Each destination that encompasses inland Mississippi, a region that’s rich in music and history, offers planners a blank canvas for memorable meetings.
With new developments, from fresh and booming entertainment districts to recently opened off-site venues and festivities honoring the Civil War’s sesquicentennial throughout 2013, as well as some notable trends, including culinary happenings and the increased booking of sporting events, inland Mississippi continues to tell an intriguing story.
Jackson
Among the notable trends in Jackson in recent years, according to Shun Hatten, vice president of sales at the Jackson CVB, is the booking of sports-oriented events such as the Junior Olympic Nationals Gymnastics Competition, the Biggest Loser RunWalk 5k and Half Marathon, and the National Collegiate Baseball Association’s 2013 Division II Collegiate Club World Series.
Also, perhaps owing to the recent opening of the Art Garden at the Mississippi Museum of Art, planners are booking more meetings outside.
“We are seeing meetings booked at various outdoor venues, including the new Art Garden,” she says.
Jackson is home to meetings-friendly hotels including Marriott, Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn properties, and the Jackson Convention Complex, which boasts more than 150,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space near arts and entertainment offerings to round out any meeting experience.
Notable options for off-session fun include visiting local sites on the Mississippi Blues Trail, team-building outings to Mississippi Off-Road Adventures and exploring the Fondren District.
“Fondren District is Jackson’s newest and hottest neighborhood,” Hatten says. “With monthly art walks, live music, boutique shopping and plenty of restaurants, Fondren hosts numerous special events and is a great place to book an excursion.”
The Farish Street Entertainment District, which promises to be another hopping part of town, is under way with an aim to celebrate Mississippi’s authentic music, food and culture via eateries, a juke joint, a blues club, a sports lounge and other venues.
Meanwhile, construction is expected to begin this year on the National Civil Rights Museum, with completion slated for 2017. The museum is expected to feature an interpretive center, a theater, classrooms and meeting rooms. PageBreak
Meridian/Lauderdale County
Aside from a central location halfway between Atlanta and Dallas, one of the reasons Meridian is popular for groups is that it is a small community that works together to deliver successful meetings, according to Stephen Martin, sales coordinator at the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau.
“We formed an informal group, ‘Meet In Meridian,’ bringing the various entities, lodging, restaurants, attractions, the the chamber and Main Street together to collectively secure business,” he says, explaining that the various meeting sites and lodging properties understand they may not “win the bid” for a specific group, but they continue to work as a community to guarantee the meeting is a success. “Understanding the concepts of ‘repeat business’ and ‘word of mouth advertising,’ everyone has a common goal of attendees experiencing our unique history, heritage and culture.”
Meridian is also the birthplace of Jimmie Rodgers, who is known as the Father of Country Music, and therefore it’s a destination that’s no stranger to music and entertainment. At the conclusion of business, visits to the Jimmie Rodgers Memorial Museum and Temple Theater for the Performing Arts are popular with attendees as well as golf, shopping and outings to Binachi Shooting Sports.
The area’s group-friendly facilities include the MSU Riley Center, a historic building with modern amenities and a rich heritage; the Meridian Northeast Conference Center; and Best Western, Drury Inn & Suites, Hilton Garden Inn and Holiday Inn properties.
Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg has a high retention rate with repeat customers, according to Kristen Brock, sales manager at Visit Hattiesburg.
“With more than 10 years of actively forming relationships with meeting planners from across Mississippi and the Southeast, we truly have friends in the industry who keep coming back time and time again,” she says. “We are dedicated to maintaining these relationships while also welcoming and supporting new groups to our area.”
Brock adds that attendees will appreciate Historic Downtown Hattiesburg’s recent revitalization, a massive project that has made it all the more appealing to visiting groups.
“The Downtown District houses several new meeting facilities, including The Venue, complete with exposed brick walls and steel trusses and the capacity to host groups up to 250, and the Oddfellows Building, which dates back to the early 20th century and welcomes groups of up to 100 on three floors,” she says. “In addition to historical buildings serving as new meeting space, the area is a mecca of new and revered shops, restaurants and galleries.”
