The Mississippi Gulf Coast definitely deserves its nickname, “Playground of the South.” Consider the year-round balmy climate and 26 miles of powdery beaches, the world-class casinos and championship golf courses, the art galleries, gourmet restaurants, boutique shops and luxury spas. Add 12,000-plus hotel rooms, a revamped convention center, an expanded airport and dozens of venues from corporate to quirky, and you’ve got a meeting planner’s dream destination.
But there’s more.
Oh, it’s a playground alright, but with a Magnolia-scented, deep Southern slant. The golf courses meander through pecan groves and past bayous teeming with alligators and egrets. The splashy casinos overlook the Gulf, filled with dolphins and shrimping trawlers. Pedestrian streets are lined with antebellum mansions, rainbow-hued Creole cottages, massive oaks chandeliered with Spanish moss and gardens brimming with camellias, azaleas, Confederate roses, hibiscus and crepe myrtle.
There’s a Mardi Gras to rival New Orleans and a hundred other festivals honoring crawfish, classic cars, arts and crafts. The cuisine, based on the bounty of the Gulf, takes on the Creole spice of New Orleans, the zest of the Cajuns and the down-home simplicity of the Deep South. And then there are the people.
“If there is one thing that groups mention again and again, it is the warmth of the people here,” says Richard Forester, executive director of the Mississippi Gulf Coast CVB. “We offer the epitome of Southern hospitality.”
Of course, Hurricane Katrina did her damnedest to knock all that out in 2005. Murderous winds and 30-foot tidal surges devastated the area. Thousands of homes and businesses, the massive casinos, fishing ports, bridges and even the seashore itself was left in tatters. Nearly four years later, the hard work, hundreds of millions in reconstruction funds and aggressive private development are paying off.
“We have made great strides in recovery, and more visitors are coming back every year,” Forester says.
Gulfport/Biloxi
The cities of Gulfport and Biloxi comprise the glitzy heart of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Here, the neon glow from 11 world-class casinos gives the 1847 Biloxi lighthouse a run for its money—make that chips. The casinos provide state-of-the-art facilities for meetings of all sizes, in addition to luxe amenities such as spa treatments (caviar facials, hot rock massages), headline entertainment and celebrity chefs (Emeril Lagasse at Island View and Todd English at Beau Rivage).
“We’ve definitely come back since Katrina with local and regional association events,” says Crystal Johnson, director of sales at the Gulf Coast CVB.
Associations and other groups gather at properties such as Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, with 50,000 square feet of function space, IP Casino Resort & Spa, with 18,400 square feet of meeting space, and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, offering a concert-style arena that seats 1,400.
Bigger gatherings take shape at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, and even larger groups will be able to join the fun come October, when the facility completes its much-anticipated expansion. The $68 million reconstruction has the local tourism industry in a tizzy.
“The building is expanding from 180,000 to over 400,000 square feet of function space, substantially increasing our ability to host large conventions,” Forester says. “We have it all here—world-class golf, fine Las Vegas-style casinos and gorgeous natural resources. The new convention center will bring it together and put us on the map as a national meetings destination.”
One of the first groups to get a glimpse of the new facility will be the National Governors Association, which is holding its annual meeting in July 2009. This high-profile event will bring in over 1,500 politicians, lobbyists and business executives, and governors from all 50 state have been invited to attend.
For a little bit of deep Southern charm at your meeting, consider a reception at Beauvoir, former home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Built in 1848 and completely restored post-Katrina, this mansion with a colonnaded porch and 51 manicured acres can host up to 200. Mary Mahoney’s Old French House, located in a home dating to the mid-1700s, oozes Southern grace and hospitality. Amid antiques or under a canopy of thousand-year-old oaks in the courtyard, groups of up to 100 can dine on fine Gulf seafood dishes (their gumbo sold by the gallons is legendary).
In nearby Pass Christian, antique-filled rooms and a wrap-around veranda of the Historic Blue Rose, an 1848 mansion overlooking the Gulf, can handle groups of up to 125, while the plantation-style Oak Crest Mansion can host up to 200.
Young attendees will enjoy a visit to the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, an award-winning science museum. The facilities, jam-packed with robots, shrimping boats, whimsical sculptures and a hurricane exhibit, also make a unique alternative for evening receptions.
After session, attendees can tee off at Fallen Oak, designed by Tom Fazio, or nearby Grand Bear, a Jack Nicklaus Signature course. Both greenways were cited by Golf magazine in its 2008-2009 listing of the “Top 100 Courses You Can Play.”
