Meeting Guide

Hampton Inn Camden is the only full-service meeting hotel in the city, with 400 square feet of meeting space and 70 guest rooms. Holiday Inn Express and Suites and Comfort Inn and Suites offer another 131 guest rooms between them. The multi-purpose Camden City Arena can seat 1,600 and has facilities for sporting events, conventions and entertainment. Other venues include the Arts Center of Kershaw County, which can accommodate up to 300, the National Steeplechase Museum or the Historic Camden-Kershaw-Cornwallis House.

Downtown Camden and Uptown Dusty Bend offer plenty of shopping opportunities with boutique shops, antique stores and art galleries to peruse.

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MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE

Murfreesboro, in the heart of Tennessee’s Rutherford County, is just 35 minutes southeast of Nashville. The county is steeped in history, and visitors will enjoy exploring the Stones River National Battlefield and Cemetery or wandering the halls of two antebellum homes, Oaklands Mansion and Sam Davis Home. Cannonsburgh Village, a reconstructed pioneer settlement that represents 100 years of early Tennessee history from the 1830s to the 1930s, has a gristmill, schoolhouse, doctor’s office and general store to explore. The Rutherford County Historic Courthouse Museum from the pre-Civil War era is worth a visit. It served as a watchtower, ballroom, prison and hospital.

The county has 62 lodging properties with 5,500 guest rooms and more than 250,000 square feet of meeting space in more than 60 venues and a beautiful convention center to welcome events of all sizes.

The Embassy Suites Murfreesboro Hotel and Conference Center is the largest meeting venue, with 283 guest rooms and 63,000 square feet of flexible event space. The largest space is the Grand Ballroom at 28,800 square feet. It has 19 meeting rooms. The Doubletree by Hilton-Murfreesboro has 3,840 square feet of meeting space with three meeting rooms and 169 guest rooms.

Off-site venues include The Grove at Williamson Family Farm, with 10,000 square feet of space in the Main Barn, Loafing Barn and Silage Shed, Oaklands Mansion or the View at Fountains, a modern conference and event venue at Fountains at Gateway. The full-service venue includes 5,800 square feet of indoor event space and 1,900 square feet of outdoor, covered patio space.

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STAUNTON, VIRGINIA

Located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Staunton is known for its beautiful architecture. The city was lucky enough to survive the Civil War relatively unscathed and features many wonderfully preserved 18th and 19th century homes and buildings.

Downtown Staunton has six historic districts to explore and features independent retailers, art and antique galleries, restaurants, bakeries, coffee shops and craft breweries. From April through October, the city closes four blocks of Beverley Street to vehicle traffic so businesses and musicians can spill out into the street. Staunton boasts a vibrant arts and music scene, and the American Shakespeare Center presents the works of Shakespeare and his contemporaries at Blackfriars Playhouse, a re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theatre.

The Frontier Culture Museum is a living history museum that sheds light on life in early America. Staunton also is home to the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum. The entrances to Shenandoah National Park, Blue Ridge Parkway and Blue Ridge Tunnel are all located within a short drive of Staunton.

The city has several full-service meeting locations, including Hotel 24 South and Conference Center, which can host groups up to 400, and the Blackburn Inn and Conference Center, with 10,000 square feet of flexible meeting space and 49 guest rooms. It can host groups of 20 to 200. The city has 25 hotels with 1,659 hotel rooms. visitstaunton.com