Twice per year, the population of Round Top, Texas, swells from a mere 87 to tens of thousands in town for a jaw-dropping antiques and design fair. While crowds grow year over year for the show, which started in 1968, Round Top remains a sleepy little town for the other 50 weeks of the year.
“I love it, because to me, it feels like a little bubble,” says Dean Renaud, event director for Garden & Gun. The luxury magazine hosts a pop-up club and ticketed dinner event during Round Top’s annual antiques and design fair. “It feels really special and unique.”
Somewhere between the tumbleweeds, the luxurious offerings and experiences serve as a magnet for prestigious interior designers and high-end shoppers.
Whitney Long, co-founder of The Southern C and The Southern C Summit conferences, workshops, and retreats, has a similar take on Round Top, which is approximately an hour’s drive from Austin and Houston. The shopping influencers, creators, and collectors who attend The Southern C Summit women’s retreat view Round Top as a “discovery,” she says. “It feels down to earth while being chic.”
Small-town America has an ability to stir emotions among visitors in a way distinct from major cities. For meeting and event planners seeking to meet the bleisure demand from attendees, lower-profile destinations can stand tall for their ability to create meaningful, authentic experiences that truly resonate.
David Stall, chairman of Round Top’s Hotel & Lodging Advisory Board, rightly proclaims the town is “a unicorn,” given its size and unusual amenities. However, it’s not alone in winning over business travelers with Southern charm, culture, and cooking, and smart planning.
Here, we explore the ways small destinations—populations of 40,000 or less—hit high notes with events.
Big on atmosphere:
In lieu of skyscrapers, an interesting aura fills the air in a part of north-central West Virginia labeled on maps as Lewis County, but is better known as Stonewall Country in honor of the Civil War general born in Clarksburg.
While there are no confirmed sightings of Jackson’s ghost, the area with a population of 16,700 is renowned for its paranormal activity, says Chrissy Richards, executive director of Lewis County Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). Among the most popular excursions is a tour of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, which closed as a medical facility in 1994 but is now home to one of the country’s top Halloween haunted houses.
Out-of-this-world experiences can also be a bit more grounded. Small towns with colleges and universities thrive on the energy and creativity their schools cultivate.
Stillwater, Okla., home to Oklahoma State University (OSU), is unofficially known as “America’s Friendliest College Town,” a reputation the community proudly embraces, according to Cristy Morrison, president and CEO of Visit Stillwater.
“We didn’t make it up,” says Morrison, noting numerous survey results led to the nickname for the town of 40,000 OSU Cowboys faithful. “Everybody else is telling us that is who we are.”
Given the university’s influence, it is not surprising that Eskimo Joe’s, a famed tailgate hangout and favorite among returning alumni during homecoming weekend, is one of the most popular venues among event attendees, along with the football stadium and alumni center.
Ruston, La., at 22,000 residents, attributes many of its events to Louisiana Tech University and Grambling State University, an HBCU with a fabled football program, explains Tori Davis, director of marketing and communications for Experience Ruston.
“There is a palpable energy when you put a couple thousand college students in a small town,” she says. “It spills over into the community.”
One of Ruston’s local creations is celebrated all around the world. As Davis explains, most frozen daiquiris served worldwide can be traced to Frosty’s Factory of America in Ruston. Dolph Williams, a Louisiana Tech graduate, conceived the idea at his parents’ liquor store and incorporated Frosty’s in 1983. Davis says Experience Ruston is organizing a tour of Frosty’s Factory, followed by a trip to a food-truck park and capped by a frosted drink, for an upcoming event.
Unique event designs
In smaller towns, the largest hotel could very well be a Courtyard by Marriott or Embassy Suites, and a convention center is not always an option. What could be viewed as a deficiency can be turned into a strength with the right planning.
Madison, Ga., the backdrop of the popular TV show Goosebumps, has a thriving events scene by emphasizing its positives. Officially recognized as one of the country’s “Tree Cities,” for its commitment to preserving its forestry, Madison (population: 5,300) mixes visually stunning backdrops with a well-conceived group of unique venues. MAD Hospitality, in particular, is driving growth with its focus on creating chef-driven culinary concepts like Buggy Works, adding flavor to restored historical spaces.
Natalie Siso, assistant market center operations manager at Keller Williams Realty, recently planned the company’s intimate award ceremony for 30 individuals in her hometown. She selected Empire Mills, a restored historic mill turned event venue,
and tapped Hallie Jane’s catering, which is closely tied to the venue.
“I was immediately impressed—it had the perfect blend of charm and professionalism,” Siso says. “The feedback from our agents was overwhelmingly positive. They truly appreciated the effort that went into organizing it and felt valued and celebrated. It was really rewarding to hear they had such a great time and the event left a lasting impression.”
Ruston gets creative in developing agendas for events accustomed to traditional settings. It touts three unusual venues for meetings: Dixie Center for the Arts, an auditorium-style historic theater in the heart of downtown; Davison Athletics Complex, overlooking Louisiana Tech University’s football field, with onsite catering options; and The Library Event Center, featuring a large ballroom with breakout rooms.
