Essential to any understanding of the American experience are the nation-founding events that took place along Virginia’s coast in 1607.
Landing at Cape Henry (today’s Virginia Beach) in April of that year, three ships representing the Charter of the Virginia Company of London (named after England’s “Virgin Queen” Elizabeth) pursued a river inland in search of a Northwest Passage. Later named the James River, the waterway led the English colonizers to their settlement site—Jamestown Island.
Forming what is known as America’s Historic Triangle, along with Williamsburg, named capital of the Virginia colony in 1699, and Yorktown, where in 1781 the Continental Army defeated the British in the last major engagement of the Revolutionary War, Jamestown is where America’s story began.
Today, this legacy anchors diverse experiences along Virginia’s thriving coast, where classic convention halls, mighty shipyards and maritime adventures are among memorable agenda-building options for groups.
Safe Harbors
Located at the geographic hub of Coastal Virginia and surrounded by top-class attractions, Hampton exemplifies the region’s dynamic appeal for groups.
“Convenient proximity to our nation’s capital, easy interstate accessibility, two international airports and Amtrak all ensure delegates’ easy arrival,” says Hampton CVB Director Mary Fugere. “Combined with our state-of-the-art Hampton Roads Convention Center, on-site headquarters hotel, and 84,000-square-foot arena on the same campus, Hampton presents an incomparable setting for successful events.”
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2015, the Virginia Green-certified Hampton Roads Convention Center, featuring 344,000 total square feet of convention and exhibit space, is versatility defined. With the canopy of sails over its entranceway, the venue handles everything from major conventions and galas to sporting events and boat shows.
Planners have 35 flexible spaces for up to 14,000 delegates, including a 102,600-square-foot exhibit hall and a grand ballroom with banquet seating for 2,000-plus people.
Currently upgrading its audiovisual system, the convention center is connected by covered walkway to the Embassy Suites Hampton Roads, offering 295 two-room suites and meeting facilities for another 2,000 delegates.
Much has changed since the Hampton Coliseum opened on undeveloped farmland in 1970, but the landmark arena rocks on. Legendary stage for acts including Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones—their 1981 gig here remains a fan favorite—the Coliseum is to Virginia as Madison Square Garden is to New York. Host venue for the long-running Hampton Jazz Festival, the multipurpose arena seats 13,800 for big shows or under 6,180 for smaller events, conferences and meetings.
At the Virginia Air & Space Center, visitor facility for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base, groups can dine below aircraft or next to the Apollo 12 Command Module. An event-capable observation deck overlooks Hampton’s waterfront, with an antique 1920s carousel in adjacent Carousel Park.
In the News
Hampton’s peninsular neighbor, Newport News, has its own claims to fame.
“You don’t have to look far here to find the vitality of a big city coupled with small-town hospitality and charm,” says Cindy Brouillard, director of the Newport News Tourism Development Office. “The city is home to Virginia’s largest employer, Newport News Shipbuilding, and the U.S. Army’s largest transportation unit,” she continues. “Also headquarters for more than 20 international firms and two national laboratories, Newport News has meetings down to a science!”
One equation for success is the Virginia Living Museum, which offers unique programs such as animal shows during breakouts and tours focused on animal enrichment for daytime corporate meetings.
“These and other activities, such as after-hours scavenger hunts, have a motivational and teambuilding correlation,” says Jennifer Turlington, the museum’s event and tourism manager. Unique event spaces, meanwhile, include the rooftop patio, Conservation Garden, and nocturnal animals exhibit area.
Set within a 550-acre urban park, the famed Mariners’ Museum and Park features the award-winning USS Monitor Center, offering behind-the-scenes tours of priceless artifacts from the iconic ironclad. Versatile event spaces include the Great Hall of Steam and Huntington & Anna Rooms, named for Archer Huntington, who co-founded the museum in 1930.
Railroad tycoon Collis Potter Huntington, Archer’s father, established the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company. Groups can charter motor coach tours to learn about the mighty shipyard, which was chartered in 1886 and has built U.S. Navy aircraft carriers since the 1930s, including the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the Enterprise.
