Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center, in the heart of West Virginia’s beautiful Canaan Valley Resort State Park, looks a lot like a chalet you might encounter while skiing in the Swiss Alps, doesn’t it!    Well, while it might not be in the Alps, it’s in the Allegheny Mountains, and many people believe the Alleghenies are as beautiful as any mountain you’d find in Europe or anywhere else!

Heidi would be right at home here.  The skiing is magnificent, and the views even more so!

Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center can handle a large gathering – up to 900 attendees can be comfortably accommodated here.  No matter what kind of rooms – large or small – that you need for your convention/conference/retreat/trade show, etc, this venue can handle it.  With an assortment of floor plans, from theater-style to classroom to small group, etc, Canaan Valley’s got your number.

I am of the belief that the best conference venue is one that is also a hotel, so your attendees will have the luxury and convenience of having it all in one place.  Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center has 250 guest rooms or suites, enough to give all of your attendees a good night’s rest.  Breakfast?  Lunch?  Dinner?   This venue can accommodate your attendees’ stomachs, too!

Your guests won’t have to leave Fido or Fluffy at home alone, either.  Small pets are welcome at Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center.

There are also 23 private cabins and cottages at Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center!

Oh, and I mustn’t forget to mention the free high-speed internet access. . . .

Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center is on Flickr; check us out and see why people love us so!  To see us in motion, check our YouTube videos! We’re on Facebook, too!

Canaan Valley is the highest mountain valley east of the Rocky Mountains, with a base elevation of 3,100 feet, but it’s situated on a plateau, which makes it ideal for skiing and golf.

To make your convention/conference/trade show/retreat/large group reservation, contact Alicia Lewis in Group Sales, at 304-866-4121, ext. 2686, or fill out the online request form.

For more information, please feel free to download Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center’s free brochure.

Canaan Valley Resort and Conference Center

HC 70, Box 330, Davis, WV 26260
1 800-622-4121 | 1 304-866-4121
Email Us reservations@canaanresort.com

It’s hard to find the words to describe the beauty of Rhode Island’s Whispering Pines Conference Center.  It reminds me of something out of a movie, maybe Dirty Dancing.  Yes, that’s it.  At Whispering Pines, your attendees would look around for Baby, to make sure she wasn’t sitting in the corner!

Whispering Pines is made up of several separate lodges, all of which are awesome.  The lodges are located “here and there” on 2300 acres of real forest, complete with lakes and streams.  The lodges, two of which are handicapped-accessible, are equipped with all the modern conveniences, including high-speed internet and any audio-visual equipment you might need.

Staying at Whispering Pines isn’t like staying at a high-rise hotel in the middle of a city.  It’s quiet at Whispering Pines, and it smells. . . . wonderful, like flowers, and freshly-cut grass.

This is not a place for a huge conference, mind you.  Whispering Pines is the perfect venue for a small gathering – from 18 to 100 attendees.  If you are planning a corporate retreat, for example, this is the place!

With four good-sized conference rooms, you’ll even be able to divide your agenda into segments or seminars, and meet in different rooms.  As for food. . . .

As an added benefit, Whispering Pines even offers your attendees a Golf Clinic, and if your gathering is actually an overnight corporate retreat, why not call it a Golf Getaway and take advantage of Whispering Pines’ offer of 2 full days for teambuilding and productivity with plenty of time to “squeeze in” golf, 14 hours of golf learning, scoring, and entertainment facilitated by the S4 Tour Pros, AND lessons divided into 6 hours of classroom and range learning along with 8 hours of course time, all customized to meet your needs.

For more information on the Corporate Golf Getaway, call Whispering Pines at 401-397-3361, extension 6056.

For all other questions, and for reservations, here is Whispering Pines’ contact information:

Whispering Pines Conference Center

W. Alton Jones Campus, URI

401 Victory Highway

West Greenwich, RI 02817

401-397-3361 extention 6056

www.wpinescc.com

wpines@etal.uri.edu

Whispering Pines is also on Facebook!

The beautiful Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center, located at 100 State Street in Montpelier, Vermont 05602, is like taking a step back in time but with ALL of the most modern conveniences of the present.

If your convention is HUGE, this is perhaps not the venue for you, but if you are expecting between 3 and 300 attendees, Vermont is the venue you’ve been seeking.

You can find the various rooms and resources of the Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center right here.

It’s always nice when a conference venue is also a hotel, in my opinion, and the Capitol Plaza is both.  There are a variety of rooms from which your attendees might pick, in fact.

And, what are people saying about the Capitol Plaza Hotel & Conference Center?  Lots of things, all good; in fact, so many good things that it was voted Best of the Best!

Need a place for your attendees to eat?  There’s a J. Morgan’s Steakhouse right in the venue!

Or, you can arrange to have your convention catered!

