Planners Jazzed About New Orleans

New Orleans is back and better than ever, as 26 planners and guests discovered for themselves during the recent Marriott JazzFest Experience. The fam trip was held April 24-27, during the Jazz and Heritage Festival, the Crescent City's annual celebration of its legacy as the birthplace of jazz.

Five Marriott and Renaissance hotels located throughout the Big Easy - the Marriott New Orleans in the famed French Quarter and the jazz-inspired Renaissance Pere Marquette nearby; the JW Marriott Hotel New Orleans in the Central Business District; and the Renaissance Arts Hotel and the New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center in the stylish Warehouse and Arts Districts - teamed up to give trip participants a distinctive taste of New Orleans.

The Marriott group recently began offering some creative Big Easy meeting breaks - multi-sensory 30-minute, one-hour, or two-hour sessions for attendees. Break options range from cooking demonstrations for such traditional N'awlins fare as king cakes, pralines, beignets, and flaming bananas Foster, to floral-arrangement, art, and even palm-reading lessons. Participating in jazz sessions with local musicians on the saxophone and trumpet is also a popular option. Learn more at www.neworleansmarriott.com.

The fam gave planners and guests a chance to experience other regional music genres in addition to jazz: "Swamp & Stomp" featured an alligator-watching boat ride, spicy Creole cuisine, and a local Zydeco band. And on Sunday morning, a gospel breakfast was enjoyed at the New Orleans Marriott at the Convention Center. The hotel is directly across the street from the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, which offers 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space in 12 separate but combinable rooms, 140 individual meeting rooms, two ballrooms, and a new 4,000-seat conference auditorium.

To conclude their Crescent City experience, the game planners took a horse-and-buggy ride in the rain through the narrow streets of the French Quarter - the "soul" of New Orleans - to view such historic sites as the Gallier House and the Beauregard-Keyes House.

Peggy Swisher is Convene's managing editor.

San Antonio Shows Off the Heart of Its Brand

On a recent press trip, May 11-14, 16 journalists from across North America learned firsthand why San Antonio's new identity embracing the spirit of its citizens and culture is so fitting: "San Antonio. Deep. In the Heart."

The campaign features a new brand mark - a red quatrefoil, inspired by "Rose's Window" at the 18th-century Spanish-colonial Mission San Jose - which shows up throughout the city, along the world-famous River Walk, on posters, banners, and signs.

Members of the press began their tour with a breakfast cruise via Rio San Antonio Cruises down the San Antonio River, which is lined with the hotels, restaurants, shops, and clubs that make up the River Walk. A $216-million improvement project, just under way, will lengthen the walk from three to 13 miles, stretching to four Spanish-colonial missions to the south and the city's museums to the north.

New to the River Walk is the Grand Hyatt, located next to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, and featuring 115,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space (much of which overlooks the River Walk), 29 meeting rooms, and 32,000-square-foot and 21,000-square-foot ballrooms. With 1,003 guest rooms, the Grand Hyatt brings San Antonio's total guest-room count up to almost 36,000, with more than 12,500 rooms located downtown.

Just steps away from the River Walk - and, as the saying goes, not to be forgotten - is The Alamo, established in 1718 as the city's first mission. A local historian took attendees on a tour of the site where, in March of 1836, a band of Texas heroes made a last stand against the Mexican army of General Santa Ana.

In the heart of the city, attendees explored the historic Main Plaza, which recently unveiled a new façade with five colorfully lit fountains. The Main Plaza offers free lunchtime activities every day, from live mariachi music to Flamenco dancing. A visit to the graceful San Fernando Cathedral, founded in 1731, rounded out the tour of San Antonio's beautiful downtown. For more information, go to www.visit sanantonio.com.

Peggy Swisher is Convene's managing editor.

Gaylord Comes to D.C.

Situated on the Potomac River, just outside Washington, D.C., the $865-million Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center opened its doors in April. The latest addition to the Gaylord family is part of National Harbor, a sprawling mixed-use development under construction in Prince George's County, Md. The Gaylord National is anchored by a signature Gaylord atrium - this one 18 stories high and barrel-vaulted - and offers 2,000 guest rooms, 470,000 square feet of meeting, convention, and exhibit space (including a 180,000-square-foot exhibit hall and four ballrooms), a spa, and a variety of shops, restaurants, and entertainment venues, including the exclusive, two-story Posh Ultra Lounge. The facility is an easy drive from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Dulles International Airport, and Baltimore/ Washington International Airport. It's also served by a ferry service that runs between National Harbor and Mt. Vernon, Georgetown, and Old Town Alexandria, Va. For more information, visit www.gaylord national.com. - Christopher Durso