The planning world is constantly evolving. The resurgence of live gatherings has opened the door to new venues, breathed new life into classic spaces, and thrust Southern cities into the spotlight. These trending spots aren’t just growing, they’re thriving. Here’s a look at some of the South’s hip venues and hot cities for cool meetings.
Museums with mojo
Rev up your meeting at The Smith at The MOTO Museum. The new St. Louis, Mo., event space is set in a museum that houses a collection of rare vintage motorcycles from around the world, representing nearly a century of two-wheeled history. The space is equally unique, with an industrial-chic vibe and two event areas: one 7,000 square feet and the other 4,000. A sister property to The Smith, the 15-acre City Foundry STL also is located in the burgeoning Midtown St. Louis area. The new dining and entertainment destination has a food hall featuring local eateries, unique retail shops, mini-golf, and virtual reality games, along with the 18 Rails event space that can host 700 guests.
Meetings roar at the 120,000-square-foot Tellus Science Museum, which features the skeletal structures of a Tyrannosaurus rex and Appalachiosaurus, called the Southern T-Rex based on remains found in Georgia and Alabama. The Cartersville, Ga., attraction, about an hour northwest of Atlanta, has a digital planetarium and an observatory, along with several banquet rooms and a Great Hall that holds 600. Cartersville also is home to the Smithsonian-affiliated Booth Western Art Museum, which boasts the world’s largest permanent exhibition space for Western art. The 120,000-square-foot building is designed to resemble a modern pueblo and was constructed of Bulgarian limestone. Its indoor and outdoor event spaces include a two-story glass atrium and two ballrooms. Both the Tellus and the Booth can provide expert speakers.
Add some fizz to gatherings at World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Ga., where the beverage giant is headquartered. The site features the history of the brand and includes the newly reimagined Scent Discovery exhibit, the Vault of the Secret Formula, and selfie opportunities with the brand’s iconic polar bear. The website offers a mysterious tease that a new interactive experience will open this fall. Event space abounds, including the 225-seat Coca-Cola Theater, a tasting room where as many as 200 guests can sample the firm’s beverages from around the world, an 8,000-square-foot two-level space called The Hub, and a 160,000-square-foot outdoor space—or rent the entire attraction!
The First Americans Museum is touted as the largest single-building tribal cultural center in the country. The Oklahoma City museum honors the history and culture of Oklahoma’s 39 First American Nations. Two unique restaurants at the museum serve modern indigenous cuisine. The stunning Hall of the People is a 110-foot structure inspired by a Wichita grass lodge; it can accommodate 405 guests. Among other event spaces is the FAM Theater with 159 retractable seats. In partnership with Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, visitors can see both museums for one price.
Get in the spirit with Kentucky bourbon, now booming in popularity. The Oscar Getz Museum of Bourbon History in Bardstown, Ky., known as the “Bourbon Capital of the World,” is about an hour from both Louisville and Lexington. The museum is located in historic Spalding Hall and features a collection of rare whiskey and bourbon bottles and other historic artifacts. The property includes the Bourbon Capital Academy education experience, The Rickhouse Restaurant & Lounge, and is the site of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival (which sold out this year). Event venues include a chapel and lawn space.
Nearby in Frankfort, Ky., is what is said to be the first destination distillery. In 1887, Col. Edmund Haynes Taylor, Jr., built the enterprise, including a castle, sunken gardens, springhouse, and a five-mile railroad spur to entice visitors from town. The Old Taylor Distillery Company closed during Prohibition, eventually falling into ruin, but it was restored and reopened as Castle & Key five years ago. The distillery in the capital city is less than an hour northwest of Lexington, and the unique historic buildings and grounds welcome groups for tastings, tours, and large tented affairs.
Something completely different
Ever wanted to stay in a hobbit hut? You can do the next best thing at Ancient Lore Village at Boyd Hollow about 15 minutes from downtown Knoxville, Tenn. The fairytale-like resort and event venue opened in 2021 and offers lodgings in cottages bearing whimsical names, such as Gremlin Den, Leprechaun Lair, Fairy Cottage, and Orc Home. Set in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, the property has equally magical venue names, including the Tree Elf Nest Patio, Woodland Terrace, and Ground Elf Burrows, a round room designed to look like the inside of a whiskey barrel. Unique teambuilding activities include constructing a bridge, navigating an obstacle course while blindfolded, and building a catapult.
The Greenbrier dates to 1778, but one of the resort’s event spaces has a more recent and somewhat ominous connection to history. In 1958, as part of a government project to protect federal leaders in case of nuclear war or other national emergency, construction began on an underground shelter large enough to house all the members of Congress. Officially named The Cold War Bunker, the 112,000-square-foot, two-story bunker is buried 720 feet into a hillside under the White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., resort’s West Virginia Wing, which was constructed to disguise the bunker. The shelter’s existence was top secret for more than 30 years, but today, The Bunker space is open for tours and events with a variety of rooms suitable for meetings and banquets.
