Mid-Atlantic

By Sarah Reiss and Jennifer Garrett

The cities of the Mid-Atlantic region tout distinct personalities, eccentricities and ancestry from the Southern hospitality found in Alexandria to Annapolis’ nautical birthright to the understated charm of Wilmington. Much of the country’s heritage is found in the states packed knee-to-elbow from Virginia to Delaware, awakening a spirit of pride in any group. Like patriarchs seated at the head of adjoining tables, the Mid-Atlantic states have much to share and even more to teach. In fact, so culturally rich and historically significant are these founding states that uncovering all they have to offer could well take multiple trips and boundless curiosity.

As the seat of our country’s roots, Virginia has an abundance of educational attractions. Start your exploration in Alexandria, where historical tours blend with hometown charm to produce one of the most popular destinations for meetings in the East. Historic venues range from the Alexandria Archaeology Museum to the Alexandria Black History Museum. Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, an 18th century tavern and hotel that was graced by the likes of George Washington and John Adams, features a museum and meeting space that includes an assembly room and ballroom that can accommodate up to 160 people. The Lyceum, Alexandria’s History Museum tells the city’s history through archeological finds, photos and artifacts, as well as providing meeting space in the Lecture Hall.

Virginia Beach and the surrounding area of Newport News, Norfolk and Hampton overflow with meeting venues. From the conventional — the 500,000-sq.-ft., eco-friendly Virginia Beach Convention Center, Hampton Roads Convention Center featuring 108,000 square feet of exhibit space and a 28,000-sq.-ft. ballroom, and the 11,000 seat Hampton Coliseum — to the adventurous. The visitor center for NASA Langley Air Force Base in Hampton accommodates 80 to 1,500 people in its two galleries, library and theater. The new Town Center mixed-use development halfway between downtown Norfolk and the Virginia Beach oceanfront packs tons of brand-name shopping, local and national restaurants, residences and hotels into 17 city blocks. The onsite Westin Town Center Hotel has 236 guestrooms and 16,000 square feet of meeting space, which includes a ballroom and pre-function lobby.

The International Church of Christ chose Virginia Beach for the location of their 2009 International Youth Event and 2008 Atlantic Coast Regional Conference, both of which exceeded 1,000 attendees. Also drawn to this coastal outpost: Benny Hinn Ministries’ 2008 Fire Conference & Holy Spirit Miracle Service and the upcoming Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation’s 2010 Annual Conference and The Presbyterian Church in America 2011 General Assembly, ranging in size from 2,000 to 4,000 attendees. Hampton draws meetings from all denominations as well. In 2009 alone, the city hosted Joyce Meyer Ministries, the Hampton University Ministers Conference, the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s Christian Education Conference and Juanita Bynum Ministries’ Southeast Regional Conference.

For the ultimate in living history, plant yourself in Washington, D.C. There are few activities more American than standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and gazing out over the Washington Monument, Reflecting Pool and The Capitol, so leave time to drink it all in.

To start, the 2.3 million-sq.-ft. Washington Convention Center has 700,000 square feet of exhibit space and nearly 70 meeting rooms. But if your meeting requires the same capitol flair without quite as much space, area museums including the International Spy Museum, National Museum of Crime and Punishment, and the National Geographic Museum not only provide event and meeting space, but have added features that range from group scavenger hunts to behind the scenes access to their incredible exhibits.

From the District of Columbia there is easy access to Montgomery County, Md., home to the communities of Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Rockville, Gaithersburg and Germantown. The Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center completed a renovation last year doubling its number of guestrooms to 449 and expanding its conference spare to 35,000 square feet of total meeting space, including a grand ballroom and 20 meeting rooms.

Just a half-mile outside the Capital Beltway and not far from the Bethesda North Conference Center, The Music Center at Strathmore hosts a revolving lineup of performances by major artists in styles ranging from pop to show tunes. The campus features the performance hall, which can sit close to 2,000, as well as the adjacent Mansion at Strathmore, which has space for private dinners and receptions of up to 225 or small meetings in the conference room.

Down the coast, Annapolis houses attractions like the Hammond-Harwood House, built in 1774 for Matthias Hammond, a wealthy tobacco planter, and the Banneker-Douglass house (built by free blacks in 1874), a historic home rich with period furnishings and Victorian architecture. The U.S. Naval Academy Museum reopened in August after an $18.6 million renovation to the 1939 Preble Hall, which houses 50,000 artifacts on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The spring of 2009 also brought the completion of a $2.1 million renovation to the Westin Annapolis, adding 2,000 square feet of meeting space, new audiovisual technology and state-of-the-art furnishings. The space now includes 10 meeting rooms and a 6,343-sq.-ft. ballroom in the 225-room hotel.