More adventurous types can join a deep-sea fishing charter. The surrounding Gulf waters are chockablock with game fish such as sea trout, red drum, mackerel, grouper and snapper, depending on the season. Captain Tom Becker of the Mississippi Charter Boat Captains Association can customize any type of charter. He recently led a multiboat fishing trip for 60 attendees of a Circle K meeting.
Voluntourism also remains a top group option. Many private homes and local attractions are still in need of work. Habitat for Humanity and the United Way of South Mississippi can organize rebuilding events for groups.
Bay St. Louis/Hancock County
Hancock County proudly calls itself “Mississippi’s West Coast” and offers an exceptional environment that combines Southern hospitality with space-age science and a thriving arts scene. The area, especially the town of Bay St. Louis, was devastated by Katrina, but according to Beth Carriere, executive director of the Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau, the area is rebounding.
“We are coming back hugely! The entire city of Bay St. Louis is getting all new infrastructure—roads, street lights, buildings, sidewalks, everything—but at the same time keeping the architectural history,” she says.
The overhaul includes a revival of the Old Town Historic District, a quaint clutch of colorful cottages with gingerbread siding. Many of the restored properties house boutiques, artisan food shops and art galleries.
“There are over 200 resident artists here, and their work is everywhere in town—shops, restaurants, even the hospital,” Carriere says.
Groups can experience the artist vibe every second Saturday of the month during the very popular Second Saturday Art Walk.
Bay St. Louis recently broke ground on a new community center in the Depot District, which will offer 10,000 square feet of meeting space when it opens in 2012.
Until then, groups can opt for existing properties such as Hollywood Casino, with a 10,000-square-foot ballroom and three private meeting rooms. The casino is also home to Mississippi’s only Arnold Palmer golf course.
The other major casino in the county, Silver Slipper, doesn’t offer meeting space, but its spectacular glass-walled Blue Bayou Grill can host intimate receptions and dinners for up to 20.
Hancock County is also home to Stennis Space Center, NASA’s largest rocket engine test facility. Though it currently offers free tours and a handful of exhibitions, the big news is construction of its $44 million Infinity Center. This state-of-the-art science and exploration museum is scheduled to open in 2010 and promises to be a major tourist draw for the region, not to mention a stellar setting for off-site events.
The area’s diverse culture has led to some very interesting events for groups—art-making with local artists (attendees take home their works), Southern cooking classes (pralines are a favorite), crawfish boils (pinch the tail and suck the head), charter fishing trips, bird watching, candlelight dinner on the pier—you name it.
“There’s really not too much we won’t do,” Carriere says.
Ocean Springs/Jackson County
Separated from “Casino Row” by the Biloxi Bay is idyllic Ocean Spring. Settled by the French in 1699, the historic town features candy-colored cottages, over 100 boutique shops and plenty of art.
“Ocean Springs is an artistic community filled with art shops,” says Cynthia Dobbs, spokesperson for the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Groups can get into the artistic aura at a variety of off-site venues. The Mary O’Keefe Cultural Center is a comprehensive arts and education center offering 11 rooms for meetings, as well as a 393-seat theater. Art classes can also be arranged for groups. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art houses the work of Anderson, a famed Oceans Springs painter and one of the only Mississippi artists to be featured at the Smithsonian Institute, as well as that of his brothers, Peter, a master potter and founder of Shearwater Pottery, and James, a noted ceramicist and painter. The facility can host receptions for small groups.
Larger groups can meet at Gulf Hills Hotel and Conference Center, a property that was built in 1925 and is highlighted by a rambling porch and Victorian furniture. Its four meeting and banquet rooms can host up to 300 people. It also offers a championship 18-hole golf course and a spacious gardened arbor overlooking the misty waters of Old Fort Bayou. Smaller meetings can be booked at the Ocean Springs Community Center, which houses a spectacular Walter Anderson mural detailing the history of the coastal area.
Rivaling the manmade artistry in Ocean Springs is the natural beauty of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Sitting about 11 miles off the coast of Jackson County, this network of undeveloped barrier islands offer sugar-white beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, lagoons and acres of forested wilderness. Groups can charter a ferry out to the island for a day trip.
Just inland from the shore, Eco-Tours of South Mississippi leads tours on the mysterious waterways of the Pascagoula River Swamp. Expect alligators, cypress trees, wild orchids and some of the most spectacular orange and pink-hued sunsets you’ll ever see.
For More Info
Mississippi Gulf Coast CVB 228.896.6699 www.gulfcoast.org
Mississippi West Coast/Hancock County Tourism Development Bureau 228.463.9222 www.mswestcoast.org
Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce 228.875.4424 www.oceanspringschamber.com
