Music is a major attraction for visitors to Tennessee, namely Graceland in Memphis and the County Music Hall of Fall and Museum in Nashville. But there is much more in store in both cities, as well as in Jackson and Hardin
County, including Civil War sites, intriguing museums and natural attractions, not to mention unexpected experiences such as eagle sightings and breaking cornbread with locals.
Memphis
When a lot of people think of Memphis, they envision one word in their minds: Elvis. It all began and ended for Elvis in Memphis, from his first recordings for Sun Records to his untimely death. He rests in Graceland, Tennessee’s preeminent attraction, which celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. Graceland invites groups to enjoy four new exhibits, including Elvis in Hollywood, and a look at the King’s many automobiles.
“Graceland constantly updates their offerings, but this year the exhibits are extra special,” says Alissa Clark, spokeswoman for the Memphis CVB. “Many of Memphis’ top attractions are expanding and improving.”
A newer attraction that Clark says should be a part of exploring the city’s blues tradition is the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Miss., a quick drive south of Memphis.
“B.B. King is why Memphis is the capital of blues music,” Clark says. “But he is from Mississippi, and this is something we are also promoting.”
Groups that are able to tear themselves away from the city’s National Civil Rights Museum, located at the Lorraine Motel (where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated), or the sizzling nightlife along Beale Street, can head to the Memphis Zoo. Rated the No. 1 zoo by TripAdvisor in 2008, it is adding a new exhibit in late summer, the Fred and Diane Smith Family Teton Trek. Grizzly bears and trumpeter swans will inhabit the four-acre exhibit, designed to replicate the experience at Yellowstone National Park.
Along similar naturalistic lines, the city’s Shelby Farms Park will be updated and expanded throughout 2009. The park is larger than New York’s Central Park and is home to birds, buffalo and other creatures. The park is a great option for attendees looking to work off some steam.
Another brand-new lure on the horizon is Beale Street Landing, a mixed-use riverfront project that is set to be completed by spring 2011. It will include a floating dock for riverboats and five parks.
The Memphis area boasts nearly 22,000 guest rooms, and group-friendly hotels include the historic Peabody Memphis, Westin Memphis Beale Street, Crowne Plaza Memphis and Hilton Memphis, which offers 30,000 square feet of meeting space. The Memphis Marriott Downtown Hotel is connected to the Memphis Cook Convention Center, the city’s primary group facility.
Upcoming properties include the Indigo Memphis, slated to open next year.
Nashville
Music has always been a part of the social fabric of Nashville, beginning in the late 1700s and early 1800s, when people tapped their toes to the fiddle playing of Davy Crockett. More than country music is bringing groups to Nashville. Latin, jazz, rock, classical and gospel music stars record and perform in “Nash Vegas.” All of the Big Four record labels have offices here, as well as numerous independent labels.
Some of Nashville’s most popular attractions are rooted in musical traditions. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum boasts the 11,000-square-foot Curb Conservatory and the 4,500-square-foot Hall of Fame Rotunda. The Opry Entertainment Complex includes the Grand Ole Opry House, the Acuff Theatre, the Opry Museum and the Opry Plaza. Venues at the complex can accommodate groups of up to 4,000 people.
And at the historic Ryman Auditorium, once home to the Grand Ole Opry and still one of the most renowned performance halls in the country, visitors can record their own music CD in the Ryman Recording Studio. Guests can choose to perform one of a dozen country and pop classics or a gospel standard, or even record their own original song. The hall can accommodate groups of more than 2,000 people.
“Nashville is all about the music,” says Kay Witt, senior vice president of sales for the Nashville CVB. “But at the same time, we aren’t all about the music. We have great professional sports and Civil War historical sites, which are both incredibly popular.”
Nashville is home to the pro football’s Tennessee Titans, among other professional sports teams. History buffs will appreciate Civil War sites such as the Battle of Nashville and the nearby Battle of Franklin and Battle of Stones River, along with wonderfully preserved antebellum plantation houses, including Belmont Mansion and Belle Meade Plantation. There’s evidence of the encounter between Union and Confederate forces on the stone columns of Belle Meade, which were peppered with bullets during the Battle of Nashville.