Making a compelling argument for arriving early and staying late, Baltimore’s National Aquarium is home to more than 16,500 animals and a new 4-D Immersion Theater. The museum can play host to events ranging from 30 to 900. The Baltimore Convention Center is walking distance from Camden Yards, home of the MLB Baltimore Orioles, Ravens Stadium, the NFL Baltimore Ravens home field, and the MARC train station for both local access trains and routes into D.C. The 1.2 million-sq.-ft. center is connected by skywalk to area hotels and shopping centers.

The unassuming state of Delaware is home to Fort Delaware, a harbor defense facility built in 1859 on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River. During the American Civil War, the Union used Fort Delaware, now a living history museum, as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war.

Wilmington boasts the Brandywine Scenic Byway, country estates, historic villages and ornate gardens. Don’t miss out on the unparalleled collection of paintings by three generations of Wyeths, alongside a collection of American illustration, still life and landscape painting, all housed in the Brandywine River Museum.

The Greater Wilmington area has proven a popular choice for faith-based meetings. Conveniently located just off I-95 midway between New York and Washington, D.C., the city is only 20 minutes away from the Philadelphia International Airport. The city’s popularity as a meeting destination is augmented by the fact that there is no sales tax on food, beverages and entertainment, making meeting dollars go farther. Wilmington is also the home of the August Quarterly, the longest-running black heritage festival in the United States. It’s a time of worship, celebrating the birth of the nation’s first black-led church, founded by Peter Spencer.

The city’s multiple venue options include The Chase Center on the Riverfront. As Wilmington’s largest venue for meetings, trade shows, conventions and celebrations, it offers 87,000 square feet of versatile space, including 40,000 square feet of dedicated exhibit space and two ballrooms with excellent food service. The Doubletree Hotel Downtown in Wilmington’s Legal District offers 20,000 square feet of meeting space for groups, including a grand ballroom that seats 1,080 and can be subdivided, and 10 smaller breakout rooms.

Whether you are hiking in the mountains, kayaking down a river or just enjoying the view, it is hard not to feel inspired when the scenic beauty of West Virginia surrounds you. Escape to Morgantown’s Dorsey Knob Lodge atop Dorsey Knob Park for a cozy gathering of up to 16, and easy access to cross country skiing, horseback riding, hiking and whitewater rafting opportunities for the outdoor lovers. The lodge is fitted with a full kitchen, dining/conference room and living area for weekend retreats or small gatherings.

The Inn at Mountain Quest features a conference room that can accommodate up to 60, a community room and business center on 450 gorgeous acres in the Allegheny Mountains. The Mountain Quest campus is also home to the Mountain Quest Institute, which is dedicated to the research and development of leaders. Workshops and retreats are offered.

Home to a new baseball stadium and the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, as well as shops, booths and restaurants in the indoor/outdoor Capitol Market, the burgeoning historic district of Charleston, W.Va., is part of an initiative of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Clay Center has facilities available for rent ranging from its 1,800-seat performance hall to the intimate Founders’ Lounge. Within walking distance, the Charleston Civic Center features a 50,000-sq.-ft. grand hall, 13,500-seat coliseum and flexible meeting space in the middle of downtown.

A covered bridge tour or a hunt for the areas many hex signs, a uniquely American art form and best known symbol of the region’s Pennsylvania Dutch, is just part of the intrigue of Greater Reading, Penn. Thirty museums, jazz festivals and convenient meeting facilities keep groups coming back for more. Whether surrounding your attendees with art at Goggleworks Center for the Arts is your style or the more traditional Greater Reading Expo Center suits your group’s needs, Greater Reading offers both a range of meeting facilities and activities to entertain outside of the meeting room.

Lehigh Valley consists of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan area and offers museums, scenic beauty and meeting facilities in all three cities. Five different convention hotels, the Allentown Fairgrounds Agri-Plex, and a variety of unique sites from the Crayola Factory to the Da Vinci Science Center combine to give planners a host of choices. Or kick into gear in the professional, yet rustic, setting of Glasbern Country Inn. While the charming bed and breakfast is set on 100 acres and steeped in country décor, a converted barn and lodge offer meeting and banquet space that help you down to business in a relaxed setting.