The Group Travel Leader May 2020

WISCONSIN CLASSICS

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A M E R I C A’ S C A S T L E S

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W H E R E T H E W E S T WA S WO N

GROUP THE

TRAVEL LEADER

MAY 2020

Meet Oklahoma’s Historical Heroes Got a herd of history buffs? Steer them to Oklahoma, a state well-known for its wealth of Western art and artifacts. At Lawton’s Museum of the Great Plains, tour interactive exhibits like Council Saddle Shop, inspired by the life of renowned saddle maker Howard Council. Then, catch a flick at Oklahoma City’s historic Rodeo Cinema, opened in 1924. At Claremore’s Will Rogers Museum, meet the charismatic cowboy who “never met a man he didn’t like.” Finally, explore extensive collections of Western and Native American relics at Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve in Bartlesville.

To discover more Western history and heritage hotspots, visit TravelOK.com/Group.

different times call for different destinations.

W h e n yo u d i g a l i t t l e d e e p e r i n t o

O u t h e re , g r e a t f o o d a n d m u s i c

looking to escape the crowds and

the culture and history of this

abound. Amazing architecture and

discover something they can call

re g i o n , i t l e a d s t o s o m e i n t e re s t i n g

p r i m o rd i a l w i l d l i f e m a ke i t f e e l l i ke

their own. So check us out, and see

p l a c e s — l i ke Ne w O r l e a n s P l a n t a t i o n

yo u’v e l e f t t h e c o u n t r y w i t h o u t e v e r

w hy t h i s “d i f f e r e n t ” d e s t i n a t i o n i s

Co u n t r y. A s h o r t d r i v e o u t o f t h e

l e av i n g yo u r c a r. B u t w h a t ’s m o s t

o n e yo u’ l l b e r av i n g a b o u t f o r ye a r s .

hustle and bustle changes everything

d i f f e re n t i s o u r p a c e a n d s p a c e .

yo u t h o u g h t yo u k n e w a b o u t t h e

Everything is slowed down, spread

immerse yourself #outhere

t y p i c a l Ne w O r l e a n s v a c a t i o n .

out and custom-tailored for those

visitnopc.com

CONTENTS

GROUP TH E

TRAVEL LEADER

CHARTING THE EVOLUTION OF GROUP TR AVEL

ON T H E COV E R

COLU M NS

N EWS

6 Editor’s Marks 10 #TravelAwaits

8 Family Matters

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Destinations around the country are sharing inspirational photos and videos to remind America that #TravelAwaits.

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America’s Castles

VOL 30 | ISSUE 5

Mississippi Spotlight

HISTORY

ISSUE

GEO RGIA S PECIAL SEC TI ON

From thriving cities to secluded waterfronts, this state is full of time-tested group travel favorites.

Discover the signature museums, film and television sites, and up-and-coming attractions of the Peach State.

MAC T. LACY CHARLES A. PRESLEY BRIAN JEWELL HERBERT SPARROW DONIA SIMMONS KELLY TYNER

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W I SCON SI N C L AS S ICS

K E LLY T Y N E R 888.253.0455

4

Western Heritage Sites

& HERITAGE

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Founder and Publisher Partner VP & Executive Editor Senior Writer Creative Director VP, Sales & Marketing

KYLE ANDERSON ASHLEY RICKS CAROLINE DAVIS

ELIZA MYERS CHRISTINE CLOUGH

kelly@grouptravelleader.com

Director of Advertising Sales Graphic Design & Circulation Executive Assistant, Sales & Marketing Associate Editor Copy Editor

The GROUP TRAVEL LEADER is published ten times a year by THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER, Inc., 301 East High St., Lexington, Kentucky 40507, and is distributed free of charge to qualified group leaders who plan travel for groups of all ages and sizes. THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER serves as the official magazine of GROUP TRAVEL FAMILY, the organization for traveling groups. All other travel suppliers, including tour operators, destinations, attractions, transportation companies, hotels, restaurants and other travel-related companies may subscribe to THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER by sending a check for $59 for one year to: THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER, Circulation Department, 301 East High St., Lexington, KY 40507. Phone (859) 2530455 or (859) 253-0503. Copyright THE GROUP TRAVEL LEADER, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of editorial or graphic content in any manner without the written consent of the publisher is prohibited.

EDITOR’S MARKS

F

BY BRIAN JEWELL

or lessons in overcoming adversity, look to the history of the Jewish people.

Throughout thousands of years, the Jews have endured far more than their share of trouble. But there’s a fascinating story from their time in Babylonian exile — a period that began around 597 B.C. — that speaks to the situation our industry finds itself in today.

The story is in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah. Yeah, I know — it’s from the Bible, and an obscure part of the Bible at that. But stay with me: This story isn’t preachy, I promise. And besides, if there was ever a time to look for inspiration in sacred texts, this is it.

When the story begins, Israel has been conquered by Babylon. The Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and took most of its inhabitants away to live in captivity. But after a series of political changes in Babylon, some of Israel’s leaders saw an opening to return home.

Nehemiah was one of those leaders, and he seized the opportunity to return to his homeland with several thousand other Israelites. But when he got to Jerusalem, he found the city in ruins.

And it was surrounded by hostile nations eager to keep it from being rebuilt.

At that point, Nehemiah and his people had a choice: They could give in to fear, give up on their dream and return to Babylon to rejoin the rest of the Israelites. Or they could stay, despite the enemies and adversity, and rebuild.

You can probably tell where this story is going.

The Israelites stayed. Their first job was to rebuild the broken city wall, so Nehemiah sent

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each man to the part of Jerusalem where his family had lived. And each one rebuilt the portion of the wall in front of his family’s home.

When enemies threatened them, they didn’t stop building. They worked with tools in one hand and swords in the other.

Despite the opposition, Nehemiah and his men rebuilt the wall with amazing speed. What should have taken months, they accomplished in a matter of weeks. They went on to rebuild the rest of the city, too. And in the years that followed, many thousands of other Israelites returned from exile in Babylon to the Jerusalem that Nehemiah had rebuilt.

If you’re like me, travel will always be a part of who you are. It’s in our DNA. We may be in exile now, but our day of return is coming.

When the opportunity presents itself, I hope you will join those of us who chose to rebuild. Like the Israelites, we will start even when success seems far from certain. We won’t be deterred by naysayers or difficult circumstances. And we won’t wait for someone else to do it for us. This industry is our home, and we’re determined to live in it again.

None of us can resurrect the travel industry on our own. But we can each rebuild the part around us. And when we do it together, we can create something extraordinary.

Jerusalem, which was once in ruins, went on to become one of the world’s greatest cities. Jesus walked its streets and taught its people.

It’s the spiritual center of three major religions. And each year, it welcomes millions of travelers and pilgrims.

That’s the city Nehemiah built. Now, it’s our turn. #TravelAwaits.

GROUP THE

TR AVEL LE ADER

CUSTOM CONTENT

Contrary to their black clothing, Amish run colorful businesses

BY VICKIE MITCHELL

I

n fashion, the Amish famously favor black.

But when it comes to Amish business enterprises, Meet the Amish Makers, a new lineup of tours offered through the Elkhart County, Indiana CVB, demonstrates that the Amish economy is far more colorful than its clothing.

The new tours focus on Amish farmers and makers in and around Nappanee. Led by a knowledgeable step-on guide, the tours vary in theme and format.

Some are behind-the-scenes looks at Amish life; some are participatory; others are traditional stops, focused on shopping and dining.

Tours are flexible--a group can do one stop or string together several for a multiday visit and spend a night or two at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus, the northern Indiana county’s most group friendly accommodation, where restaurant tables are laden with bowls of steaming noodles and juicy pies and quilts warm the foot of guest beds.

Here’s a sampling of the new tours.

At a Mennonite farm, groups can pet, feed and snap selfies of camels whose milk becomes lotions and soaps.

Milk and apple cider anyone?

Nappanee is home to the Hoosier Cabinet, a handsome standalone kitchen cabinet popular in mid-20th century kitchens. Frank Sinatra owned one. So did John F. Kennedy.

Learn more about the cabinet’s history at a small, but growing museum, housed in Coppes Commons, a former cabinet factory that’s now a huge shopping complex. Five years ago, the museum had two cabinets; today, more than 50.

To add a hands-on activity, have a local artist show groups how to paint their own Hoosier cabinet door using themed stencils. Or take a tour of one of two modern kitchen cabinet manufacturers that churn out cabinetry with a mostly Amish workforce known for its wood working finesse.

In the age of robotic milking, meet an Amish family that runs a dairy without electricity.

The young farmer shares how an orchard has allowed his family to grow its income. A trip to this farm is all about the senses: smells of hay and cider, the feel of satiny cow noses and tastes of caramel apple fritters served by sweet Amish children.

Crafting vehicles for the hereafter Amish don’t visit the Ford dealership or the funeral home; instead, they make their own vehicles and caskets. Meet carriage and coffin makers on tours that spotlight skilled Amish craftsmen. And don’t worry. A visit with the casketmaker is far from macabre thanks to his gift for finding humor in an often-avoided subject and his colorful recounting of Amish cultural traditions.

Say cheese — 80 kinds — in Rentown Rentown is tiny — three to four buildings in the middle of farm fields — but it’s a big draw, home to an Amish bulk store that locals call “the Cheese Place” and others describe as an Amish version of Walmart. The store’s 80 varieties of cheese inspire tastings that can be expanded to include sausages, doughnuts and jams and jellies. Leave time for shopping at Rentown’s other Amish shops.

Meals to sate farmhand-size appetites Come hungry because the Thresher’s Lunch served to groups at an Amish farmhouse was originally designed for hard-working farmhands. Put a sweet ending on this experience with a cooking demonstration by an Amish baker who shares the secrets of her sweet cinnamon rolls while the audience enjoys sweet rolls with coffee. She even packs up rolls for the road.

