From the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Atlantic Coast, North Carolina is a scene-stealer, but if pretty backdrops, not to mention affordability and nationwide air access, aren’t enough, planners might consider the state’s abundance of cultural offerings as a surefire deal-maker.
The variety of attractions and experiences synonymous with culture and the arts are bountiful in each of North Carolina’s meetings destinations and serve to enhance group itineraries. From museums and heritage sites to performing arts venues, the Tar Heel State delivers engaging events.
The Heartland
The Wachovia First Street Project perfectly combines Charlotte’s reputation as a cultural hub with its recent infrastructure boom. Slated for completion by 2009, the project will add four new cultural facilities just steps away from the Charlotte Convention Center, including the new Mint Museum of Art, the Bechtler Museum, the new Afro-American Cultural Center, and the 1,200-seat Knight Performing Arts Theater.
“Given that many of our cultural facilities are located within walking distance of our convention district, they are excellent for off-site events,” says Mike Butts, executive director of Visit Charlotte. “When we hosted MPI in 2006, the opening reception for 1,500 people was in the Bank of America Founders Hall, and they also used the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center for an event.”
Each September, a noteworthy experience in town is Charlotte Shout, a festival that blends culinary offerings with events ranging from outdoor jazz concerts and gallery crawls to improv comedy shows.
Another unique cultural draw of the region is NASCAR racing, and Charlotte will prominently spotlight the sport at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which will debut in 2010 as part of a 100,000-square-foot expansion of the Charlotte Convention Center. The NASCAR Hall of Fame will feature interactive exhibits, an inductees’ hall, a theater, TV and radio studios, stores, restaurants, and a 40,000-square-foot ballroom.
Groups can get a first-hand experience of NASCAR in nearby Cabarrus County, home to Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Aside from attending races at the speedway, groups can arrange private events at the facility, back-of-the-house tours and team-building programs that utilize the track’s various racing schools, offering everything from thrilling ride-alongs to racing instruction. Numerous other NASCAR-themed venues and attractions are located throughout the county.
Often dubbed the “Smithsonian of the South” due to its 20 free attractions and its quality museums, Raleigh’s arts community is a vital part of its personality, according to Jana Rae Oliver, associate director of sales at the Greater Raleigh CVB.
“When groups are able to experience a performance, a world-class exhibition or a piece of Raleigh’s history, it truly gives them a sense that Raleigh is more than just a place to hold a meeting,” she says.
If not taking in a ballet, symphony or opera performance, attendees might find themselves enjoying an off-site event at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, the circa-1891 North Carolina Executive Mansion or the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
Among Durham’s art offerings, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University is a Rafael Vinoly-designed facility that opened in 2005 with galleries for Duke’s permanent collections as well as special exhibits, including El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Phillip III, beginning in August 2008.
The Nasher Museum of Art and the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science (NCMLS) are available for special events. At NCMLS, according to the Durham CVB, groups especially enjoy breakfast meetings in the Magic Wings Butterfly House, where they encounter hundreds of exotic butterflies up close.
“Durham’s culture grew indigenously from within, unlike places where it feels like someone brought home a shopping cart full of generic cultural amenities with no connection to the place,” says Shelly Green, COO at the Durham CVB.
In nearby Chapel Hill, a wealth of cultural offerings is available to spice up agendas.
“We can coordinate activities that tie in local foods, nature retreats and gardens, and community arts and museums,” says Linda Ekeland, director of sales at the Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau. “It really helps groups experience the community in everything from tasting the bounty of local farmers at weekly farmers’ markets to seeing local creations at monthly art walks.”
The bureau has arranged many events for meeting planners, including tours of the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus; a museum walk along Franklin Street; and professional cooking classes and team-building events at various restaurants and retail stores, including A Southern Season.
Tours are also big in the Triad community of Greensboro, from exploring the 220-acre Guilford Courthouse National Military Park to visiting nearby Seagrove, the “Pottery Capital of the World,” where more than 90 potters reside. Replacements, Ltd., a business that offers more than 250,000 different patterns of china, crystal and silver, is one of the most requested group outings, according to the Greensboro CVB.
“Our attractions and festivals have always welcomed groups, offering free or discounted tickets, private tours, extended hours, and unique sites for the planner who wants to have an off-site event outside of the hotel,” says Ava Pope, the CVB’s director of sales.
