Carbondale
Carbondale tourism officials think their pleasant college town, home to Southern Illinois University, is ideal for meetings.
“We’re a place with a little bit of everything,” said Leah Stover, visitors center marketing manager for the Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau. That means meeting planners choose among venues, accommodations, restaurants and attractions to make their business meetings worthwhile.
The Carbondale Civic Center can be rented whole or broken down into six smaller private conference rooms. Several major chain hotels nearby serve meeting attendees.
The university’s SIU Student Center Ballroom is another convenient meeting option. It, too, can be configured in a variety of ways to meet planners’ needs. Planners can also opt for the Garden Grove Event Center, which has a space called the Loft for meetings and events. Just outside is a delightful garden patio and waterfall that accommodates 300 people.
“Our downtown district has a lot of unique restaurants and a nice entertainment scene,” said Stover. “We’re also the gateway to the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, with 12 wineries that grow grapes and bottle wine, a huge attraction in our area.”
Meeting attendees wanting to get outdoors can organize trips to nearby Giant City State Park and its nature trails along ancient sandstone bluffs. Rappelling, zip lining, horseback riding, fishing and other activities offer recreational and team-building opportunities. Golf is big there, as are summer festivals, sunset concerts and the arts scene.