During evenings and other free time, there is much for your attendees to do.  Remember, this is VERMONT, and the skiing is wonderful.  In summer, so is the hiking.  There are many other attractions as well.

For more information please email or phone us at 1-800-274-5252.

I’ve mentioned before how beautiful the Pacific Northwest is, and now here’s yet another great convention center in the same general area!

Washington State Convention Center not only offers your convention, conference, meeting, retreat, trade show, etc. premier facilities and services; it also gives your attendees access to the city of Seattle itself!  Conveniently located in the heart of downtown Seattle, your attendees will have access to many things, including on-site parking, always important to conference-goers.

Whether your convention is large or small, the Washington State Convention Center is happy to accommodate it.  With 205,700 square feet of dedicated heavy-load exhibit space, which can be divided into six halls, your gathering will be well “set.”

Got a lot of heavy equipment to unload?  the Washington State Convention Center has 20 covered bays at two loading docks.

Need a large, open room?  WSCC has 45,000 square feet of carpeted ballroom space.

Need a lot of individual meeting or lecture rooms?  Seattle’s convention center has 57,000 squre feet of carpeted meeting space, which translates into as many as 61 versatile meeting rooms.

WSCC will also cater your convention if you wish.

Need high-speed WiFi for your conference?  Got it.  Video cameras?  Check.  Audio equipment?  Worry not.  Any kind of electronic equipment and services you could possibly need are available.

After hours, your attendees have many choices for evening activities.

Washington State Convention Center
800 Convention Place
Seattle, WA 98101-2350

Phone: 206-694-5000
Fax: 206-694-5399
Email: info@wscc.com

I love it when a conference is held in a venue that is both hotel and convention center!  It’s so much handier to have everything in the same area.  When the venue and the hotel are far apart, attendees have to carry their swag and even their luggage around with them, which discourages people from even wanting more swag.  This is not a popular attitude with trade show booth proprieters; they’re counting on people taking their samples and remembering their company’s name by looking at those same samples all year long.  Separate venues for the hotel and conference are just plain inconvenient and annoying.

But, when the venue can accommodate both the conference AND the attendees’ rooms, it’s much more popular!  The swag bag gets full?  We just carry it upstairs and come right back down again.  Spill something on your shirt?  Just excuse yourself and run up to your room and change; you’ll be back at the conference in minutes.

New Hampshire’s New England Center is both hotel and venue, and both facets are nestled right on the campus of the University of New Hampshire in Durham, and a lovely campus it is, too.  When you hold your convention, conference, trade show, retreat, meeting, flea market, etc, at this venue, you’ll bask in the collegiate atmosphere while remaining apart from it; in other words, it’s the best of both worlds!

The New England Center is located at 15 Strafford Avenue, Durham, NH 03824. Phone number is: 1-603-862-2801. The convention center number is: 1-800-909-6931.

Whether your conference is large or small, The New England Center’s 12,00 square feet of adaptable meeting space  can accommodate your program.  The center also has several meeting “specials” at incredible prices.

Hungry?  The New England Convention Center’s Acorns Restaurant can take care of you there.  Located right in the center, you’ll be able to satisfy your hunger with fantastic food and never have to leave the venue!

Concerned about sustainability?  New Hampshire’s New England Convention Center is, too.  In fact, it was one of eleven universities nationwide to receive a top score in the sustainability rating system.

Oh, and after your meetings are over for the day, just look at what the convention center’s locale can offer you!

The Pacific Northwest is a breathtakingly beautiful part of the United States.  In other words, it’s ideal conference locale!

Whether your convention, conference, retreat, trade show, etc. is large or small, the Oregon Convention Center can handle it, and handle it perfectly.  It is, after all, the largest convention center in this area of the country.

The Oregon Convention Center has two ballrooms, both large, and both ideal if you need a large single room for your conference, an actual ballroom for after-conference entertainment, or several small rooms right in the same area, for both ballrooms can be divided into several smaller rooms.

Do you need high speed internet service for your conference?  The Oregon Convention Center is the largest wireless hotspot in Oregon.

You can find a complete list of exhibitor guides HERE.

If sustainability is important to your attendees – as well it should be! – rest assured that the Oregon Convention Center is GREEN.  Silver rating, in fact!

Oregon Convention Center
777 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.
Portland, Oregon 97232

ph. 1.800.791.2250 | In Portland: 503.235.7575

Need a hotel room, ATM, grocery store, bank, etc?  You can find all of those right here, all handy to the convention center. The Oregon Convention Center is handy to the airport, too, and has a shuttle for your convenience, as well.

Need some way to maneuver around town from the convention center?  Portland has a magnificent public transit system: the Light Rail.  There are also buses running regularly for your convenience.

All in all, you’ll never find a more beautiful spot to hold your conference, and the Oregon Convention Center is all you could ever ask or hope for in a venue.