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Newport News is also home to the Virginia War Museum and U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis.
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Heading north up I-64, Williamsburg beckons as a major conference destination and one of America’s leading vacation destinations. This heirloom offers an all-American trove of group engagements.
Colonial Connections is a tour operator offering three compelling evening programs: the outdoor Colonial Hauntings Tour and candlelit Historical Investigations Tour, and indoor Early American Medical Practices tour. Some 30 minutes away in Charles City, tour-ready Shirley Plantation, Virginia’s original plantation from 1613, is owned and run by the 11th generation of its founding family.
See Worthy
Across Hampton Roads Bay, Norfolk and Portsmouth run deep with maritime tradition.
“With a compact, walkable downtown, Norfolk is a vibrant and accessible waterfront destination,” says Anthony DiFilippo, president & CEO of VisitNorfolk. “Diverse and ever-changing, the city also hosts a variety of year-round wine, culinary, music and art festivals.”
With the added convenience of Virginia’s only light rail system and hotels near all amenities, Norfolk, home to the world’s largest naval base, offers a number of quintessential on-the-water activities. Cultural attractions include the esteemed Chrysler Museum of Art and Glass Studio, with glassblowing demonstrations and event space among the draws.
Boasting its own salty history and alluring Olde Towne, nearby Portsmouth is awash with culture, including diverse group-capable options such as the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, Lightship Portsmouth Museum, Railroad Museum of Virginia, Virginia Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, and Children’s Museum of Virginia.
In Virginia Beach, where the legendary Cavalier Hotel from 1927 reopens this fall following a $70 millon renovation, groups can mix business with the discovery of a range of coastal experiences. The Virginia Beach Convention Center offers 150,000-plus square feet of column-free exhibit space and nearly 29,000 square feet of meeting space, plus 31,000 square feet of ballroom space and 2,230 free parking spaces. There are 3,500 hotel rooms within two miles of the Center, with more than 10,000 rooms citywide.
With diversions including the nation’s longest boardwalk and the new ViBe Creative District, distinctive venues include The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center, where some 800,000 gallons of aquatic environments set an ocean-themed backdrop for events such as receptions for 2,000 attendees amid sea turtles and sharks.
Inspiring, too, is the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Brock Environmental Center, where groups can arrange tours to learn about this international model for energy and water efficiency.
Water and Earth
Groups seeking other adventures can schedule an oyster farm boat tour with Pleasure House Oysters, which also offers a unique Chef’s Table experience on the Lynnhaven River, or participate in cooking classes at sustainability focused New Earth Farm in Pungo.
Settled in 1620, Chesapeake also figures in America’s story, including the Battle of Great Bridge in 1775. Along with the Battle at Kemps Landing, this epic showdown, which erased British government from colonial Virginia, is reenacted over two days each December.
Today, this growing city south of Norfolk wins over groups with venues including the versatile Chesapeake Conference Center. Adjacent to the Chesapeake Marriott and just 15 minutes from Norfolk International Airport, the venue, offering 39,000 square feet of versatile function space with room for up to 200 exhibits, also comes with 650-plus affordable hotel rooms within walking distance and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Groups can work up an appetite by exploring freshwater marshes, ancient cypress swamps and untouched barrier islands with guided and custom experiences from area operator Adventure Kayak Tours. They can then head to Amber Lantern Restaurant, offering fine dining on the Intracoastal Waterway and banquet space for up to 180 people.
About 20 miles inland from Norfolk, Suffolk is where in 1913 Italian immigrant Amadeo Obici moved production of his Planters Nut and Chocolate Company. Groups can buy Suffolk’s signature product at the Planters Peanut Center, take pictures with iconic Mr. Peanut or hold events at the landmark Obici House, the founder’s 1920s Art Nouveau-style mansion.
Suffolk groups also have a wide range of tours and outdoor excursions at the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, which covers over 112,684 acres of forested wetlands and includes activity-rich 3,100-acre Lake Drummond at its center.
