Compact like the rest of Rhode Island, Providence nevertheless is a vibrant destination with enough cosmopolitan flair to rival cities several times its size.
A university hub that encompasses the Ivy League as well as leading schools for design, hospitality and the culinary arts, Providence is also a place of diverse neighborhoods where traditions run deep.
"We have all the offerings of a first-tier city, yet we provide an intimate setting where things are not overwhelming," says Neil Schriever, senior vice president of the Providence Warwick CVB. "We also enjoy the advantage of location. We’re within 300 miles of 20 percent of the U.S. population and a plane change or less from just about anywhere in the country."
Location, Location, Location
Not only is Providence easy to get to, it’s also an easy place for attendees to navigate once they arrive. Right in the heart of downtown is the Rhode Island Convention Center, designed to complement the city’s historic architecture and outfitted with a 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall, 20,000-square-foot ballroom, 23 meeting rooms and the glass-enclosed Rotunda Room overlooking the city.
Giving larger groups even more flexibility are the adjacent Dunkin’ Donuts Center, a 31,000-square-foot concert and sports arena that is also available for events, and the 19,000-seat Veterans Memorial Auditorium, a former Rhode Island Freemasons Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
While most events at the convention center are usually for groups requiring no more than 1,400 rooms on peak nights, Schriever says the Dunkin’ Donuts Center, which was extensively renovated in 2008, enables the city to host large SMERF (social, military, education, religious and fraternal) groups as well.
"We’ve hosted religious groups with over 8,000 delegates because of the arena—it makes a huge difference," he says.
About 1,700 hotel rooms are within walking distance of the convention center complex, located at such properties as the Westin Providence, which is connected to both the center and the Providence Place Mall. Other nearby hotels include the Renaissance Providence, Courtyard by Marriott, Hilton Providence and Providence Marriott Downtown.
Making Providence even more convenient is the recent completion of InterLink, a $267 million transportation hub at Providence’s T.F. Green Airport that provides seamless connections to car rental facilities, commuter trains and intercity busses.
Providence’s accessibility and the compact nature of the region means that groups will find a wide variety of half-day or full-day excursion possibilities.
"Newport is just 40 miles away, which makes it a great option for spouse programs," Schriever says. "Boston is close by, too. We’ve had people go up there to see a Red Sox game. Conversely, groups meeting in Boston will sometimes come down here for a historic walking tour."
When it comes to marketing Providence as a meetings destination, Schriever says the bureau often works in partnerships with neighbors.
"For example, we have a great relationship with the Newport & Bristol County CVB," Schriever says. "We do joint sales missions and co-produce our meetings destination facilities guide and other collateral. We also do joint sales missions with the New England Society of CVBs."
College Connection
Woven throughout Providence are eight college and university campuses, the most famous of which are Brown University, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and Johnson & Wales University. Along with providing outstanding attractions and venues, the colleges serve as valuable resources for meetings content and also aid the city in attracting specialized group business, according to Schriever.
"We get a lot of meetings that are associated with the schools," he says. "For example, the medical and science departments at Brown are a great resource for the many healthcare meetings that come here."
The presence of Johnson & Wales, which is the world’s largest culinary educator and whose graduates include Emeril Lagasse and other notable chefs, has been instrumental in establishing Providence as an "extraordinary" culinary destination, Schriever adds.
"A lot of the students who graduate from Johnson & Wales remain in Providence and go on to open their own restaurants here," he says. "We’re definitely not a chain restaurant destination. Our culinary offerings are an important part of our attraction for meetings. We all know that one of the first things that people talk about when they leave a meeting is what they ate as well as what they saw."
Along with local chefs, Johnson & Wales also provides one of the city’s most compelling museums and off-site venues: the Culinary Arts Museum, containing over 500,000 items and exhibits that explore the history of cooking.
Among the possible events spaces at the museum is an authentic 1950s diner with a 16-seat soda fountain and tables seating up to 40 guests. The entire museum, which also includes a theater, can be rented for dinner events of up to 160 people.
What Johnson & Wales is to culinary and hospitality studies, RISD is to the study of art and design. The college’s Museum of Art houses more than 80,000 works of art, including Greek sculpture, French Impressionist paintings, Chinese terracotta and contemporary multimedia art. The museum’s Pendleton House is a reminder of Providence’s historical roots, showcasing a superb collection of early American decorative art.
Creative Capital
Nicknamed the "Creative Capital," the arts in Providence abound in off-campus locations as well. The city’s Arts and Entertainment District is filled with galleries and performing arts venues, including AS220, an alternative arts performance, studio and living space with regular performances, readings and gallery exhibits.
Gallery Night, which takes place on the third Thursday of every month from March through November, is an event in which free shuttle busses make a loop throughout the city, stopping at galleries, museums and shops along the way.
Among the most unusual arts-related attractions is Big Nazo Puppet Lab, the downtown studio and exhibition space for Big Nazo, a group of visual artists, puppeteers and masked musicians who perform at festivals and private events. Groups are welcome to visit the lab to enjoy mini performances and a backstage look at Big Nazo’s collection of wildly fantastic costumes, masks and puppets.
Local artistry reaches its culmination at WaterFire, a series of weekend night events from April through November in which the Providence River and its tributaries glow with fires set on floating braziers. Gondolas and boats drift down the waterways while thousands of spectators throng the downtown riverfront to enjoy the magical pageantry.
WaterFire events, dependent on corporate sponsorship, are often a direct result of convention business, according to Schriever.
"Six of the last WaterFires were related to conventions," he said. "For example, a large healthcare meeting might include a company that will sponsor a WaterFire event."
Providence, founded by Roger Williams back in 1636, is also known for its historic architecture, making it one of the top U.S. cities for buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The centerpiece of the city is the magnificent Rhode Island State House, a white marble edifice with the fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome in the world.
Another outstanding architectural site is Benefit Street, where the brick sidewalks are lined with magnificent colonial homes.
Warwick
A few miles south of Providence, the coastal community of Warwick is lined with historic mansions, unique shops and restaurants. As the site of T.E. Green Airport and the new InterLink hub, it’s also a major crossroads for southern New England.
"Warwick works really well in hosting corporate and small regional groups, as all the hotels are convenient to the airport and the Interstate," Schriever says. "There are complimentary shuttles to the airport and the hotels are a little more rate sensitive than in Providence."
Warwick’s largest hotel, the Crowne Plaza, offers 266 guest rooms and 35,000 square feet of meeting space, including a new outdoor meetings pavilion.