Build a day around Hoosier Cabinet history

www.AmishCountryTours.org

800-262-8161 or 574-903-1148 (call/text) SONYA@AMISHCOUNTRY.ORG

FAMILY M AT T E R S

VI RT UA L AT TEN DA N CE

I S N OW AVA I L A B L E F O R A L L C O N F E R E N C E S SALEM, Ohio — The tourism industry faces a challenge in marketing and sales efforts due to budget restraints and travel restrictions, but a new development in group travel is designed to solve these problems and jump-start sales. An organization of five travel conferences is offering virtual attendance to the travel industry to trim costs, eliminate travel requirements and still actively market their destinations, services and products.

The Group Travel Family is offering virtual registration and attendance to the following conferences in 2020: the Select Traveler Conference, the African American Travel Conference, the Going On Faith Conference, Boomers In Groups and the Small Market Meetings Conference. All five events are established industry leaders and will also operate live travel conferences this year.

“All of our travel conferences will operate in 2020,” said Charlie Presley of The Group Travel Family. “However, we developed a way for the DMOs and hotels that simply cannot participate due to the effects of COVID-19 to maintain a presence in the group travel market.”

With groups making travel plans again, the travel industry is seeking an innovative way to keep in front of the travel planner, and this offers hope.

“We understand your budget and travel concerns,” said The Group Travel Family’s Jennifer Ferguson, who was instrumental

in the plan’s development. “Our Marketplace on Demand solves this challenge and jump-starts your marketing/sales program.

It’s affordable and eliminates the need to travel.”

The Marketplace on Demand is simple: Once you have chosen a target market of banks, churches, boomers, African American groups or meeting planners, you will be interviewed online via Skype and a seven-minute presentation will be edited and produced by the conference staff.

“It’s like you are in front of the buyer and present your destination, hotel or service as you normally would at any trade show,” Ferguson said.

Your presentation, or “appointment,” will be delivered to all delegates at the conference and will be digitally distributed to thousands of group travel planners all year. You’ll also receive a copy, and you are encouraged to use it as your marketing tool.

Sales lead generation is included, as well.

Marketplace on Demand delegates will receive the contact information of groups that want to be contacted personally. Marketplace on Demand is a complete group sales/ marketing program for solving the travel industry’s needs in today’s challenging times.

To view the Marketplace on Demand video, visit selecttravelerconf.com/virtual and contact Jennifer Ferguson at 800-628-0993 or jferguson@grouptravelfamily.com.

GET READY NOW TO JUMP-START YOUR TR AVEL PROGR AM

Groups will venture out in phases and a small-group outing to a popular music venue may be just the thing to start with.

COURTESY ARKANSAS DEPT. OF PARKS

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SALEM, Ohio — The group travel industry will lead the way as tourism inches toward normality and provides millions of Americans with much-needed recreation and social interaction.

The simple reason: People choose to travel with a group of known friends and family for the comfort, value and perceived safety of being part of that group. That alone will jump-start group travel in America post-COVID-19.

Travel is one of Americas most valued freedoms. Our forefathers fought for it, and today’s generation have come to expect travel as a right. A few years ago, there was a public service campaign — “Travel: The Perfect Freedom” — that has never been so meaningful as it is today.

GROUP THE

TR AVEL LE ADER

Understanding the reason behind the group travel resurgence requires an understanding of why people choose to travel as a group and, more importantly, the key factor that motivates this travel.

The real motivators of group travel are the individuals known as travel organizers, tour planners and group leaders.

Travel organizers have powerful reach into their communities and social networks. Mostly volunteers, they have gained the confidence of upward of 100 loyal travel followers, who will sign up for every trip offered with the expectation of traveling with friends and the perceived safety of that group.

Group leaders who know the travel pulse of their followers and provide them with easy, affordable and safe travel options — a group tour package — will be there to serve the pent-up demand of the public once restrictions are lifted.

Considering the recent trauma it has endured, how long will it take for travel to return to normalcy? Not as long as you might expect. The answer is quite optimistic. A recent survey by the respected market research firm Harris showed that while 20% of America would consider staying in a hotel just 30 days following a return to normalcy, that number jumped to 66% at just six months following a return to normalcy. Our internal research with group travelers shortens that period to about three months.

The main reason for the shortened return to travel in the group market is focused entirely in the concept of travel with known people and the ease of booking travel with their local group leaders. Group travel leaders and organizers reading this publication need to have faith that their trips will still operate.

Run a trip up the flagpole and you will be surprised at how thankful your community will be that you are providing a much needed service.

Contact The Group Travel Family at 800-628-0993 for help in jump-starting your travel program.

GROUP THE

TR AVEL LE ADER

G R O U P T R AV E L L E A D E R . C O M

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We all see

travel on the horizon

BY BRIAN JEWELL

Travel awaits for all of us.

Like many of you, our team at The Group Travel Leader Inc. enjoyed a successful fall and winter filled with fruitful, enjoyable trips. And like many of you, we were stunned when forces beyond our control ground travel to a halt.

As we began to wrap our heads around what was going on, two things became clear to us. First, despite the current difficulties, travel will make a comeback. And second, in a season filled with an incessant stream of bad news, our industry needs a voice of hope to remind us all that better days are ahead.

That’s why we decided to launch the #TravelAwaits initiative.

We want to spread a message of endurance and optimism. We want to inspire people to look forward to a future full of travel. We want to rally people in unity and solidarity.

We want to start a movement, and we want you to be a part of it.

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In print, online, on social media and in your community, you can come together with us to remind the world that #TravelAwaits. Together, we’ll share our best creative ideas, encourage each other with uplifting messages and shine a spotlight on the amazing people working tirelessly through challenging times to secure the future of travel.

To help you do that, we’ve compiled a wealth of positive messages, bright ideas, useful tools and other resources on our website. You can find them at grouptravelleader.com/travelawaits.

In the next few pages, we’re going to highlight some ways you can take advantage of these tools and support our tourism community through uncertain times. See how you can find inspiration for yourself and share it with others.

We hope you’ll join us in spreading the message of hope and fueling a hunger for travel. Our comeback day is coming. And when it does, we can’t wait to see you on the road.

The Group Travel Leader Inc. GROUP THE

TR AVEL LE ADER

Hear Messages of Hope When the news is mostly negative, messages of hope can help you hold on until brighter days arrive. At grouptravelleader.com/travelawaits, you’ll find encouraging video messages from members of our team, including publisher Mac Lacy, VP and executive editor Brian Jewell and VP of sales and marketing Kelly Tyner. Tune in to hear why we’re confident about the future of travel and discover how you can help make that future a reality.

Watch Uplifting Videos People may be staying home for now, but destinations around the country have begun creating amazing travel videos to encourage and reassure their visitors. Check out the #TravelAwaits web page to watch some of the most inspiring travel videos we have found from across the country and around the world. These videos will keep you in good spirit and help you start planning your travel for the future.

Find Creative Ideas Unexpected challenges can bring out the creativity in all of us. On our #TravelAwaits page, we’re collecting some of the most clever and creative uses of social media and other online efforts that we’ve found from around the travel industry. Check it out to find ideas for how you can keep your own organization thriving online until people begin traveling again.

Take Virtual Tours Many attractions have taken advantage of digital technology to showcase their experiences even while their doors are closed. Museums are offering virtual tours of blockbuster exhibits. Zoos and aquariums are doing live “quaran-streams” that introduce virtual visitors to their amazing animal residents. Theater and music companies are taking their shows live online and performing from home in creative ways. Our #TravelAwaits page has listings of numerous virtual tours and performances to give you some ideas.

Read Positive News Had enough of depressing headlines? Check out our #TravelAwaits page for a collection of positive articles from across the travel industry.

From encouraging stories of tourism organizations helping their local communities to editorials from industry experts charting the path to recovery, these stories will fill you with optimism.

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Show Your Support Around the country, travel planners, destination representatives and attraction professionals are joining the movement by adding the #TravelAwaits photo frame to their Facebook profile photos. We have links to photo frames in three different colors on our website, grouptravelleader.com/travelawaits.

You can pick the one that fits your photo best and add it with the click of a button. Dress up your profile photo to show your support and remind your friends that travel awaits.

Download the Logos Want to use the #TravelAwaits graphics in your own print or online communications? They’re free to download in a variety of color schemes on our website. Add the logo to your email signatures, videos, social media posts and other online communications, or use it in your printed newsletters, brochures and catalogs.

The more people see the #TravelAwaits logo, the more excited they’ll be to hit the road again.

Hashtag Your Posts Are you posting travel information, videos, photos or other content to social media? Use the hashtag #TravelAwaits with all your travel-related posts so others in the tourism industry can find them, too. We may even share your post with our community of fans and followers around the country.

Subscribe for Updates Throughout this season, we’re sending #TravelAwaits update emails to our online subscribers several times a week. Those emails include positive stories, creative ideas, uplifting videos and other content to keep you inspired and encouraged about the future of travel. You can subscribe free of charge at grouptravelleader.com/travelawaits to ensure you never miss an update.

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Do you have a great story of unity, support or creativity from your corner of the travel industry? We’d love to hear it. Send your ideas, links, press releases or videos to executive editor Brian Jewell at brianj@grouptravelleader.com.

We’ll continue sharing the best of what we find with our readers in print and online.

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GOING TO K ANSAS CIT Y

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Travel endures

APRIL 2020

Share Your Story

TH E G RO U P TR AV E L LE AD E R

AWAITS

W W W.G ROU P TR AVE LLE AD E R .CO M

Travel

N AT I V E A M E R I C A N I C O N S

AND SO SHALL

WE

APRIL 2020

GROUPTRAVELLEADER.COM

PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY & MUSEUM

One of California’s most beautiful and unique destinations!

Ask about our docent-led group tours - Two restaurants available with tour group options For information on FBI: From Al Capone to Al Qaeda Aug 1, 2020 – Feb 17, 2021, visit ReaganLibrary.com/FBI

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l a g e R

Graylyn Estate

RESIDENCES Biltmore Estate COURTESY BILTMORE ESTATE

Ca’d’Zan

Boldt Castle

COURTESY THE RINGLIGNG

COURTESY BOLDT CASTLE

Biltmore’s Walled Garden M AY 2020

The Persian Room at Graylyn Estate

COURTESY VISIT WINSTON SALEM

The Breakers COURTESY BILTMORE ESTATE

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COURTESY VISIT WINSTON SALEM

HISTORY & HERITAGE

ISSUE

AMERICA HAS CASTLES, TOO

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BY ELIZA MYERS

eed an escape from reality?

