From barbecue museums to the history of blues and salutes to veterans, there are a variety of cultural institutions in Missouri’s key meeting locales that can cater to meeting groups, whether it be for a buyout, group visit or post-meetings fun.
The Museum of BBQ Opens in Kansas City, Plus Other Attractions
Last month, the Museum of BBQ opened in Kansas City.
“We are so excited,” said Nathan Hermiston, SVP convention sales and services, Visit KC. “Obviously, a barbecue museum in Kansas City makes a lot of sense. It's very authentic, cool, interactive and the price point is $10 a ticket. You think about the ice cream museum in Chicago, and this is going to be right in that same conversation.”
“When I discovered that there was no museum dedicated to barbecue in the world, it seemed that was something we had to rectify here in Kansas City, a place with a rich and dedicated tradition of barbecue,” said culinary writer Jonathan Bender, who opened the museum along with chef and restaurateur Alex Pope. “Barbecue is a communal activity, a way to celebrate big occasions. I wanted to create an intentional space that took that spirit of barbecue and made it a living, breathing thing with interactive installations designed to teach you about the elements and main American regions of barbecue. ”
The museum has roughly 1,000 square feet of retail, which can be outfitted with cocktail tables or three six-foot tables with seating for 20-25. A wireless mic and a long check-in counter that can double as a bar or catering station is also available for events. Buyouts are also possible.
Mind you, it’s not hard to build a barbecue-themed event in Kansas City; there’s a BBQ Hall of Fame, the world-famous American Royal Series of Barbecue competition, more than 100 restaurants and even a 24-hour BBQ vending machine for after-hours cravers. However, the museum provides a centralized venue that can acquaint visitors with the history of Kansas City barbecue, from its Barbecue King Henry Perry to education on regional styles. Though not a restaurant itself, the museum plans to hold tastings, judging and pitmaster classes. And there’s a fanciful ball pit that looks like a crock of barbecue beans.
The BBQ Museum joins the wide variety of Kansas City’s affordable attractions that include the National World War I Museum and Memorial, American Jazz Museum and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, all of which have rental facilities.
“The Negro Leagues Baseball started in Kansas City,” Hermiston noted. “It's an amazing facility, very affordable price point.”
The museum also opens at a time when Kansas City’s meetings business is skewing more toward SMERF (social, military, educational, religious and fraternal) meetings.
“We have three very large volleyball groups this year,” Hermiston said. “We hosted big volleyball tournaments in February and April, we're hosting a national volleyball tournament in June, and then at the end of the year, in December, we're hosting the NCAA Division I volleyball championships at T-Mobile Center. Those groups bring in up to 20,000 people per tournament.”
In addition to the new museum, the free KC Streetcar is being expanded from its three-mile downtown route to include Country Club Plaza, which, Hermiston said, “is an amazing high-end shopping district here in Kansas City, modeled after Seville, Spain, very unique.”
The new route will open later this year with free transportation from the south side of town all the way through midtown and the Crown Center, to CPKC Stadium, home of the professional women's soccer team KC Current.
There is additional space in Crown Center and the two attached hotels (Westin Kansas City at Crown Center and Sheraton Kansas City Hotel at Crown Center) that could be available for more formal meetings with bigger AV needs.
[Related: Major Sporting Events and Infrastructure Improvements Boost Kansas City’s Meetings Scene]
The National Blues Museum, St. Louis
“We see the National Blues Museum as a hub and a center to the world for the proliferation and the revitalization of blues music and blues culture,” said Dr. Robert Nelson, executive director of the National Blues Museum, on his Instagram page.
Now in its ninth year, St. Louis’ National Blues Museum preserves in detail how the blues—still a living art form—traveled up and down the Mississippi River to become the mainstream music of America. It has educational workshops and performances open to the public throughout the year.
For meetings and conventions, the Blues Museum offers space that includes entertainment, a museum tour, a bar, live streaming and even a museum buyout. Group discounts for the museum begin at 15 people. Still, attendees are likely to hear that unique sound of what the museum calls “heartaches, hopes and hollers” in free concerts downtown and at the Arch, or emanating from the city’s many live music venues.
St. Louis also has many free museums, including its zoo, that are perfect for attendees’ free time.
“I'm convinced that, outside of D.C., St. Louis probably has more free attractions than any other city,” said Brad Dean, CEO and president of Explore St. Louis. “We want people to visit and enjoy our community so much that we residents underwrite the cost of all these attractions. I think it just reinforces that the St. Louis region is firmly committed to the arts and sciences, and making sure they’re readily available to both residents and visitors, even if we have to carry the cost for our visitors,” he said. “It's a whole different take on Midwestern hospitality and humility.”
[Related: Continued Growth and Infrastructure Projects Put St. Louis in the Spotlight]
Military History in Branson
Branson, which is styled the “Most Patriotic City in America,” plays host to veterans throughout the year, particularly during Memorial Day and in November.
A main attraction in town is the Veterans Memorial Museum, which opened in November 2000 with thousands of artifacts from 20th-century conflicts.
“Along with the Veterans Memorial Museum being an artistic memorial to our veterans, we want to evoke from our visitors an emotional response to the far-reaching implications of war and the undeniable courage of those who stood strong in the face of the enemy,” said Fred Hoppe, Jr., the museum’s owner and visionary.
A member of the Military Trails of Missouri Passport Program, the museum is a touchstone for marking the personal sacrifice of 400,000 Americans who served in various conflicts.