For a quintessential Nashville experience, groups can glide along the Cumberland River on the General Jackson Showboat or the Music City Queen. The Queen takes passengers to Tennessee Titans home games, giving “tailgating” a new meaning. Groups can enjoy a dinner buffet on the way to the game and a dessert buffet on the way back.
For a good time on terra firma, groups can rent a number of honky-tonks, in addition to a variety of special event sites.
Witt says the Loveless Barn is the newest event venue in Nashville. It accommodates up to 900 people, depending on the seating arrangements. The venue combines the atmosphere of a grand barn dance and a community picnic (the menu includes biscuits and hashbrown casserole).
“This place is just cool,” Witt says. “The side doors of the barn open. The space is incredibly versatile.”
In addition to its inimitable attractions, groups are drawn to Nashville because it’s easily accessible and provides plenty of room to get comfy thanks to the area’s more than 30,000 hotel rooms.
The Nashville Convention Center features a 118,675-square-foot exhibit hall and is connected to the 20,000-seat Gaylord Entertainment Center and the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. But the city will be getting an upgrade; the new Music City Center is planned for 2012. It will boast 375,000 square feet of exhibit space. At press time, the name of the headquarters hotel was slated to be announced in June or July, according to Witt.
Nashville’s 2,881-room Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center is the largest convention facility in Tennessee. It features 600,000 square feet of event space.
Other meetings-friendly hotels include Doubletree Hotel Nashville-Downtown; Sheraton Nashville Downtown Hotel, Union Station-A Wyndham Historic Hotel; and the The Hermitage Hotel. One of the city’s newest properties is the Hutton Hotel, which opened in spring with 248 guest rooms and 13,600 square feet of meeting space.
Outside Nashville in Williamson County is the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs and adjacent Cool Springs Conference Center.
Jackson
Jackson, situated between Memphis and Nashville, is a short drive from either of the state’s two famous metros. This small town packs a punch, whether groups want to explore Civil War heritage, great music or the outdoors. Groups can even catch a baseball game. Jackson is the spring home of the Diamond Jaxx, an affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
“We have all the great attractions and the friendly faces without the big-city congestion,” says Colleen Coury, executive director for the Jackson CVB.
Jackson boasts the International Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame and Casey Jones Village. An expansion of the Casey Jones Home and Railroad Museum opened June 19. The village also boasts the Brooks Shaw’s Old Country Store. The restaurant’s cracklin’ cornbread has gained the attention of foodies around the country, Coury notes.
Coury says the CVB is looking to convert some space at the Denmark Presbyterian Church outside of town at the Big Black Creek Historical Area into a unique reception option for groups.
The small-town charm can be complemented by a little elan at Miss Ollie’s downtown, where groups can sip martinis and enjoy big band performances.
The Carl Perkins Civic Center, the Oman Arena and the Ned R. McWherter West Tennessee Cultural Arts Center are the destination’s main event venues. Meetings hotels include Doubletree Hotel Jackson, Holiday Inn Jackson and Old English Inn Hotel and Convention Center.
Hardin County
Smaller meetings find a happy home in Hardin County, which has plenty of outdoor activities and Civil War sites.
Pickwick Lake offers fishing and swimming, and two new beaches have been added to its offerings, says Rachel Baker, tourism director for Team Hardin County.
“Groups enjoy cruises on the Pickwick Belle,” Baker says. “It cruises the lake and the Tennessee River.”
Cruises may include eagle sightings. Recently, a couple of eagles were born at Shiloh National Military Park, Baker says.
The Pickwick Landing State Resort Park and Conference Center features a golf course, a 500-seat conference center and a 7,500-square-foot convention center.
Other meetings-ready properties in Hardin County include the Hampton Inn Pickwick Dam and the Comfort Inn Savannah.
For More Info
Hardin County CVB 731.925.8181 www.tourhardincounty.org
Jackson CVB 731.425.8333 www.jacksontncvb.com
Memphis CVB 901.543.5300 www.memphistravel.com
Nashville CVB 615.259.4730 www.visitmusiccity.com