American castles transport guests to a life of opulence most common folks only dream about.

These houses fascinate visitors with not only their incredible architecture and museum-worthy artifacts but also their intriguing human stories.

Visitors hungry for a peek into the lives of the rich and famous need not travel to Europe. Instead, they can explore any of these stunning American castles.

Biltmore Estate

A S H E V I LLE , N O RTH C A RO LI N A

What George Vanderbilt II referred to as his “little mountain escape” became America’s largest privately owned home. Enchanted by the landscape of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Vanderbilt chose the location in North Carolina to construct the ostentatious Biltmore Estate in the 1890s.

The 250-room French Renaissance chateau welcomes groups to admire its breathtaking interiors and original furnishings, art and artifacts, collected

by Vanderbilt.

On tours, groups can look wide-eyed at the home’s 10,000-book library, 70-foot-high Banquet Hall and collection of 16th-century tapestries.

COURTESY PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF NEWPORT CO.

B I LT M O R E .C O M

Boldt Castle

A LE X A N D R IA BAY, N E W YO R K

Set on its own island, the Boldt Castle was built to woo. Multimillionaire George Boldt constructed the romantic castle as a testament to his love for his wife.

When his wife died months before the castle’s completion, Boldt halted construction, leaving the property vacant for over 70 years. Nestled in the scenic Thousand Islands region, the castle continued to excite curiosity until 1977, when the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority began finishing and ren-

ovating the structure.

Groups can tour the castle to learn how Bolt modeled the mansion after 16th-century European castles that mixed medieval forms with modern features. Visitors meander through some of the castle’s 120 rooms for period furnishings and exhibits on life in the early 1900s.

B O L DTC A S T L E .C O M

Hearst Castle

SA N S I M EO N , C A LI FO R N IA

Many acclaimed museums were started by collectors with seemingly endless resources to devote to their hobbies. Hearst Castle holds the extensive collections of William Randolph Hearst, who began collecting at the age of 10.

In his 30s, Hearst began spending lavish sums of money for fine and decorative arts, manuscripts, rare books and expensive artifacts of all kinds. He built Hearst Castle to house his collection, a feat of architecture that took three decades. With Spanish, Italian and Mediterranean Revival architectural styles, the hilltop estate is visually stunning.

On tours, guides explain some of the castle’s priceless objects, such as rare oriental carpets, altar frontals and historic furniture on the Grand Rooms Tour.

H E A R S TC A S T L E .O R G

Breakers

N E WPO RT, R H O D E I S L A N D

Subtlety was not a design aesthetic used in the creation of the Breakers. Instead, the Vanderbilt mansion leaves visitors gaping open-mouthed at the ornate adornments covering nearly every inch of the building.

The Breakers is one of many Gilded Age mansions in Newport, Rhode Island, a town that attracted millionaires by the dozens in the 1850s to 1900s. Groups can see several of these ritzy residences on a tour of the Newport mansions. The Breakers is one of the most elaborately decorated and is also the most popular, with more than 400,000 annual visitors.

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Tour

SOUTHEAST INDIANA

Ready When You Are If you’ve visited us in the past, or plan to visit us in the future, thank you.

When you’re back on the road again, remember, we are ready with history and hands-on fun adventures!

Audio tours let participants walk at their own pace through the Breakers while learning about the home’s imposing interior, the Vanderbilts’ family life and the servants’ experience.

N E W P O R T M A N S I O N S .O R G

Bishop’s Palace GA LV ESTO N , TE X A S

A stone-and-steel mansion stands out among the residences of the East End Historic District in Galveston, Texas. Bishop’s Palace, also known as Gresham House, is one of the most famous Victorian homes in the country.

The building was constructed for Walter Gresham, a steel and railroad tycoon, and its design featured combinations of various architectural styles. The architect expanded on the Victorian style with irregularly shaped stonework, Tudor arches and combinations of simple geometric forms for a dramatic effect.

Groups can choose from numerous tours to explore the home’s restored opulent interior.

G A LV E S TO N H I S TO RY.O R G

Iolani Palace H O N O LU LU

Unlike other American castles, the Iolani Palace in Honolulu formerly served as a royal residence. The rulers of the Kingdom of Hawaii lived in the glamorous building from 1845 to 1893. Now, the palace is a National Historic Landmark.

After the monarchy was overthrown, the building served as Hawaii’s capitol for many years. In 1978, after extensive renovations, the palace opened to the public.

The only royal palace on U.S. soil, the Iolani Palace was built by King David Kalakaua. Influenced by European architectural styles, the palace featured Hawaii’s first electric light system, flush toilets and intrahouse telephones.

I O L A N I PA L AC E .O R G

Hillforest Victorian House Museum

Piatt Castle

WEST LI B E RT Y, O H I O

McCabe’s Greenhouse

It sounds like a fantastic dream for siblings to grow up and build matching castles less than a mile from each other. It seemed even more unlikely for Donn and Abram Piatt, brothers who grew up in a log cabin in rural Ohio.

However, in 1864, the brothers began work on both Gothic style castles in West Liberty, Ohio. Donn built Mac-O-Chee, the larger castle while Abram built Mac-A-Cheek, the more secluded and smaller building. Both homes feature three stories, towers, painted ceilings and intricate woodwork.

The family opened the castles for tours in 1912. The family had amassed a large collection of artifacts and objects of interest, which became known as the castles’ “cabinet of curiosities.”

P I AT TC A S T L E .O R G

OHIO

Piatt Castle

Indianapolis

INDIANA

1

Cincinnati

KENTUCKY

Louisville

Lexington

South of I-74 & west of I-275, 20 minutes west of Cincinnati

www.TOURSoutheastIndiana.com 800-322-8198

Hawaii’s Iolani Palace COURTESY PIATT CASTLE

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COURTESY IOLANI PALACE

Other historical attractions explain the what.

We also shine a light on the why.

C O M IN G 2 0 2 1 PHI LA D E L P H IA , PA To learn more, call 215.309.0316 or visit faithandliberty.org/grouptours.

Handheld lamp guests receive to interact with immersive American history exhibits, giving visitors an experience that’s informed, inspired and personalized like never before.

Ca d’Zan

SAR A S OTA , FLO R I DA

Groups looking for an American castle with a dash of whimsy will enjoy Ca d’Zan, the former winter home of American circus owner John Ringling and his family. Ringling chose Sarasota, Florida, for its views of Sarasota Bay that reminded Ringling of the family’s favorite city, Venice.

To continue the Italian connection, Ringling requested a home in a Venetian Gothic style. He also constructed a museum to hold his extensive art and artifact collection.

Today, groups can explore the 66-acre estate known collectively as the Ringling. On the property, groups can tour the ornate Ca d’Zan, the State Art Museum of Florida and the Circus Museum.

R I N G L I N G .O R G

The waterfront terrace at Ca d’Zan in Sarasota COURTESY THE RINGLING

Graylyn Estate

WI N STO N -SA LE M, N O RTH C A RO LI N A

Travelers feel like guests invited to a castle when they stay overnight at the Graylyn Estate in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This mansion-turned-hotel offers 85 luxurious guest rooms and 42,000 square feet of meeting space with modern amenities and available butler service.

Bowman and Nathalie Gray constructed the picturesque estate in 1932. The Grays employed artisans and craftsmen from all over the country to construct the Norman Revival-style mansion.

Butler-guided group tours point out the home’s extensive ironwork and other marvels. Groups can also book a culinary challenge, such as a chili cook-off or a smoothie blend-off for some friendly competition.

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Chef Gregory Rollins at Graylyn Estate

COURTESY VISIT WINSTON SALEM

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Photo by Lois Mauro

JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT

AMERICAN REVOLUTION MUSEUM AT YORKTOWN

ONE SPECTACULAR EXPERIENCE world-renowned garden I historic mansion tours scenic tram tours I shopping

“Breathtaking. A treasure worth exploring.”– Trip Advisor Review WINTERTHUR MUSEUM, GARDEN & LIBRARY I 800.448.3883 I winterthur.org/groups 18

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Plan your trip today.

historyisfun.org

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here’s nowhere else quite like the Billy Graham Library. The interactive Journey of Faith tour is a trip through history for the whole family. See how God’s love changed millions as you

experience inspiring videos, photo galleries, and memorabilia. Explore Billy Graham’s childhood

home, stroll the peaceful Memorial Prayer Garden, relax over lunch and specialty coffees, or shop the Christian bookstore. An extraordinary journey starts here.

“This place is nothing short of amazing.”

—LIBRARY GUEST

GRAHAM FAMILY HOMEPLACE

EXHIBITS & MEMORABILIA

R THE ACTIVITIES FO ILY M FA LE WHO

“All were astonished at the majesty of God.”

—LUKE 9:43, ESV

Monday to Saturday, 9:30–5:00 • BillyGrahamLibrary.org • 704-401-3200 • Reservations required for groups of 10 or more; email LibraryTours@bgea.org or call 704-401-3270. • 4330 Westmont Drive • Charlotte, North Carolina A ministry of Billy Graham Evangelistic Association Franklin Graham, President

©2019 BGEA

S TAT E S P O T L I G H T

MISSISSIPPI

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ississippi, the state that is such fun for elementary school students to learn to spell, is also fun for adults to explore. The Magnolia State is an interesting — some would say peculiar — place. Its high point at Woodall Mountain in the far northeast corner is a whopping 807 feet above sea level, and its lowest elevation, of course, is the Gulf of Mexico, almost 375 miles away.

In between are the see-to-the-horizon fields of the Mississippi Delta, plenty of pine trees and something in the air or water that produced international figures such as William Faulkner, the Muppets’ Jim Henson, blues legend Robert Johnson, Elvis Presley, “Father of Country Music” Jimmie Rodgers, Eudora Welty, Willie Morris, B.B. King and Muddy Waters. Those folks already are in history books, but the list of living legends of Mississippi barely gets started with James Earl Jones, John Grisham, Jimmy Buffett, Charley Pride, Morgan Freeman and Oprah Winfrey.

