Promoted as “The City with Soul,” Mississippi’s capital offers event and meeting planners numerous options for successful gatherings. “Jackson has outstanding cultural offerings and excellent event venues,” says Paul Wolf, director of destination storytelling for Visit Jackson. “There are so many things to love about our city: the wonderful public art throughout downtown, our music, our food, and our outstanding museums and historical landmarks, particularly those relating to the civil rights freedom movement.”
The metro area’s top gathering spot is Jackson Convention Complex, which contains 330,000 square feet of event space on three levels, including a 60,000-square-foot exhibit hall with a capacity of 5,400 people for receptions, 3,600 for banquets, and 315 exhibit booths. Approximately 25,000 square feet of ballroom space augments the exhibit hall’s capacity for an additional 125 exhibit booths and 1,500 guests for receptions. Other components include a 382-seat theater, 10 meeting rooms, two full-service concession areas, and 33,000 square feet of pre-function lobby and registration space.
The 110,000-square-foot Mississippi Trade Mart, on the Mississippi Fairgrounds Complex, offers 63,000 square feet of column-free, flexible space; the space can also be divided into three halls and reconfigured to seamlessly link events to a 26,000-square-foot arena floor at the adjacent Mississippi Coliseum. Mississippi Trade Mart also features a 2,500-square-foot commercial kitchen, two cafés, and a light-filled atrium suitable for receptions of up to 70 guests.
Jackson has more than 3,000 guest rooms at approximately 30 hotels. Downtown’s 203-room Westin Jackson features 11,326 square feet of event space, including six meeting rooms and an outdoor terrace, and can seat 700 people in its largest space. The 186-room Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Jackson offers 7,321 square feet of space and can accommodate 325 people in its largest space.
Jackson’s vibrant downtown offers an array of additional venue options. Hal & Mal’s, a live music venue, serves brunch, lunch, and dinner, and can accommodate events and private concerts of more than 1,000 people.
The Iron Horse Grill, which occupies the former Armour Co. Smokehouse and Distribution Plant, serves Tex-Mex and American fare, features live music, and offers private dining rooms for 100 people.
Downtown Jackson has a vibrant public art scene and outstanding museums, including the Mississippi Museum of Art, which features a permanent collection, visiting exhibitions, and an outdoor garden. For a sweeping analysis of 15,000 years of Mississippi history, beginning with early native inhabitants through the state’s pivotal role in the civil rights movement and to modern times, Two Mississippi Museums features both the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. The cultural attraction opened in 2017 and offers numerous indoor and outdoor spaces available for special events, including an auditorium seating 250 theater style and 200 for banquets. Other available spaces at the museum include Hall of History for after-hours gatherings of 200, a mezzanine with a capacity of 100 guests, an outdoor plaza for larger events, and community and conference rooms for smaller events.
Nearby, the old Capitol Museum is worth a visit. Built in 1839, the Greek Revival National Historic Landmark was the site of some of the state’s most significant legislative actions, including Mississippi’s secession from the Union in 1861. The museum features interactive multimedia exhibits and accommodates private events of 40 to 256 people. Adjacent to Capitol Museum, War Memorial Building serves as a monument to Mississippi’s military history and the residents who served and gave their lives for their country. Jackson also has numerous self-guided walking tours, with historical markers pinpointing the Mississippi Blues Trail, Freedom Trail, and other history. Jackson’s new three-mile multi-use Museum Trail provides access to several key locations, including three parks, museums, and the Mississippi Farmers Market.
Fifteen minutes from downtown and Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport (JAN), the 276-room Hilton Jackson sits just off Interstate 55 and features 19,154 square feet of meeting space, including 17 meeting spaces, two amphitheater venues, a penthouse ballroom, boardrooms, and restaurants with private and semi-private areas. The hotel’s largest space, an 8,100-square-foot ballroom, can accommodate 1,200 for receptions, 660 for banquets, and 210 for conference-style seating.
