From Hershey, the “Sweetest Place on Earth,” to the Poconos Mountains Visitors Bureau’s brand pillars of “ease, authenticity and refreshment,” Pennsylvania's historic destinations leverage strategic messaging—and defining venues and experiences—as strong calls to action for memorable meetings and events.

Event planner Christa Mekki, founder and senior planner at Magnetic Magnificent Events, was one of the first to experience the brand-new Kentucky International Convention Center (KICC). Meetings Today reached out to Mekki for her take on the reimagined convention center.

Innovation is requisite for staying ahead in the convention business. It’s second nature for Las Vegas, and it’s also the watchword for reinvention in convention markets around the U.S.

Easily extending D.C.’s influence as a culinary hot spot, neighboring Northern Virginia offers wide-ranging epicurean experiences for groups. From homegrown and globally influenced cuisine to nationally ranked craft breweries and internationally acclaimed wineries, the region has all the ingredients for full-flavored meetings and events.

Meetings Today Senior Contributor Jeff Heilman spoke with Lori Glennon, executive director of sales, Valley Forge Casino Resort, Prussia, Pennsylvania, about the hotel’s capabilities for hosting events.

Hosting the annual Army-Navy football game for the 88th time, partners led by the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau (PHLCVB) dedicated sports division (PHL Sports) executed the event with customary operational precision. Valley Forge’s leadership, closely identifying with its legacy, prioritizes winning group outcomes. For meetings and events, it’s win-win defined.

Minutes from Faneuil Hall in the heart of the Financial District, the landmark Ames Boston Hotel is among America’s most distinctive structures. Completed in 1893, this Romanesque-Byzantine sandstone treasure was Boston’s first skyscraper. Converted into a hotel in 2009, this 114-room European-style charmer is a Hilton Curio property and part of Benchmark Hospitality’s Gemstone Collection.

Noelle Stevenson is vice president at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Office of Film, Music and Entertainment’s “Film, Music, Fashion & Create” program.

Here’s an overview of newly opened hotel and event venues in Las Vegas for 2019, as well as a look at upcoming renovations and projects underway throughout this year and beyond.

“Watch us roar in ’94!” proclaimed MGM Hotels Inc. with the December 1993 opening of the second MGM Grand. Featuring a massive indoor Wizard of Oz attraction, MGM founder Kirk Kerkorian’s emerald green vision (the original 1973 MGM Grand became Bally’s) was the world’s largest hotel-casino, with 5,000-plus rooms and 158,000 square feet of convention space.