A new space in Bentonville, Ark., puts a different spin on the city’s love of mountain biking. Ledger Bentonville has been called the world’s first bikeable building. The six-story, 230,000-square-foot structure has an exterior switchback ramp designed for biking (or walking) from the ground floor to the roof. The ¾-mile ramp offers exercise and fresh air, with stopping points along the way to take in the scenery—or catch a breath. Ledger has hi-tech spaces available, including meeting rooms, boardrooms, a classroom, and top-floor indoor and outdoor meeting and event spaces providing views of the Ozark Mountain city known as the “Mountain Bike Capital of the World.”
A cool new attraction in Washington, D.C., is never at a loss for words. Planet Word immerses visitors in a unique hi-tech language experience celebrating the story of words. Fittingly set in a former public school, the museum is filled with interactive voice- and touch-activated exhibits. A highlight is the Spoken World exhibit featuring a 4,800-LED globe that doubles as a chandelier for events in the Bloomberg Philanthropies Great Hall. Lexicon Lane on the third floor offers a wordplay sleuthing adventure for teambuilding. Event spaces include a 150-seat auditorium, a rooftop terrace, and a courtyard anchored by a sculpture called Speaking Willow, which whispers in hundreds of languages. The five-story, 50,000-square-foot historic building houses a humor gallery, karaoke space, and recording booth sure to spark discussion.
Breathing room
The new Learning Campus at Gulf State Park offers a series of buildings constructed on land that once held the barracks for the Civilian Conservation Corps members who built the park in the 1930s. The Gulf Shores, Ala., campus is geared toward environmentally conscious travelers and contains six unique meeting spaces in individual buildings connected by a boardwalk. The 6,150-acre park on the Gulf of Mexico contains nine diverse ecosystems, something the campus is dedicated to protecting through environmental education and a commitment to sustainability. Spaces include the LEED-certified Conservation Hall and Loblolly Classroom with an adjoining laboratory. The new facility can host 225 attendees and includes sleeping, meeting, dining, and education spaces.
Discovery Green is a breath of fresh air in the heart of a big city. The 12-acre park in downtown Houston, Texas, hosts hundreds of events a year and attracts more than 20 million visitors annually. The park includes a lake, walking paths, fenced dog runs, and intriguing public art. Several event lawns and performance spaces such as a bandstand and stage are available for as many as 20,000 guests.
About 20 miles north of downtown Houston, the recently rebranded and rapidly growing City Place is a hot property. The 2,000-acre mixed-use development offers shopping, restaurants, entertainment, a nature preserve and greenway, trails, parks, a coworking hub, and three Marriott hotels totaling nearly 600 rooms and 30,000 square feet of meeting and event space. City Place Plaza overlooking the development’s lake system hosts more than 200 events a year.
Swanky, spicy, and subtropical
Phipps Plaza bills itself as a luxury lifestyle destination. Indeed, the trendy mixed-use development is set in Atlanta’s upscale Buckhead neighborhood, and its retail offerings include names such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co. The site includes The Green outdoor space and Citizens Market Atlanta, a 25,000-square-foot food hall, bar, and event space featuring fast casual brands. Nobu Hotel Atlanta recently opened at the complex with 152 guest rooms, a rooftop lounge, and the 4,300-square-foot Kaijo Ballroom. The hotel includes a highly anticipated Nobu restaurant, part of the world-famous chain popular for its fusion of traditional Japanese cuisine and Peruvian ingredients.
Avery Island has always been red hot. The Louisiana hotspot has been the home of Tabasco Original Red Pepper Sauce for more than five generations, and the factory tour and museum spice up any event. Built on a salt dome in the south-central part of the state about 30 miles south of Lafayette, the attraction shares the history of the McIlhenny Company and its line of pepper-sauce products. Groups can participate in a Tabasco cooking demonstration and sample the flavors of the local culture through the Acadiana Culinary Experience. The Tabasco Restaurant 1868 (a nod to the year the original sauce was developed) offers authentic Cajun dishes and a bar to build your own Bloody Mary—all seasoned with Tabasco Sauce, of course.
The name The Plant has something of a double meaning. The Jackson, Miss., event venue takes its name from its past as a pipe plant, but the space also is filled with more than 150 native and subtropical plants—including a living botanical wall. After a major renovation gave new life to the building, which sat empty for two decades, the modernized venue opened in 2021. The 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space offer a unique blend of industrial and organic elements, with exposed beams, natural light, and a lush tropical feel, particularly The Courtyard, which includes a stormwater retention planter. A neon sign in the Sunset Lounge space reads, “This must be paradise.”
Here are a few more rising Southern cities to put on your radar.