Meetings-friendly options here include Lake Terrace Convention Center, and brands including Courtyard by Marriott, Hilton Garden Inn and Baymont Inn & Suites.
“Not only do we offer upscale, affordable meeting facilities and comfortable, modern accommodations, but we encourage our delegates to discover our city’s character both during the workday and after-hours,” Brock says. “We have created tried and true itineraries for groups visiting our area and all of our stops are complimentary add-ons for any meeting or conference. Stops include one of our golf courses, a bevy of Civil Rights history, a historic downtown area with unique venues such as a World War II-era building turned swanky, a nouveau hot spot, and our original 1929 Saenger Theater.” PageBreak
Vicksburg
Vicksburg is currently receiving quite a bit of business with groups that are looking for a niche market destination, according to Ashley Gatian, group services manager at the Vicksburg CVB.
“We have so much history to offer our attendees and so many great things to keep attendees entertained that Vicksburg is an easy choice for meeting planners to make,” she says.
Throughout 2013 would be a particularly great time to bring a group to Vicksburg, so they might partake in the sesquicentennial Civil War festivities, Gatian adds.
“That is our main promotion for the new year,” she says. “You could bring your group here and offer them a guided tour of the city or battlefield with an expert guide that would make them feel like they have stepped back in time.”
Evening options, Gatian adds, include open-air concerts in the Vicksburg National Military Park and dining at one of the area’s antebellum homes, where attendees are greeted by ladies in period gowns and a band that plays old-time music.
Popular meeting facilities include the Vicksburg Convention Center and Auditorium, Battlefield Inn, Cedar Grove Mansion Inn, Hampton Inn and Suites, and Holiday Inn. Southern Cultural Heritage Center and the Old Court House Museum are two notable off-site venues in town.
Newly opened in August 2012 is the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Riverfront Interpretive Site, a $24 million museum that includes an orientation theater and many exhibits about the Mississippi River.
Greenwood/Starkville
In recent years, Greenwood has earned a reputation as a culinary center, according to Paige Hunt, executive director at the Greenwood CVB.
The Viking Cooking School, a subsidiary of Viking Range Corp., offers classes for aspiring chefs in the group, and beyond that there are over 40 restaurants with menus featuring everything from soul food to haute cuisine.
“Greenwood was proud host to ‘The Help’ during the film adaption of the New York Times best-selling novel,” Hunt says. “Since then, hundreds of culinary tourists and history fans have visited Greenwood to experience Delta charm and new Delta cuisine themselves.”
She says tours of the filming locations and in-person cooking demonstrations from local chefs who worked as food stylists for the film are available for groups.
Small to midsize group gatherings are best suited in Greenwood, where, according to Hunt, a travel rebate of up to $500 for groups staying a minimum of 10 room nights is currently available. Facilities include the Leflore County Civic Center, Alluvian Hotel, Hampton Inn and Three Rivers Inn and Suites.
“Where else can you pay tribute to the most important blues artist in the morning, learn the secrets of Southern chefs at lunch, and dine with a James Beard Award nominee in the evening,” Hunt says. “Inventive food and Southern classics are available for culinary team building, not to mention a historic downtown with eclectic shops to brighten meeting breaks.”
In Starkville, touted by the Starkville CVB as “Mississippi’s College Town,” where the largest campus of Mississippi State University (MSU) resides, there is also a good mix of shopping and dining opportunities, as well as MSU sporting events and a decent lineup of meetings-ready facilities.
Among the options are University Inn, Hilton Garden Inn and Suites, the historic Hotel Chester, Hunter Henry Center and several that are MSU-based, including Bost Conference Center, Palmeiro Center and Humphrey Coliseum.
Carolyn Blackburn is a frequent contributor to Meetings Focus South.