Yes, there is much that is special throughout Mississippi — astounding music, great literature, seafood and more seafood, casinos, preserved and adaptively used architecture, Civil War history, civil rights history, sunsets over the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, and coastal breezes among them. Building group itineraries is easy, especially if you want to build more than one.

ARTWORK BY DONIA SIMMONS

B y To m A d k i n s o n

Walnut Hills in Vicksburg serves Southern classics with a contemporary twist.

BY TRIPP DOUGLAS, COURTESY WALNUT HILLS

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HISTORY & HERITAGE

ISSUE

National WWII Museum

Elvis Presley Birthplace COURTESY TUPELO CVB

POPULAR DEMAND BILOXI SHRIMPING TOUR

Shrimp always have been big business — catching, processing and eating — in Biloxi, and the 70-minute on-the-water Biloxi Shrimping Trip explains it all. The crew drops its nets and delivers shrimp, crabs, flounder, squid and other treasures of the sea for inspection and explanation. Complement that experience with a tour and a group meal at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum.

Tupelo’s “Elvis Homecoming” statue COURTESY TUPELO CVB

COURTESY BILOXI SHRIMPING TRIP

ELVIS IN TUPELO

A Gulf Coast sunset

BY TOM ADKINSON

Tupelo has a lot going for it — great food, the headquarters and visitor center of the Natchez Trace Parkway, Civil War history, the exhibit center of the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area — oh, and that fellow named Elvis.

Visiting the Elvis Presley birthplace, seeing where he got his first guitar and getting a group photo with the Elvis Presley Homecoming Statue are sure-fire hits.

MISSISSIPPI BLUES TRAIL

You’ll see historical markers for the Mississippi Blues Trail throughout Mississippi, and the Delta town of Clarksdale, known to fans around the world as Ground Zero for the blues, is a great tour itinerary focal point. Learn about this American musical genre at the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, the B.B. King Museum in Indianola and the Grammy Museum in Cleveland, and be sure to get the musical experience at Clarksdale’s Ground Zero Blues Club.

TAKING CHANCES

Biloxi Shrimping Trip

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Gaming, the kind with green felt tables and flashy machines displaying rows of whirling cherries and lemons, remains a big draw in Mississippi. The state’s first casino opened in 1992 in Biloxi. The Gulf Coast is the hot spot, and other wagering opportunities await you in Tunica, Vicksburg, Natchez, Greenville and the Pearl River Resort near Philadelphia. Expect good food, showroom entertainment and a chance to beat the house.

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UP AND COMING THE MAX

The Max in Meridian

BY TOM ADKINSON

The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience, abbreviated to The Max, opened in 2018 with a gigantic challenge: to tell the story of the almost unbelievable array of Mississippians who have influenced the world. Interactive exhibits, programs and performances in the $14 million facility spotlight Faulkner, Freeman, Grisham, Henson, King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buffett, Sela Ward, Winfrey and on and on and on.

Mississippi Aquarium

MISSISSIPPI AQUARIUM

Ready to make a big splash in 2020 is the Mississippi Aquarium in Gulfport. It will have more than 80,000 square feet of exhibits, tanks holding a million gallons of saltwater and freshwater, and lots of animals to observe. There will be cute ones such as otters and dolphins, plus not-so-cuddly ones such as alligators and gars. The perspective is on all of Mississippi, from the Delta to the Gulf of Mexico.

Lazy Magnolia Brewery COURTESY LAZY MAGNOLIA BREWERY

COURTESY MS AQUARIUM

TWO JACKSON MUSEUMS

Plan on extended stays at the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson. The museums, which share an entrance, opened in late 2017 and immediately began captivating visitors with state history that is told interestingly and with civil rights history that is told starkly and powerfully. They complement each other and warrant enough time to absorb their messages.

TASTING TOURS

Numerous Mississippi breweries and distilleries offer tours or at least a tippling opportunity. The Lazy Magnolia Brewery became the state’s first since Prohibition in 2003. Its favorites include Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale. It’s at Kiln, just north of Gulfport. Find some harder stuff just up the road at the Crittenden Distillery. Ease up to Hattiesburg to sample Southern Prohibition’s brews, including Mississippi Fire Ant, an imperial red ale.

325C Howard St reet • Greenwood, Mississippi 662.451.6750 • thealluvian.com

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Cotton House

O V E R N I G H T S E N S AT I O N S

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COTTON HOUSE

DUNLEITH

THE GRADUATE

CENTENNIAL PLAZA

The 95-room Cotton House in Cleveland works well as a home base while exploring the Delta region’s attractions such as the Grammy Museum right there in Cleveland, the Delta Blues Museum up Highway 61 in Clarksdale and the B.B. King Museum in Indianola. The Cotton House is part of Cleveland’s Cotton Row, a neighborhood of brickpaved sidewalks, shops and restaurants.

The Graduate Oxford, one in a collection of boutique properties deeply influenced by universities, is just a mile from the Ole Miss campus and all its traditions. It’s also just a mile from Rowan Oak, Faulkner’s home. The hotel is right on the Square, the hub of downtown Oxford. Get a great view at the Coop, the hotel’s terrace lounge.

Dunleith, a 22-room mansion, will reopen this year for smaller groups after an ownership change. Built in 1856, it is Mississippi’s only example of an antebellum home with a fully encircling colonnade. The 40-acre estate is a National Historic Landmark in the Natchez historic district. Of note is the Castle Restaurant and Pub in a building dating to 1790.

Another Natchez target: the 30-room Monmouth Historic Inn and Gardens.

Gulfport claims the coast’s biggest new resort: the 48-acre Centennial Plaza, which opened in 2019, putting a collection of century-old buildings to modern uses. The complex was built to celebrate the 1917 state centennial, but World War I intruded. Facilities in the Spanish-architecture structures now include a 152-room family hotel, a 63-room boutique hotel, two restaurants and a dancing fountain.

: The 17th presentation in the Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series The presentation of this exhibition in Jackson, Mississippi is sponsored by the Robert M. Hearin Support Foundation.

Edgar Degas (1834-1917), Little Dancer Aged Fourteen, model executed ca. 1880 (cast in 1922). bronze, cloth skirt with tutu and satin hair ribbon, 38.5 x 14.5 x 14.25 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, State Operating Fund and the Art Lovers’ Society, 45.22.1. Image © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

ON VIEW IN 2020

TICKETS ON SALE

MSMUSEUMART.ORG

380 SOUTH LAMAR STREET  DOWNTOWN JACKSON MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM of ART GROUP THE

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History

MEMORABLE MEALS WALNUT HILLS

It would be a challenge to do better than Walnut Hills in Vicksburg for down-home Southern cooking, sometimes with modern twists. Sit inside a house built in 1880 to enjoy fried oysters, Mississippi tamales, house-made pimento cheese with Cajun sausage, red fish almandine, pecan praline pie and fried chicken that chief cook Miss Herdcine has been perfecting for more than 30 years.

Folks around Meridian have been dining at Weidmann’s, a handsome brick-walled restaurant that features elegant lunches and dinners, since 1870. Some recipes date to the restaurant’s origins, but expect modern touches and presentation. A favorite: fried green tomatoes with Comeback dressing — you know, the kind that makes you want to come back. The Felix Room and the 1870 Room are excellent for groups.

Drago’s in Jackson

BY TOM ADKINSON

WEIDMANN’S

DRAGO’S

Drago’s, adjacent to the group-friendly Sheraton Jackson, is the sibling of four Louisiana restaurants, and visitors to Jackson celebrate the seafood emphasis it brought to town. The item that brings it special fame is charbroiled oysters, prepared with great showmanship in an open kitchen. Enjoy the show — and the garlic.

PATIO 44

The Wine Room at Patio 44 in Gulfport is a memorable setting for a group meal, even before you start considering crawfish nachos, blackened catfish, crab cakes and pasta jambalaya. The view from the patio is good, too. There are sister Patio 44 locations in Biloxi and Hattiesburg.

VISITMISSISSIPPI.ORG Walnut Hills

BY TRIP DOUGLAS, COURTESY WALNUT HILLS

Weidmann’s in Meridian

T h e Key to t h e S o u t h

@VisitVicksburg

V 24 I S I TMVAYI 2020 C K S B U R G.C O M

COURTESY WEIDMANN’S

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Open Doors to Curiosity. Discovery. Belonging.

Step through our doors today. Come explore the many stories that connect us all as Mississippians.

222 North Street, Jackson museumofmshistory.com

Shine Light on the Power of Courage.

Explore the movement that changed the nation — and the people behind it.

222 North Street, Jackson mscivilrightsmuseum.com

D E S T I N AT I O N

WISCONSIN AWAITS P L A N A RE T U RN TO O N E O F A MERI CA’S I CO NI C STAT E S

W

BY ELIZA MYERS

isconsin shopped local before it was cool.

The Badger State has long been a place to grab a local brew, snack on fresh produce and celebrate its heritage. Whether looking for the excitement of Milwaukee’s top-quality museums or the winding country roads of Door County, groups can experience the state’s authentic identity at stop after stop. No matter the time they visit, groups will find festivals, top-quality cuisine and welcoming locals.

From pristine farmland to motorcycle mania, groups can find a rich cultural experience in Wisconsin.

M I LWAU K E E People may expect motorcycles and beer in Milwaukee, but few new visitors are prepared for the city’s waterfront vistas.

“Most people are really surprised when they see Lake Michigan because it is like an ocean,” said Claire Koenig, communications manager for Visit Milwaukee. “We have beaches, green spaces and endless water. The views are stunning.”

The compact city allows groups to wander through the city’s downtown and major attractions with ease. Milwaukee stays connected to its roots with restored architecture, cultural festivals and a booming local culinary scene.

“We have hundreds of ethnic restaurants that are the essence of the diverse cultures in Milwaukee,” said Koenig. “We recently opened our first Syrian restaurant, which is run by refugees.”