I’ve been to the Kentucky Exposition Center over a hundred times for different shows, conventions, flea markets, and you name it, and each time the same thought goes through my mind: This facility is absolutely perfect for this function!

The Kentucky Exposition Center is the most VERSATILE venue I’ve ever encountered. I can’t even imagine an event this facility isn’t more than capable of hosting and handling, and doing both to the complete satisfaction of the conference, convention, trade show, retreat, animal trainer, horsemen, concert,  flea market, and anything else you can think of. I’m serious: this venue has facilities for anything!

This facility is one of the top ten venues of this type in the States, with over a million square feet of contiguous climate-controlled spaces of all kinds.  Nobody is relegated to the upstairs here, either; everything is on the ground floor.

I’ve been to small, one-room functions here, enormous two-wing trade shows and flea markets here, business conferences that needed half a wing here, and horse shows that required a wing and the facilities outside.

Right next door to the Kentucky Exposition Center is a Six Flags park, for after hours or for a fun place for your family to hang out while you’re at the gun show!

This venue is easy to find, too; once you’ve exited into Louisville proper, just keep going until you see the horses!  It’s just a little past Cardinal Stadium, which is, in fact, part of the exposition center.  Handy!

Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau
401 West Main Street, Suite 2300
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
(502) 584-2121 or 1-888-Louisville (1-888-568-4784)

FAQ

Seeking the perfect location for your function? The Southern Utah Convention Center has everything you could ever want or need for your convention, conference, trade show, corporate retreat, reception, or meeting of any kind.

Located in scenic southern Utah, this conference center offers 47,500 square feet of column-free convention hall, 32,000 square feet in 21 fully functional meeting rooms, 4 small meeting rooms or 9 luxury suites overlooking the exhibition hall, 3 separate pre-function areas, indoor/outdoor areas, full production and staging capability for a wide spectrum of events and entertainment, seating for up to 6,200 at special events or concerts, full-service in-house catering, and an Exhibition Hall concession area.

There is also a myriad of surrounding sights and activities for between and after your attendees’ convention requirements. Among them are majestic golf resorts, Bryce Canyon, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, and many others.

The Dixie Center Blog highlights various exhibitions, shows, conferences, conventions, meetings, retreats, trade shows, etc, that have chosen southern Utah for their venue.

The auditorium - 1,710 square feet of potential presentation space – is roomy, comfortable, and completely fitted out with all of the audio-visual or high speed internet needs of your presenters and attendees.

1835 Convention Center Dr
St. George, UT 84790
(435) 628-7003
Toll Free: 800-748-5011

Additional information can be obtained by going to the information request page on the convention center website and following the directions given there.

The Los Angeles Convention Center is a prime location for your convention, conference, trade show, or retreat.  Just look at the schedule for March 2010!

The many exhibit halls are huge and many, as are the meeting spaces. Whether your group is large, small, or in between, the Los Angeles Convention Center is the ideal venue.

As far as overnight accommodations for your attendees and yourselves, The Los Angeles Convention Center is  close to many excellent hotels.

The convention center proves pretty much any kind of service your function might require or request, including internet connections, furniture, tables for trade shows, audio-visual equipment, etc.

From the Los Angeles Convention Center’s website, here is a list of contact information for you:

1201 South Figueroa Street | Los Angeles, CA 90015 |

If you are looking for a first-class convention center that charges 30% less than the big-name centers, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center is exactly what you’ve been searching for!

With over half a million square feet of meeting space, no convention is too small or too large; this majestic convention center can handle anything.

The Reno-Sparks Convention Center is located at 4590 South Virginia Street, Reno, NV  89502.

After hours, your conference attendees have their choice of many fascinating spots.

As far as the convention center facilities, here is what the Reno-Sparks Convention Center website has to say:

Captivating, modern and competitive, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center is no ordinary stage. For technological amenities and extensive capacity, this state-of-the-art facility is built to order for progressive business.  The center can accommodate a full spectrum of events that include shows on Tradeshow Week’s Top 200 list.  And it is presented at a value you can’t match anywhere else.

The Reno-Sparks Convention Center (RSCC) features five (5) contiguous exhibit halls with 381,000 sq. ft. of space. Each hall offers drive-in access, nineteen (19) freight doors, eight (8) of which are drive-in. The drive-in doors are highlighted by a 39’ wide by 32’ high hangar door, providing  access for oversized equipment, vehicles and aircraft. Other features include electrical, water, gas and air distribution systems.

You can follow the Reno-Sparks Convention Center on Twitter,  Facebook,  Flickr, and YouTube.

Oh, and speaking of the convention center’s YouTube site, after you’ve watched a few videos of people doing their various “things” at the center, your mind will be completely made up:  your next converence, convention, trade show, retreat, reunion, etc, will definitely have to be at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center!