Bonnie Green, who helped organize two overlapping events run by the U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for STEM Education in Ruston last fall, was overwhelmed with her experience. “Ruston is a fabulous place; its Main Street, hotels, and conference facilities create a special, welcoming place where people can think, relax, discuss, grow, and learn in ways cities like New York City, Boston, or Philadelphia can never compare,” she says.
Ridgeland, Miss., 20 minutes from the state capital of Jackson, offers small-town appeal and natural amenities, such as the Natchez Trace Parkway, a 444-mile recreational road and scenic drive operated by the National Park Service. Yet it is also home to the state’s only Topgolf, a popular setting for evening receptions and corporate events across the country.
“Ridgeland is a city that people want to visit, work, and live in,” says Crystal Pham, director of sales and events for Explore Ridgeland.
Close encounters
Generally, the sweet spot for small destinations is approximately 150 attendees. Small destinations are ideal for planners of regional events who are seeking sites relatively close to their attendees and easily accessible either by plane or car.
Richards is counting down the days until construction on Corridor H, a major transportation project cutting through Virginia and West Virginia, is completed. Corridor H will reduce travel time to and from Washington, D.C., to less than four hours, which Richards calls a “game changer” for attracting associations to Stonewall Country.
According to Richards, smaller associations already comprise a good deal of the region’s business. The destination has the major benefit of a standout meetings and event property, Stonewall Resort, which includes an ideal blend of water-based activities on its lake with an Adirondack-style lodge. Corporate and VIP retreats would also be interested in the cottages and lake houses, Richards adds.
Local leaders recently experienced firsthand what an event is like at the resort. “They did a really cool teambuilding event there for our local leadership program—making guacamole—and loved it,” Richards says.
Ridgeland benefits from its proximity to Jackson and other major cities; it is halfway between Memphis, Tenn., and New Orleans. Meeting in the center often makes sense
for groups, Pham says. “We are a hub-and-spoke destination.”
Meanwhile, Madison’s scenery serves as a reminder of Georgia’s varied topography. It is only an hour from Atlanta and even closer to Athens, home of The University of Georgia (UGA). Madison’s central location makes it popular for events run by the Georgia Forest Commission, says Seth Hawkins, who organized last year’s State Arbor Day, featuring awards and educational sessions in Madison, and who worked at a Madison restaurant as a college student at UGA.
“Everyone knows it. Everybody’s comfortable with it. It’s right off the interstate,” Hawkins notes of Madison’s attributes.
Courtesy Madison Morgan County CVB
Hometown pride
There is a distinct pride among the small-town meetings community, as was visible when Kevin Olmstead volunteered his hometown of Stillwater, Okla., to host the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America’s spring tour this year.
Olmstead was impressed by Morrison’s knowledge and connections. She pointed him to a proper hotel—the Wyndham Garden Stillwater had a parking lot big enough to accommodate the vintage cars—and arranged for Stillwater Mayor Will Joyce to stop by during the group’s ice cream social. She even suggested Frios ice cream pops to spruce up the gathering.
“She saved me a lot of footsteps even in my hometown,” Olmstead says.
Community buy-in is essential to maintaining growth for emerging small cities. Demonstrating its commitment, Ruston recently added two full-time positions to facilitate meetings and events, Davis says.
Back in Round Top, Stall credits the town’s hospitality industry for coming together to create an events campus spanning the city’s one square mile. Without any chain offerings in city limits, Round Top regularly has no vacancy among its boutique hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and other lodging three days per week.
Working together increases an event capacity from approximately a dozen attendees to more than 100 visitors staying in the town proper. The coordination allows groups to enjoy some of the more unusual venues in the country, including Round Top Festival Institute. Founded by pianist James Dick, it hosts 200 elite international musicians each summer at its concert hall and other venues. Round Top’s iconic event venues include: The Compound, a 57-acre special event center with five barns, developed by Round Top Mayor Massey; The Big Red Barn, located on Highway 237, a climate-controlled shopping center for collectors, which houses everything from antiques to turquoise jewelry and rare art; and Blue Hill, a 100,000-square-foot shopping space for pop-up events.
Adding to Round Top’s star power is Junk Gypsy, a local boutique run by HGTV duo Amie and Jolie Sikes. The shabby chic shop offers everything from secondhand clothes to home décor.
Round Top even hosted its first international film festival in 2024, which was successful enough to merit an encore in 2025 and lured two film productions to town earlier this year.
To further extend Round Top’s year-round appeal as an antiques and design destination, Jim Kastleman, a local publisher and owner of The Halles, a designer and antiques marketplace, recently launched “Round Top Unlocked.” The travel and tourism-focused program organizes exclusive private group experiences built around the town’s famed antiques and design fairs, film festival, and music institute. For instance, groups can enjoy an exclusive shopping experience at venues otherwise closed apart from the antiques festival.
Kastleman likes to say the city is “bucolic.” Clearly, the town’s countryside charm has contributed to its appeal for top events.
“There are a lot more hospitality offerings in Round Top,” says Renaud. “The demand is there. It is going to keep growing. It will be really interesting to see what Round Top is like in 10 years. I think it will be very, very different.”
