATI Cincinnati is in the midst of an exciting renaissance. There's a convergence of new developments, projects and convention wins taking shape that collectively makes this one of the most progressive, game-changing eras in the region's history. Almost all of this progress will directly impact and benefit visitors who come here. Cincinnati experienced a similar boom starting in 2003 when the new Reds and Bengals Stadiums, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, the renovated Duke Energy Convention Center and new Fountain Square emerged in rapid succession. But this latest surge of activity is even more exciting. These projects bring completely new experiences to the region, change the city landscape, appeal to a broad cross-section of individuals and businesses, and represent more than $1.4 billion in new infrastructure spending from the northern suburbs to the Ohio River. B M & T ••• September/October 2016 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 28 Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall of Fame