Groups can also experience Milwaukee’s culinary heritage at the Milwaukee Public Market. About 20 vendors sell artisan foods, chocolates, seafood and more. An accessible and accommodating group stop, the public market became one of the city’s most popular attractions long before the food hall trend arrived in other cities.

The church steeples dotting the city’s skyline also reveal Milwaukee’s

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The Cana Island Lighthouse has stood on Door County’s Lake Michigan shores for more than 150 years.

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Harley-Davidson Museum past as a hub for immigrating European immigrants. The immigrants brought their faith with them, which led to a boom in church construction.

Groups can discover why Milwaukee is known as the City of Steeples through historic church tours. The Basilica of St. Josaphat is an ornate example of a church built by the immigrants in the early 1900s.

The city also has several high-quality museums. The Milwaukee Art Museum contains 25,000 works of art, making it one of the largest art museums in the country.

The building itself serves as a fascinating piece of art, since the design resembles wings that not only look impressive but also mechanically move to open, flap and close at set times throughout the day.

The Harley-Davidson Museum honors Milwaukee’s production of the famous motorcycles. Visitors who don’t enjoy motorcycles often love the museum because of its focus on history and pop culture. Groups can learn about the use of these motorcycles in various wars, biker clubs and iconic films.

For youth groups, Discovery World engages kids’ attention while teaching them science and technology. All ages enjoy the museum’s full-size schooner that explores Lake Michigan on educational or pleasure sailings.

COURTESY VISIT MILWAUKEE

V I S I T M I LWAU K E E .O R G

DOOR COU N T Y Fresh cherries and lighthouses dotting the shores of Lake Michigan keep guests returning to Door County. Two hours north of Milwaukee, the region known as the Cape Cod of the Midwest charms visitors with its rich history and 300 miles of stunning shoreline.

Groups that time their visit to late July can pick ripe and juicy fruit from some of the county’s 2,000 acres of cherry orchards. Guided orchard tours and markets ensure tasty stops for groups.

Tours often venture onto Lake Michigan aboard scenic boat cruises that provide educational narration, various entertainment and views of the region’s bluffs, islands and beaches. A fish boil infuses maritime history into the experience. Groups can watch the fiery fish boil before the dinner of whitefish, potatoes and onions is served.

Small towns like Egg Harbor, Sturgeon Bay and Ephraim are full of personality and offer specialized shopping opportunities. Some businesses, such as the Door Artisan Cheese Company in Egg Harbor, arrange behind-the-scenes tours.

Visitors can watch a master cheesemaker demonstrate his craft, then walk through the cheese-aging caves that naturally preserve the cheese. At the site’s Cave Market, groups can shop for specialty food items and artisan cheese made around the world.

For a closer look at one of the many scenic lighthouses

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in Door County, groups can explore the Cana Island Lighthouse. The structure celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2019 and plans to soon open a new welcome center with exhibit space and a gift shop.

Less than an hour southwest, groups can root for the Packers in Green Bay. And the city offers more than sports with the Oneida Nation Museum’s displays on Native American pottery and beadwork.

The National Railroad Museum showcases the world’s largest steam locomotive. Other attractions include the Automobile Gallery, the Green Bay Botanical Gardens and Oneida Casino.

D O O R C O U N T Y.C O M G R E E N B AY.C O M

W ISCONSI N DE L L S It’s difficult to be bored in Wisconsin Dells: The central Wisconsin city offers activities for youth groups, senior groups and every age in between.

“Wisconsin Dells is the perfect combination of natural and man-made attractions,” said Leah Hauck, communications manager for the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau. “Visitors originally came to Wisconsin Dells 150 years ago to see the bluffs and get on the river.

Since then it has evolved.”

Nature lovers still flock to the area and can choose from several scenic boat tours along the Wisconsin River. Sunset

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A Door County lavender farm

COURTESY DESTINATION DOOR CO.

cruises offer a relaxing way to see the views accompanied by dinner and live music.

Younger groups will love the self-proclaimed Waterpark Capital of the World, with dozens of water parks, roller coasters and other attractions suitable for families. Deer Park Wisconsin appeals to all ages with 28 acres featuring deer, elk, buffalo and other animals. Over 100 tame deer walk right up to guests and beg for treats in an up-close encounter.

Wisconsin Dells also welcomes many adult groups, since about 40% of visitors come to Wisconsin Dells without children.

Door Artisan Cheese Company

Milwaukee’s waterfront skyline COURTESY DESTINATION DOOR CO.

COURTESY VISIT MILWAUKEE

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“We have a lot of attractions that really accommodate groups,” said Hauck. “We are fit to host large groups of people with bus parking, guided tours and a compact area of attractions. A lot of our restaurants accommodate groups with large dining tables where they can feed people en mass.”

One new attraction that draws adult groups is the New Life Lavender and Cherry Farm. An hourlong presentation discusses the area’s suitability for growing cherries and lavender while visitors ride in a wagon through the farm’s 40 acres. Tours also include the five-acre wildflower sanctuary, the garden and a sample of the farm’s signature lavender cherry pie.

The International Crane Foundation also plans to add a new reason to visit the area with an upcoming $10 million renovation and expansion of its headquarters. The updates will expand exhibits and interactive areas where people can watch the giant cranes in their natural habitats.

Shore birds in Wisconsin Dells COURTESY WI DELLS VCB

“Visitors originally came to Wisconsin Dells 150 years ago to see the bluffs and get on the river. Since then it has evolved.”

Sunset at New Life Lavender and Cherry Farm COURTESY WI DELLS VCB

COURTESY NPS

SOME PEOPLE SEE A PILE OF TOOLS. WE SEE A WAY TO HELP IMPROVE A DESTINATION IN NEED.

Tourism Cares can help you see the world differently. By participating in our outreach, education and volunteering programs you’ll be able to more successfully connect needs to opportunities.

And, you’ll gain the direction, networking, tools and skills required to shape a more resilient and sustainable future for the destinations and communities we all sell and rely upon. Join us and unite with your industry colleagues to harness the transformative power of travel.

Visit TourismCares.org. See the possibilities.

Join these companies in seeing the possibilities.

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ARTWORK BY DONIA SIMMONS

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

A one-hour drive south leads travelers to Madison, the state capital. Visitors enjoy looking up at the Wisconsin State Capitol’s beautiful mosaics and towering marble columns on a guided tour of the building.

Other Madison favorites include the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, the National Mustard Museum and Betty Lou Cruises.

W I S D E L L S .C O M V I S I T M A D I S O N .C O M

BAY F I E L D COU N T Y With water so pristine that kayakers can see the color of the pebbles below, Lake Superior offers guests an untouched wilderness to discover. Many groups enjoy the lake’s gorgeous panoramas in Bayfield County. This northern corner of Wisconsin boast art havens, outdoor recreation and spectacular scenery.

Bayfield County serves as an access point for the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and its 21 islands full of rock formations and eye-catching sea caves.

Guided kayaking tours weave through some of the park’s highlights; tours can last a day or guests can choose an overnight camping adventure. Winter draws guests curious to explore the sea caves covered with ice. Summer visitors can

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kayak inside the caves to admire the formations up close.

For laid-back tours, groups can book the Apostle Islands Cruises. The glass-bottom-boat tour passes by lighthouses and shipwrecks on Lake Superior.

Groups can hop on the Madeline Island Ferry Line for a three-mile trip to Madeline Island. Shoppers can wander into local gems like Madeline Island Candles, the Bell Street Gallery and the Woods Hall Craft Shop.

Another popular island is Stockton Island. Walking on this beach produces a squeaking sound, creating the nickname “singing sands.”

Back on the mainland, Bayfield is home to several art shops, including Eckels Pottery and Stone’s Throw for jewelry and home decor. Big Top Chautauqua hosts musical performances inside a circus tent for a memorable evening performance.

The Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center in neighboring Ashland County introduces guests to the outdoors offerings of the region with exhibits, events and information.

Travelers seeking even more natural beauty can head to the northwestern tip of Wisconsin in Douglas County. The town of Superior in this county offers attractions such as the Bong Veterans Historical Center, which tells the story of a local farm boy who became a war hero during World War II. Groups can also tour the historic Fairlawn Mansion and the SS Meteor Whaleship Museum.

Many visitors come for the thundering waterfalls at nearby Pattison State Park. The Big Mantiou Falls stands 165 feet high, making it the tallest waterfall in the state.

The surrounding park encompasses 1,400 acres of hiking and outdoor recreation.

More waterfalls serve as photo backdrops at Amnicon Falls State Park. Groups can view these delightful falls from a covered footbridge or trails along the river.

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There’s nothing quite like it.

FOX CITIES EXHIBITION CENTER

For more Originals stories visit FoxCities.org/originals, or contact Amy Rivera at arivera@foxcities.org to plan your original event.

AFTER YOUR TRIP, IT’S TIME FOR A RIDE.

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414-545-1100

DUCKS & DELLS BOAT TOURS

ALL THIS AND MORE

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Our season of favorites continues!

Kringle Bakery Tours

Racine County, Wisconsin, located on beautiful Lake Michigan, offers cultural, historical and entertaining attractions for your group tour.

June 4 - July 19

July 23 - Sept 6

Contact Eileen Arnold, CTIS 262 884 6407 | eileen@realracine.com

ARTS • CULTURE • ADVENTURE

Hudson

Sept 10 - Oct 25

Oct 29 - Dec 27

Jan 7 - Feb 21

WISCONSIN

Award-Winning Restaurants, Boutique Shopping, Wine & Brews, Historic Walking Tours, Hudson Food Walk, Art Galleries & Theatre Experiences, Historic Downtown District, Comfortable Lodging, Endless Scenery

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Superb Musicals | Memorable Dining Family Hospitality | Spectacular Shops 1131 Janesville Ave, Fort Atkinson, WI 53538 800-477-9505 | www.firesidetheatre.com

W I D E O P E N S PA C E S T R AV E L E R S W I L L S E E K T H E S E W E S T E R N H A L L M A R K S The iconic statue “The End of the Trail” welcomes visitors to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

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BY PENNY MUSCO

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COURTESY NCWHM

ou’ve seen the movies and TV shows. Perhaps you’re familiar with the “Yeehaw Agenda,” the current resurgence in cowboy culture personified by singers such as Kacey Musgraves and Lil Nas X. Maybe you think you know plenty about the West.

