O’Fallon and Belleville, Illinois
Eighteen miles east of downtown St. Louis, the city of O’Fallon isn’t St. Clair County’s largest community (Belleville is), but it’s seeing some big developments. The 20,000-square-foot Regency Conference Center is adjacent to a 128-room Hilton Garden Inn, but developers also plan to build another hotel next to the Regency, Krankeola said.
The city will also be home to the new McKendree Metro Rec Plex, a full-service sports and event complex slated to open in December. In addition to two NHL-size ice rinks and an aquatic center with a 10-lane pool, the center will have several rooms for private events, company retreats and even group workouts. The facility can host conventions, presentations and special events because “they’ll be able to convert the ice rink to a solid floor,” Krankeola said.
In Belleville, groups can gather at one of Bellecourt Banquet Center’s two locations: Bellecourt Place, with two dining rooms for 25 to 150 guests, or Bellecourt Manor, with 10,000 square feet of meeting space that can seat up to 350 people. The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is an outdoor shrine and 200-acre retreat with a 78-room hotel, a restaurant and a 10,000-square-foot banquet and event center.
In nearby Fairview Heights, the 119-room Four Points by Sheraton has nearly 10,000 square feet of flexible function space in 11 meeting rooms, the largest an 8,500-square-foot ballroom.
www.illinoisouth.org
Evanston, Illinois
Chicago’s North Shore communities hug Lake Michigan just north of the city, and the area’s beauty and Cape Cod-like feeling often surprise visitors who may expect heavy-industry ports and piers. Evanston, 12 miles north of downtown Chicago on the lakefront, is the largest North Shore city and home to the renowned Northwestern University.
On campus, groups can meet in several facilities, including any of the 14 meeting rooms at Norris University Center. Downtown, the 269-room Hilton Orrington/Evanston has more than 26,000 square feet of event space, including an IACC-certified conference center on the ninth floor and additional event space on the second floor. The 178-room Hilton Garden Inn Chicago North Shore has more than 5,000 square feet of function space, and the Holiday Inn Chicago North-Evanston offers another 6,380 square feet.
Groups can enjoy the scenic drive on Sheridan Road, which follows the curves of Lake Michigan, and stop at sites along the way. The Bahá’í House of Worship is one of only seven Bahá’í temples in the world and the only one in the Western Hemisphere. Like all Bahá’í temples, it has nine sides, and its snow-white dome rises above groomed gardens. Docent-led tours of the temple are free.
Farther south on Sheridan Road, the 1873 Grosse Point Lighthouse is open seasonally for tours, and the 1894 lakefront mansion of former U.S. Vice President Charles Gates Dawes offers group tours and can accommodate seated meals for 70 or receptions for 150 guests.
www.visitchicagonorthshore.com