Major festivals include the six-week-long Eastern Music Festival each summer, and the Festival of Lights, which is held over the first weekend of December and features a holiday parade.
Winston-Salem also hosts major festivals and events that planners can incorporate into meetings. Among the options are the Summer Music Series, the First Friday Gallery Hops in the arts district and the National Black Theatre Festival, which occurs during the summer in odd-numbered years and, according to Visit Winston-Salem, is typically the backdrop for everything from family reunions to association and corporate meetings.
“Bringing together cultural assets to planners as a part of our meeting proposals is vital to the work that we do to represent our destination,” says Paula Mansfield, director of sales at Visit Winston-Salem. “Exploring cultural assets or attending festivals and events with fellow attendees offer opportunities to further the group’s bonding experience.”
Groups have also experienced the culture of the area by hosting events in one of Winston-Salem’s unique venues, including the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art and the Sawtooth Center for Visual Art.
High Point’s cultural offerings run the gamut, from the newly reopened Angela Peterson Doll & Miniature Museum, featuring Eugene Kupjack miniatures, African-American personality dolls and an antique Creche doll display, to John Coltrane’s piano at the High Point Museum and the world’s largest chest of drawers, a pop art facade that celebrates the city as the “Home Furnishings Capital of the World.”
“Planning a meeting or convention in High Point is such a pleasure, and the options for an event venue are almost endless,” says Charlotte Young, president and CEO of the High Point CVB, citing a medieval feast (no silverware) at Castle McCulloch, complete with knights, wenches, jesters, and oafs, and an event at the Freight Depot, complete with a stage for a talent show.
Just in time for Halloween each year, Ghastly Ghost Tours offers a fun group experience via a hayride tour that explores much of downtown Fayetteville’s history and spooky legends.
“Fayetteville offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to immerse themselves in the culture of our community,” says John Meroski, president and CEO of the Fayetteville Area CVB. “From a progressive period dinner at each of the buildings at Heritage Square, to watching airborne training at Fort Bragg, to attending a special performance from North Carolina’s oldest community-sponsored symphony or a luncheon at the Cape Fear Botanical Garden, groups will find something that interests them in our community.”
Additionally, over the next two months the CVB will introduce 10 themed, preplanned tours, including programs focusing on outdoor adventure and Scottish heritage.
Atlantic Coast
Wilmington is touted as one of the largest historic districts in the nation, with over 230 blocks along the Cape Fear River designated as a National Historic District. Delegates in town will enjoy wandering along brick streets lined with 18th and 19th century buildings, shopping at eclectic boutiques and antique shops, and taking horse-drawn carriage tours and riverboat cruises.
“Not only is our area a great place to be inspired to work diligently, it is a wonderful place to play,” says Mikie Wall, vice president of the Wilmington/Cape Fear Coast CVB. “Our unique blend of history, cultural attractions and beaches make us a premier destination along North Carolina’s coast.”
Among its other cultural attributes are Thalian Hall, Orton Plantation, the Bellamy Mansion Museum of History and Design Arts, and the Cameron Art Museum, all of which are utilized for meetings and receptions.
An increasing number of meeting planners are choosing the Crystal Coast as a preferred destination to host events, according to the Crystal Coast Tourism Authority (CCTA). The North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA), for instance, recently held its annual conference on the Crystal Coast and enjoyed, among other outings, a tour of the Beaufort Historic Site and a visit to the North Carolina Maritime Museum.
“The Crystal Coast strives to provide quality assistance in designing itineraries for all types of group events,” says Carol Lohr, executive director of the CCTA.
The NCBA’s agenda concluded with a stroll along the Beaufort waterfront to browse quaint shops and art galleries.
In the coastal community of Outer Banks, cultural pursuits mix historic sites and the great outdoors.
Group itineraries in the area might include an eco challenge, during which attendees participate in activities such as hang-gliding and kayaking, and an epicurean adventure, which gives delegates the opportunity to prepare a menu using indigenous foods before enjoying a group dinner.
“The Outer Banks mixes the past and the present into a well-kept balance of solitude and activity that is conducive to team building, goal setting and personal enrichment,” says Lorrie Love, tourism sales director at the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.
