Last year, our Convention Center hosted more than 320 events and welcomed over 612,000 guests, both visitors and locals alike. How’d they do it? One event at a time! Take into consideration this past October:
The month opened with new a new convention for our coastal city, the American Quilters Society (AQS). AQS is a global organization of quilters. Some of the finest quilts in country were on display, workshops were held and vendors offered the latest in quilting supplies and technology. Several thousand quilters traveled from across the U.S. to attend this inaugural Virginia Beach show.
Week Two of October brought in the 2018 American Commonwealth Region Conference where each day, approximately 3,000 people day worshiped in contemporary style. Attendees stayed in our city’s hotels and dined in our restaurants.
Week Three was a whirlwind of activity starting with the 2018 Christian Counseling & Education Foundation Annual Conference. Nearly 2,000 attendees convened from all over the U.S. to reunite and learn how to help individuals deal with crises in their hometowns.
Entertainment is always top of mind for seniors who travel, and October 9 & 11 were no exception. The Tourism & Group division’s sales team booked 15 motor coaches, which generated 800 room nights, for the “Under the Boardwalk” event featuring Jimmy Buffet covers and dinner in the Convention Center’s ballroom.
The end of the month brought the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 2018 Public Procurement Forum, a gathering of almost 1,000 state employees who procure products and services for the state government.
Rounding out October were several dozen other events and activities of all types and sizes. While some of these were private affairs, many of them were open to the public – demonstrating that the beautiful structure on 19th Street isn’t just a convention center, it’s a hub for our community as well.