But the following Western heritage sites will educate you about the real West. So saddle up your group and head ‘em on out to encounter the best of the West.

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A stagecoach ride in Tombstone

A John Wayne exhibit at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

COURTESY ARIZONA OFFICE OF TOURISM

TOMBSTONE TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA As the Tombstone Chamber of Commerce puts it, this rough-and-tumble Old West town is “too tough to die.”

The good guys and the bad seeds live on, and they invite your group to join them.

The former mining camp’s sites are clustered over three blocks, making for a walkable visit. Tombstone Courthouse State Historic Park recounts the saga of scout and prospector Ed Schieffelin, whose friends warned that if he went to the region, “all he would find out there would be his tombstone,” hence the name bestowed on the settlement he founded.

Visitors learn more about the 10,000 or so citizens, not all of them outlaws, who lived in Tombstone during its 1880s heyday. Out back, they see where lawbreakers met their fate at the end of a rope. Their headstones reside at Boothill Cemetery.

At the O.K. Corral, “Doc” Holliday and the Earp boys battle it out with the McLaurys and the Clantons in daily reenactments of their infamous shootout. Travelers can stop to count the bullet holes in the disreputable Bird Cage Theatre, then stick around for a spooky nighttime tour.

Visitors also can hitch a ride to all the hot spots.

Tombstone Trolley Tours offers a 30-minute, three-mile narrated excursion, and gunslingers clash three times a day in the company’s Western theme park. A one-hour Ghost and Murder trolley tour winds its way to 13 of the most haunted locales. Groups can also go below ground with a candle-lit walk into an 1880s pit at the Good Enough Silver Mine, which also conducts a six-mile trolley tour above ground to over 55 landmarks. Friday and Saturday nights bring the one-hour Tombstone After Dark tour, capped by a campfire ghost story.

Annual events include Schieffelin Days — usually in April but this year moved to October — which features donkey and burro racing, and October’s Helldorado Days.

In-town street gunfights are reenacted on Vigilante Sundays, and during Wyatt Earp Days and Showdown in Tombstone, Memorial and Labor Day weekends, respectively.

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N AT I O N A L C O W B O Y A N D W E S T E R N H E R I TA G E M U S E U M OKLAHOMA CITY James Earle Fraser’s imposing sculpture “The End of the Trail” is the first thing visitors see upon entering the soaring, sun-lit lobby of the Oklahoma City’s National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. The sculpture depicts an exhausted Native American slumped astride his equally weary horse on the edge of the ocean, reflecting the prediction that someday, the Indians would be pushed into the Pacific.

The museum portrays our country’s westward march from both the pioneer and indigenous perspectives. Galleries detail American cowboy history as well as the West’s “original sport”: the rodeo. Works by masters such as Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Remington and Charles M. Russell populate the Art of the American West section. Native American heritage and culture are explored in depth in dual exhibit spaces, and 19th-century firearms get their own section.

Groups can walk the streets of a replica cattle town, adjacent to the newest addition, Liichokoshkomo’ — a Chickasaw phrase for “Let’s Play” — an outdoor intertribal village area with lots of hands-on activities.

One intriguing display is of 1,300 different strands of barbed wire, the invention that transformed the land. From the Texas prairie to Dakota Territory, “everybody had their own design,” said Visitor Services director Shannon Strain, acknowledging the museum’s astounding collection.

You’ll find John Wayne, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans and others in the “Western Performers Gallery,” a study in how the West has been depicted in movies and literature.

Upcoming exhibits extending into 2021 include “Art and Ancestry,” a look into North American prehistoric tribes, and two about Western women — “Blazing a Trail,” on the West’s female suffrage movement, and “Find Her West.” The Chuck Wagon Festival over Memorial Day weekend and December’s Cowboy Christmas Ball are popular yearly events.

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The Alamo at dusk

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the 1836 battle with interactive experiences, ceremonies and some fee-based events. “There is no better time to visit the Alamo,” said CEO Douglass McDonald.

Groups of any size may purchase individual audio tours; groups of five to 20 can book a private tour. Reserve a public guided tour for 20 to 30 people or, if your group numbers 20 to 75 or so, opt for the exclusive after-hours tours available during the peak season of Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends.

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THE ALAMO SAN ANTONIO Built as Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1718, the compound now known as the Alamo transitioned into a frontier outpost and garrison under Spanish rule. Mexico’s Alamo Company took up residence after the country won independence from Spain. The legendary attack of March 6, 1836, occurred during Texas’ fight for sovereignty.

Lone Star staters used the base to ward off attacks by its southern neighbor and Native Americans. When the Army moved to Fort Sam Houston, the complex was sold off to various entities until it was finally purchased by the state in the 1880s.

Entrance to the Alamo Church and the museum at the Long Barrack Exhibition is free, as are the introductory movie and the grounds, site of daily living history encampments. History talks are given four times each day. The Commemoration, every February 23-March 6, remembers

AUTRY MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST LOS ANGELES You probably hear Gene Autry, the “Singing Cowboy,” warble “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Here Comes Santa Claus” every Christmas.

What you may not know about the man — who played the straight-shooting hero in dozens of films, had his own television program in the 1950s and at one time owned the Los Angeles Angels baseball team — is that he also collected Western art and memorabilia. In 1988, he brought together objects from his and other Western stars’ collections to form the Gene Autry Western Heritage Museum in Griffith Park, now known as the Autry Museum of the American West.

Two galleries focus solely on California, but most of the museum is devoted to the entire Western region. The “Journey Gallery” centers on the people and events that influenced the West in the mid to late 19th century, with colorful clothing, an elaborate stagecoach and highlights of Native American cultures. Annie Oakley’s gold-plated gun with pearl grips is on display, and Samuel Colt’s game-changing revolver, “the handgun that won the West,” gets its own section. View 400 years of Pueblo pottery plus Native archaeological discoveries at the Historic Southwest Museum Mount Washington location, open only on Saturdays but free of charge.

Groups of 10 or more receive reduced entrance fees at

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The Pioneer Trails Adventure at the National Frontier Trails Museum

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the main campus and can choose among one-of-a-kind tours or arrange a curator talk. A great time to visit is in July and August, when Sizzling Summer Nights’ al fresco dance parties will have visitors grooving to salsa and Latin fusion beats. November’s yearly American Indian Arts Marketplace draws 200 artists from over 40 tribal nations marketing a selection of artworks and jewelry.

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N AT I O N A L F R O N T I E R TRAILS MUSEUM INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI Independence, a 15-minute drive from Kansas City, was the jumping-off point for hundreds of thousands of people on fraught journeys into unknown lands. The museum narrates the pioneers’ experiences, especially those who took the Oregon, California and Santa Fe Trails —the latter commemorates its bicentennial in 2021. Wagon ruts, or swales, still in evidence along a quarter-mile pathway from Courthouse Square to the museum, testify to the many coaches that set out.

Visitors begin by watching the film “West,” then go on to galleries on the Lewis and Clark expedition, the roles of fur trappers and traders in western expansion, and the cross-country trek of Mormons seeking religious freedom. Passages from diaries, plus era-specific objects, bring the history and stories alive. Also on the grounds is the Chicago and Alton Depot, a two-story train station restored to its 1879 appearance.

The museum offers a packaged admission and covered-wagon tour in conjunction with Pioneer Trails Adventures. The guided excursion travels along streets trod by the likes of Wild Bill Hickok and the notorious James brothers and can take in numerous stops along the way. Among those are the 1859 Jail, which once housed renegades Frank James and William Clark Quantrill and is alleged to be haunted, and the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site, home of our 33rd president and his family. A chuck wagon meal featuring Kansas City barbecue is another option.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE DESTINATION Plan your vacation to Chickasaw Country, one of Oklahoma’s best kept secrets, for an authentic local experience filled with nature, shopping, culture and cuisine; we promise we’re worth the trip.

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The Peach State has a lot to recommend it, and that includes the fuzzy fruit from which it takes its nickname. But in between bites of sweet, succulent peaches, group travelers would do well to experience one of the state’s other pleasures: Georgia museums are world-class, capable of not only educating visitors but entertaining them, too.

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From art repositories to an attraction that explores science, from institutions that honor American prisoners of war and those that honor the civil rights movement, these peachy-keen sites just might be the highlight of any Georgia tour.

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N AT I O N A L C E N T E R F O R C I V I L A N D HUMAN RIGHTS AT L A N TA In the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was born, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights explores the connection between the American civil rights movement and the global quest for human rights through a mixture of artifacts, photographs and interactive exhibits. “If you’re coming to Atlanta, it should be on the top of your list,” said Lindsey Ford, public relations specialist with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s a powerful museum for groups to visit.”

Guests explore a contemporary gallery at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

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Group leaders can also book a private, catered dinner at the 42,000-square-foot center, which was first envisioned by legendary civil rights advocates Evelyn Lowery and Andrew Young. The dream became a reality when the center opened in 2007, after the Coca-Cola Company donated land adjacent to its own museum.

One of the center’s highlights is the stunning outdoor water sculpture that showcases quotes from Nelson Mandela and Margaret Mead.

Inside, the lunch counter sit-in simulation is especially compelling.

Visitors sit at stools, put their hands on the counter and headphones over their ears, and experience the sounds of a taunting crowd. The stools even vibrate, as if kicked. “Everyone who comes through should do it,” said Ford, “because it really puts you in the shoes of protestors.”

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TELLUS SCIENCE MUSEUM CARTERSVILLE It doesn’t matter if the motorcoach is filled with kids or just kids at heart; everyone will love Cartersville’s Tellus Science Museum, which debuted in 2009. Welcoming more than 200,000 guests a year, the 120,000-square-foot museum offers four galleries, including one each dedicated to fossils and minerals. Three special exhibit galleries, four science labs, a walk-in fossil dig, a gem-panning area, a planetarium, an observatory, a presentation theater, an orientation theater, a store and a cafe round out the space.

