The Northern Virginian suburbs are just across the Potomac River from the nation’s capital and populated with many business-ready facilities. Yet outside the meeting room, the region offers groups a vast range of gardens and green spaces for private events, outdoor recreation, team building and tours.
The region’s topography is punctuated by the Virginia Piedmont, and it covers about 100 miles north to south and 50 miles east to west. Views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, rolling green foothills and riverside scenery color the palette.
Planners wishing to incorporate nature into the agenda might consider the following Northern Virginia venues.
George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate,
Museum and Gardens
www.mountvernon.org
America’s first president’s beautiful home on the Potomac River has gardens that have been restored to the way they were in Washington’s lifetime. His love of trees is evident in the plantings around the home, and they include a dozen from his era that remain alive today.
“Private evening tours for 20 or more guests are popular,” says Melissa Wood, the estate’s staff spokeswoman. “We customize according to group interests. Some business groups want to study Washington’s business, entrepreneurial and leadership character, and interests in the estate’s distillery grist mill and farm. And these may include team-building programs.”
Tented events on the east lawn for up to 1,200 people are possible after gates close to the public, usually after 5 p.m., as are candlelight tours of the home. Some groups arrive at Mount Vernon via riverboat from either nearby Alexandria or Washington, D.C.
Reenactors are available for appearances at private events, including George and Martha Washington. PageBreak
Pavilions of Turkey Run, Mclean
www.jrspicnics.com/turkey_run_directions.shtml
In the shadows of Northern Virginia’s unofficial downtown, Tysons Corner, and only minutes from Washington, D.C., is Turkey Run, the only U.S. national park with private management. It offers groups an inviting natural place to unwind and relax for a variety of events, including private company picnics, team building and casual outdoor receptions in proximity to major corporate headquarters and offices.
Groups of up to 800 may book the site for picnics, complete with softball, volleyball, nature trails and free admission to the adjacent Claude Moore Colonial Farm, an 18th century living history site.
Gari Melchers Home
and Studio at Belmont
http://garimelchers.umw.edu/belmont-estate
With its Fredericksburg location only a couple of turns off Interstate 95 and halfway between Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Va., this artist’s former Northern Virginia home, studio and gardens provides an elegant and serene space for meetings and events. It’s historic too, with plenty of Civil War-era stories about the wartime owner who escaped destruction because he was a Union sympathizer.
“Belmont is an environment that is 180 degrees out of an office environment,” says Betsy Labar, special events manager at the venue. “The estate has the Melchers historic home with its stunning art collection and furnishings from around the world, flower gardens and a summer house that overlooks the Rappahannock River.”
The Studio Pavilion was added to the estate a few years ago.
“The pavilion accommodates up to 150 theater-style, and there are Wi-Fi and other tech amenities to support business meetings. Lunch may be served for up to 100 people, and tours of the Melchers home are available.PageBreak
Airlie Center, Warrenton
www.airlie.com
As a member of the International Association of Conference Centers (IACC), Airlie Center presents groups with plenty of business amenities, along with a destination site on 1,200 wooded Virginia Piedmont acres 35 miles from Washington Dulles International Airport and near main highways.
Airlie’s Complete Meeting Package and Day Meeting Package provide groups with all-inclusive, per-person day rates for 17,000 square feet of meeting spaces, eight sleeping cottages and 150 guest rooms.
The center’s natural surroundings have been the setting for productive meetings and memorable events for five decades and contribute to the center’s sustainable initiatives. The center has received several awards, including a recent LEED Gold certification for Airlie Pavilion, the four-season enclosed octagonal space that opens to the outdoors and features views of a garden.
Airlie staff helps clients design team-building programs such as culinary competitions, ropes courses and fishing lessons. Airlie’s natural setting is also perfect for biking, fishing, volleyball, tennis and skeet shooting. Attendees can enjoy hiking in nearby Shenandoah National Park, golf outings and horseback riding.
Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna
www.nvrpa.org/park/meadowlark_botanical_gardens
This 95-acre botanical oasis near both Reston and Tysons Corner office and retail sites invites business groups to escape from the corporate environment.
The glass-enclosed atrium, accommodating up to 250 seated at table rounds, is the garden’s event centerpiece, with its 2,000-square-foot skylight, indoor stream and fountain. Washingtonian magazine has called it one of the D.C. area’s top three event spaces.
“A lot of business groups are looking for something different for their meetings and events,” says Renee Arellano, events coordinator at the venue. “We offer them garden serenity, along with catering and event services.”
There are also a couple of breakout spaces in the Atrium, which can hold up to 60 guests, as well as the main space, which is popular for formal meals, receptions and meetings.
Guests may step out into the adjoining terrace or walk the garden trails to enjoy its extensive collection of perennials and Virginia Piedmont topography, characterized by hills, small streams and lakes, forested hollows and expansive views. PageBreak
Carlyle House Historic Park, Alexandria
www.nvrpa.org/park/carlyle_house_historic_park
Once the grandest residence in Colonial Alexandria when Scottish merchant John Carlyle built it in 1753, Carlyle House has exquisite gardens and a stately and dramatic setting for private events. It was, after all, grand enough to welcome luminaries of Carlyle’s day, such as George Washington and Lord Fairfax.
The museum’s Magnolia Terrace is available for afternoon and evening rentals from April through October. The terrace overlooks the gardens and its 18th century summerhouse.
Tours of the mansion are available during functions.
Located in the heart of Old Town Alexandria, it is two blocks from the Potomac River and near Old Town’s plethora of restaurants, shops and galleries. The nation’s capital is just a 20-minute boat ride away.
Marriott Ranch, Hume
www.marriottranch.com
Where can you get Civil War history, accommodations, a Western-style site and over 4,000 acres of outdoor space in one package? Try Marriott Ranch, a property that Marriott International founders J.W. and Alice Marriott purchased in 1950.
Located about an hour west of Washington, D.C., the ranch was the Marriotts’ favorite East Coast retreat, and they used it to entertain dignitaries such as President Ronald Reagan.
Marriott Ranch is in the heart of Northern Virginia’s expansive winemaking country, where wraparound views of the Blue Ridge and nearby Civil War sites punctuate the landscape. A historic 18th century house on the ranch has seven guest rooms and accommodates small meetings, dinners and cocktail receptions.
“We have many outdoor activities here, and business groups come for picnics because we can host up to 1,800 people,” says Kelley Moss, the ranch’s director of sales and marketing. “We also have a small Western town that includes a pavilion for up to 100 guests where we have barbecues and associated activities.”
Jeep tours, cattle drives, clay target shooting, hay wagon rides, horseback trail rides and wine tastings and tours are among the ranch’s activities repertoire.
Ruth A. Hill, based in Gainesville, Va., is a frequent contributor to Meetings Focus.