At Austin Creek Grill, located on the ferry dock in Hatteras Village, “Blackbeard the Pirate” could entertain the group during dinner with tales of the high seas and recollections of life on the Outer Banks in the 1700s.
The town of Greenville is an incredible blend of old and new, according to Andrew D. Schmidt, sales and marketing manager for the Greenville-Pitt County CVB.
“Groups can experience one of the few virtual reality laboratories [at East Carolina University] in the country and then learn how 19th century farmers pulled tobacco by hand,” Schmidt says.
Greenville’s agrarian roots can be experienced via a tour and outdoor dinner at the East Carolina Village of Yesteryear.
Other popular venues that highlight the area’s unique offerings include the Ledonia Wright Cultural Center and Rock Springs Center, once a working equestrian facility that now accommodates up to 1,700 people for receptions in a beautiful environment.
In preparation for its 300th birthday celebration, New Bern, the Colonial Capital of North Carolina, continuously offers tours, receptions and events at the Tryon Palace Historic Sites and Gardens, according to Sandy Chamberlin, executive director for the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center and Craven County Convention and Visitors Center.
Planners have also been known to entertain attendees with a Fife & Drum Corps performance or a Jonkonnu Celebration, a North Carolina African-American Christmas tradition dating back to the 18th century.
“New Bern/Craven County’s cultural offerings are a big part of what makes our visitors’ experience memorable,” Chamberlin says. “The area boasts over 150 historical houses and attractions that are often used for spouse programs and off-site activities.”
The Mountains
Referred to as “The Paris of the South” for its cosmopolitan blend of art galleries, cafes, performing arts venues, mountain crafters, folk artists, and hip arts neighborhoods, Asheville caters to groups with a variety of interesting off-session activities.
“A group’s dynamic improves exponentially when delegates share the vibe, culture and emotion of this destination,” says Tim Lampkin, director of convention sales and group services for the Asheville CVB.
A must-visit when in town is the 250-room Biltmore House, America’s largest private residence. An association group of 750 recently took a candlelight tour of the mansion before enjoying a steak and lobster dinner on the south terrace.
Another standby group option in Asheville is a hands-on architecture lesson via a citywide historical scavenger hunt, in which clues are found among art galleries, antique shops and Art Deco treasures. The River Arts District is a group tour favorite as well; a corporate tour of 25 recently sipped mint juleps as porcelain artists from Craven Hofman Studios demonstrated laying European lace patterns onto hand-crafted vases.
Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Hickory is made up of friendly people, beautiful natural resources and a progressive business climate, according to Bebe Leitch, president of the Hickory Metro CVB.
“Groups such as the North Carolina League of Municipalities, North Carolina Recreation and Parks Society and many others have picked Hickory for their meetings,” Leitch says.
Among the area’s attractions are the Catawba Science Center’s new state-of-the-art, 65-seat digital planetarium theater; the Hickory Museum of Art; the annual Catawba Valley Pottery and Antiques Festival; and the Western Piedmont Symphony.
For More Info
Asheville CVB 828.258.6101
www.exploreasheville.com
Cabarrus County CVB 704.782.4340
www.visitcabarrus.com
Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau 919.968.2060
www.chocvb.org
Craven County CVB 252.637.9400
www.visitnewbern.com
Crystal Coast Tourism Authority 252.726.8148
www.crystalcoastnc.org
Durham CVB 919.687.0288
www.meetindurham.com
Fayetteville Area CVB 910.483.5311
www.visitfayettevillenc.com
Greater Raleigh CVB 919.834.5900
www.visitraleigh.com
Greensboro CVB 336.274.2282
www.greensboronc.org
Greenville-Pitt County CVB 252.329.4200
www.visitgreenvillenc.com
Hickory Metro CVB 828.322.1335
www.hickorymetro.com
High Point CVB 336.884.5255
www.highpoint.org
Outer Banks Visitors Bureau 252.473.2138
www.outerbanks.org
Visit Charlotte 704.334.2282
www.visitcharlotte.com
Visit Winston-Salem 336.728.4200
www.visitwinstonsalem.com
Wilmington/Cape Fear Coast CVB 910.341.4030
www.cape-fear.nc.us