Highlights include the Cartersville Meteorite, a red space rock the size of a potato that crashed through a local house not long after the museum opened. The Smithsonian affiliate also boasts the biggest moon rock on exhibit in Georgia, on permanent loan from NASA, as well as Stan, a 40-foot Tyrannosaurus rex that’s the star of the show.

The popular digital planetarium hosts 45-minute shows daily.

That’s not the only way groups can get starry-eyed, though.

“We have tons of educators on staff,” said Tellus Science Museum director of marketing Shelly Redd, “so we can customize group visits into whatever they want. And we can certainly take a group in to tour the observatory. We have a huge telescope and a retractable dome.

Depending on what’s happening in the sky, we can let people look through the telescope, too.”

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HIGH MUSEUM OF ART AT L A N TA Founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association, the High Museum of Art is a blockbuster institution that just keeps getting better.

Following massive expansions in 1983 that included a stunning new structure designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier and in 2005, when three new buildings by Renzo Piano debuted, the High Museum of Art grew to encompass 312,000 square feet. These facilities, dubbed “works of art in and of themselves” by Marci Tate Davis, the museum’s manager of public relations, are part of what distinguishes the High from other institutions of its kind.

But that’s not the only reason the museum is special.

“We’re an encyclopedic museum, with a wide-ranging collection of more than 17,000 works of art that includes an intensive collection of 19th- and 20th-century American fine and decorative art,” Tate Davis said. “We have major holdings of photography and folk and self-taught work, especially by artists from the American South, so that’s definitely something that distinguishes us. We also have a wonderful collection of modern and contemporary art, a growing collection of African art and significant holdings of European paintings and works on paper.”

If that sounds like a lot to absorb, docents at the High Museum of Art give a wide range of group tours that make all that beauty more approachable. The museum offers a highlights tour, as well as tours themed around special exhibitions, the museum’s architecture, African art, women artists and black history.

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N AT I O N A L P R I S O N E R OF WA R MUSEUM ANDERSONVILLE The National Prisoner of War Museum couldn’t have a more appropriate or moving location. The institution sits within the Andersonville National Historic Site, where the Confederate Army established the most notorious of all Civil War prisoner camps.

“It’s thematically organized,” Jody Mays, the site’s interpretation and resource management chief, said of the museum. “The conflicts are intermingled because that helps connect the experiences of all American prisoners of war so that visitors can understand what they endured and sacrificed on behalf of our country.”

A wide range of artifacts are on display in the museum, including a post from the Andersonville stockade, a ship that American and French prisoners created out of soup bones during the War of 1812 and the flight suit U.S. Army Maj. Rhonda Cornum was wearing when she was shot down and captured during the Persian Gulf War. One of the most powerful exhibits is the “Sack of Cement Cross” created

by Americans held in the Philippines during World War II. It was made to honor fellow soldiers who died during the infamous Bataan Death March.

The National Prisoner of War Museum offers guided group tours at no extra charge.

“It’s not uncommon to have group visitors who are very moved,” Mays said of the tours. “Some people are in tears knowing what the prisoners went through.”

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An exhibit at the National Prisoner of War Museum in Andersonville

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BOOTH WESTERN ART MUSEUM CARTERSVILLE Cartersville’s Booth Western Art Museum doesn’t just display contemporary Western art of the past half-century; it also showcases contemporary Western art inspired by movements such as cubism and photo realism “or any ism you ever studied in art history for that matter,” said Seth Hopkins, the museum’s executive director. “That’s about three-quarters of the exhibition space of the permanent collection. We also have the Civil War gallery, which has artwork produced in the last 30 or 40 years. And then there’s a collection of one-page signed letters and images of every president.”

Centered around the collection of a family that donated its art treasures to start the museum, the 120,000-square-foot Booth opened in 2003. Among its most prized pieces are Maynard Dixon’s “Red Butte With Mountain Men,” which depicts a huge rock dwarfing a group of tiny figures in the foreground. Even more impressive is the museum’s Howard Terpning collection.

“He’s one of the most decorated artists of our lifetime, and we have four major paintings of his, in three different media, across 20 years of his career,” Hopkins said. “That’s completely unique in this country.”

According to Hopkins, the Booth’s collection is “very accessible,” even to group travelers who aren’t art fans, thanks to the iconic nature of the West and the nostalgia so many feel for it. The museum offers a discount to groups and private docent-led tours at no extra charge.

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The pace of life in Georgia may be slow as a Southern drawl, but that doesn’t mean the state is stodgy. Far from it. Because no matter how many times group travelers return, Georgia will always have something new for them.

Maybe the urge to create novel experiences for guests comes from Georgia’s legendary hospitality, or perhaps it’s just part of a statewide drive to do it bigger and better. No matter the reason, groups will enjoy the latest spate of new and improved Georgia attractions.

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The new Savoy Automobile Museum in Cartersville will feature a variety of rare and vintage vehicles, such as this 1948 Packard 8 wagon.

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M E R C E R M U S E U M AT C A P R I C O R N MACON Move over Muscle Shoals. Make room, Stax. Macon’s Mercer Museum at Capricorn, the latest Southern attraction centered around a legendary recording studio, offers not only the original Capricorn Sound Studios but an on-site museum, too.

“The project was spearheaded by Mercer University,” said Visit Macon marketing vice president Valerie Bradley. “Capricorn Sound Studios was in danger of being demolished about five years or so ago, and Mercer University, in partnership with a couple other businesses, stepped in to save the space. It opened last December.”

In its 1970s heyday, before bankruptcy led to the studio’s nearly 40-year vacancy, everyone from the Allman Brothers to the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshal Tucker Band, Kitty Wells and Percy Sledge made music at Capricorn. Today, the 1,200-square-foot museum gives

groups a chance to peek at memorabilia like photographs, T-shirts, album art and ticket stubs. They can also explore the Capricorn catalog through interactive kiosks that look like record store bins and act like record players.

“Motorcoach tour guests can all visit at the same time,” Bradley said, “because while some group visitors may be in the museum, others can be touring the recording studios. It’s a thrill to be able to step inside the same space where some of the country’s greatest music has been recorded. Mercer Music at Capricorn is really a great group destination.”

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GEORGIA AQUARIUM AT L A N TA With more than 10 million gallons of water, the Georgia Aquarium is the largest facility of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room to expand. The Atlanta attraction, which opened its doors in 2005 and has since hosted more than 18 million guests, is in the midst of a massive $100 million project that will include a redesigned entry and ticketing area. It’s the new million-gallon shark exhibit that will bring in group visitors from around the country to see it.

“It will have floor-to-ceiling windows,” said Lindsey Ford, public relations specialist with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, “so it’ll really allow guests to get an up-close look at these animals.

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It’s slated to be done in November. We’ve heard that later on, down the road, they’re going to announce some different types of special experiences as well as what sharks will be in the gallery. But the total square footage of the aquarium is going to grow [by] more than 45,000 square feet.”

What kind of offerings might be available to groups has not yet been announced. And of special note, the Georgia Aquarium provides motorcoach guests discounted tickets.

where they can serve you lunch, or you can have a low country boil where you shuck oysters and have blue crab and shrimp. It’s a beautiful experience because you get out there and you are really remote.”

As a destination marketing company with a fleet of boats, Outside Savannah can be incredibly flexible when working with clients. And, Hewitt said, “They have a wide range of price points and options, so they can work with the budgets of the motorcoach industry. They do such a good job.”

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No matter what kind of outdoor experience a group wants to have in and around Savannah, chances are Outside Savannah can make it happen. A recent outgrowth of Destinations DMC, whose roots go back four decades, Outside Savannah offers excursions including electric bike tours and kayak trips. Boat cruises, the company’s specialty, take group visitors to spots like the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, on dolphin watches and beachcombing jaunts and to remote, unspoiled islands.

“I was out on their private island, Page Island, 10 days ago for a fundraiser,” Visit Savannah senior vice president Jeff Hewitt said. “You can only get there by boat. There’s no way to drive to the island, so it’s very experiential. Once you get there, they can tailor the experience to whatever you would like it to be. So you can go on a nature walk

When Cartersville’s Savoy Automobile Museum finally opens its doors in August of next year, it will be different from any other institution devoted to cars. On 35 acres, the complex will boast a stunning 70,000-square-foot main museum with four galleries and a main hall.

But building from the ground up, which few facilities of its kind do, will not be all that distinguishes the Savoy. Only one gallery will be devoted to the museum’s permanent collection; the rest will showcase temporary exhibitions, unlike many other car museums.

As for the collection, groups can expect to see a wide variety of showstoppers, including Corvettes from the ’50s and ’60s, a 1940s Packard “woody wagon” and a 1932 Buick that won the prestigious Concours d’Elegance award.

“We are not focusing our vision on any certain era, make or model,” said Tom Shinall, Savoy Automobile Museum’s director of development. “We want to showcase the unique diversity that has been and is the automotive industry.”

Shinall promises that groups will have plenty of options at the Savoy.

“Group tours will be a big part of what we offer,” he said. “The demographics of those utilizing group tours are right up our alley: the folks that grew up with the history of the importance of the car and the growth of the automotive industry.”

A shark exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium

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Kayaking with Outside Savannah

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Savoy Automobile Museum

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SIX FL AGS OVER GEORGIA M A R I E T TA The largest regional theme park in the Southeast, Six Flags Over Georgia opened in Marietta, outside Atlanta, in 1967. Rides like the Dahlonega Mine Train, one of the earliest steel coasters, and Tales of the Okefenokee, a boat-based indoor ride that has morphed into Monster Mansion, point to the park’s sense of tradition. But according to Lindsey Ford, public relations specialist with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, that doesn’t mean Six Flags isn’t keeping up to date by continuing to add contemporary thrill rides to its 40-some rides and attractions.

“They’re expanding Gotham City this year,” Ford said, “with two new attractions: the Catwoman Whip and the Poison Ivy Toxic Spin.

I believe that they’re slated to open in the spring, but I’m not sure what the update on that is. I know that they have some stores and new food places within Gotham City that are going to be opening, too.”

Adventurous group travelers will want to jump aboard the new rides. The Catwoman Whip will spin riders in a horizontal circle before rising seven stories, where the circle will turn vertical. Guests riding on the Poison Ivy Toxic Spin will twirl counterclockwise in pods while the ride whirls in the opposite direction. The park’s group offerings include discounts and a special catered picnic for motorcoach tours of 25 to 99 people.

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Gotham City at Six Flags over Georgia

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They don’t call it the Holly wood of the South for nothing. Since 2008, when Georgia began offering a sizable tax incentive to filmmakers, the state has become a hot spot for movie and television shoots.

In 2010, TV’s monster hit “The Walking Dead” came calling, and it was followed by more recent smashes, like “Stranger Things.” Some of the biggest motion pictures in history, including “The Hunger Games” franchise and Marvel Studio’s recent offerings, were made in Georgia.

All of which is good news for groups that want to check out the locations where their small or silver-screen favorites were filmed.

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“If you look at our Explore Georgia website,” said Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Georgia film office, “you can see that there are not only the tours given by tour companies, but there are also a lot of suggestions for self-guided tours. And there’s something for everybody.”

Here are some places in Georgia where your group can enjoy film and TV tours.

Savannah’s waterfront scenery, beautiful gardens and historic buildings make it a popular film and television location.

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AT L A N TA The epicenter of Georgia’s film and television location shoots, the ATL is home to Atlanta Movie Tours, which boasts 11 blockbuster location tours. The 8-year-old company offers four separate “Walking Dead” tours; an Upside Down Tour themed around “Stranger Things”; the “Gone With the Wind” tour, guided by a costumed Margaret Mitchell interpreter; and various tours that visit sites where Marvel Studio features, the “Hunger Games” trilogy and movies by African American filmmakers were shot.

Among the sites groups will recognize is the Jackson Street Bridge; the view from it was featured in the iconic cover art for season one of “The Walking Dead.” Sleepy Hollow Farms features a building that doubled as Hopper’s cabin in “Stranger Things,” and the streets around the Healey Building have been used in everything from “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame” to “Venom,” “The Walking Dead,” “Stranger Things” and HBO’s “Watchmen.”

Groups may request fun additions to their tours, such as visits from Black Panther, Captain America and other characters, or even tours led by actors like Khary Payton and Cooper Andrews, both veterans of “The Walking Dead.”

“Just give us a wish list,” said Atlanta Movie Tours CEO Carrie Burns, “and we’ll try and make it happen. We’ll do anything.”

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HENRY COUNT Y While Henry County doesn’t currently offer guided general location tours, its tourism website does have an interactive digital map that can usher groups to spots where movies like “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Black Panther” and the beloved classics “Vacation” and “Smokey and the Bandit” were filmed. Included is the charming, old-timey Miller’s Store, where “We Are Marshall” was filmed.

Fans of the movie will recognize it as the place where Matthew Fox’s character learns of the tragic plane crash that sets the story in motion.

According to Laura Luker, Henry County director of tourism, groups will also want to visit Shane’s Rib Shack, which can be spotted in Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed film “The Mule.”

“They actually stopped there, at the original one,” she said. “You can see the sign in the background in the scene when he’s loading his truck. Some of our local people that work there were used as extras.”

After sampling some of Shane’s celebrated barbecue, groups should head to Hampton, where the hourlong Walkin’ Dead Hampton Tour

Atlanta Movie Tours’ Big Zombie Tour COURTESY ATLANTA MOVIE TOURS

A FORMAL HEDGE GARDEN (LEFT) AND SUNROOM (RIGHT) AT HILLS AND DALES ESTATE IN LAGRANGE COURTESY VISIT SAVANNAH

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“The Walking Dead” tour in Hampton

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visits 14 stops seen in season six of the horror series. Guides share personal stories and photos of the shoots, and group members can take turns lying in the spot where the legendary dumpster scene with Glenn was filmed.

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S AVA N N A H Lovely Savannah has hosted shoots for more than its fair share of iconic movies, and more adventurous group members can visit the locations with Savannah Segway Tours. Among the stops is Chippewa Square, where Forrest Gump once sat on a bench, sharing his box of chocolates. Six Pence Pub, home to the fiery scene in “Something To Talk About” when Julia Roberts’ character discovers her husband’s infidelity, is also included in the tour.

Of course, no movie fan would want to miss touring the Mercer Williams House Museum. As famously detailed in “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” it’s believed that the home’s owner, Jim Williams, shot his lover there.

Outside town, the Civil War movie “Glory” was filmed at Fort Pulaski National Monument, a great stop for groups.

“They have reenactments, with soldiers dressed in period uniforms,” said Visit Savannah senior vice president Jeff Hewitt, “and a number of interactive learning sessions. So you don’t just look at the fort, you experience it.”

Tybee Island, worth a visit if just for its beauty, has been seen in such wide-ranging films as “The Last Song,” “Baywatch” and “The Peanut Butter Falcon.” But if groups would like a walking tour or step-on guide service around the city, Noble Jones Tours can provide highly customized experiences themed around movie and television locations.

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PEACHTREE CIT Y Groups that are fans of “Fried Green Tomatoes” and “Sweet Home Alabama” would do well to book Sheri Brown, proprietor of the Southern Holly Film Tour, as a step-on guide. Based in Peachtree City, the tour visits locations of the Reese Witherspoon comedy like Starr’s Mill, which doubled as the glass shop owned by Josh Lucas’ character. The waterfall at the historic site was featured in “Fried Green Tomatoes.” Speaking of that classic, Brown also escorts guests to the home where Idgie Threadgoode, played by Mary Stuart Masterson, lived.

“I also go down to Haralson because there are several movies and shows that were made there,” Brown said. “The third season of ‘The Walking Dead’ is one of them — I explain some things about it and show some pictures. The main street was also used prominently in ‘Lawless,’ with Shia LaBeouf and Jessica Chastain. And Oprah’s ‘The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks’ was filmed in that area.”

Raleigh Studios, where “The Walking Dead” is shot, isn’t far from Peachtree City, and when the series isn’t shooting there, visitors can take the Walking Dead Studio Tour. It goes behind the scenes to the sets like the Sanctuary — Negan’s lair — and the Heaps, Jadis’ junkyard.

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A “Walking Dead” filming site in Peachtree City

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The wedding chapel on Tybee Island from “The Last Song” A “Forrest Gump” bench in Savannah

Douglas County has been featured in more than 700 film and television productions, and groups can visit the locations of the biggest and best with the Douglas County Film Trail. The county’s interactive, digital map takes visitors to 11 sites and includes handy information organized by film and television locations and movie stars. Or groups can book a special step-on guide through Explore Douglas County.

Chances are they’ll get tourism director Collin Cash, who can tell tales of hanging out with actor Jason Bateman. The actor filmed some of his series “Ozark” and “The Outsider” at the Old Jail.

Groups can also look for markers at eight spots, like Douglasville’s Old Courthouse and City Museum, where the series “Scream” and “Stranger Things” were filmed. Fans of the latter show will recognize much of the area, according to Cash.

“The Old Courthouse was used by ‘Stranger Things’ for their police station,” he said. “Tiffany’s Kitchen was Benny’s Burgers in the first episode, and the Palace Arcade was filmed at the old laundromat.”

The new version of the old television favorite “MacGyver” is in Douglas County “filming all the time,” according to Cash. The tour also features stops at Arbor Place Mall — a location for “Big Mommas: Like Father Like Son” — and Foxhall Resort, where “Table 19,” with Anna Kendrick, was filmed.

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Staff Sound-off

WHERE ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GOING WHEN YOU CAN TRAVEL AGAIN?

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PUBLISHER MAC LACY

VP, SALES & MARKETING KELLY TYNER

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING SALES KYLE ANDERSON

’d love for this to be a bit more grand, but the first trip we’ll take when travel restrictions are lifted will likely be a drive to Charlotte to see our son and his girlfriend for a long weekend.

Before this occurred, we had planned to go for his birthday in early April. We would have been there to watch some of the Masters golf tournament with him, which would have been a lot of fun. We always stop for lunch in Asheville on the way over, often at Modesto, a downtown restaurant with street-side seating.

D

uring this difficult time, I have found solace each morning by pouring a cup of coffee and sitting down at my computer to watch a virtual video of waves crashing on the beaches that several different coastal CVBs have been sharing on their Facebook pages.

It has made me long for the day that I can return to the beach.

I

’m looking forward to going anywhere but my apartment.

But since my cruise was canceled in May, I really want to go to Costa Rica sometime in the summer.

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GRAPHIC DESIGN & CIRCULATION ASHLEY RICKS

CREATIVE DIRECTOR DONIA SIMMONS

raham and I had planned to go on a weekend trip to Atlanta for our anniversary mid-April but had to postpone. We love the show “The Aquarium,” so we can’t wait to see Georgia Aquarium’s new beluga baby and the albino crocodiles.

T

his was going to be the year I began traveling again, pursuing dreams that up until now had been just that — dreams. A mission trip to Chimbote, Peru in June, Vancouver with a good friend in July, and the possiblity of Jordan this fall. Peru was cancelled and the other plans are up in the air, but I look forward to the time when travel is possible again and I can make my dreams a reality.

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VP & EXECUTIVE EDITOR BRIAN JEWELL

e have a September vacation planned with my wife’s family to Bald Head Island off the coast of North Carolina. I can’t wait to escape from daily life for a while and let the worries and difficulties of this year wash away with the tide.

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SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT CAROLINE DAVIS

am newly engaged and have a wedding date of September 12, 2020. My fiancé and I are really looking forward to our potential Caribbean honeymoon. Neither of us has ever traveled outside the United States, so it will be an adventure for sure.

EDITOR’ S NOTE Welcome to Staff Sound-Off, the monthly column where our staff members answer questions about their travel practices and preferences. We hope you enjoy these tips. If you have a question you’d like to see us answer, send it to me and it may appear in a future issue.

BRIANJ@GROUPTR AVELLEADER .COM

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M AY 2020

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May 12 - 13, 2021

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