Happy Chinese New Year!
May Fortune and Friends favor you in the Lunar New Year of the Dog.
Gong Xi Fa Cai!
More Great Destination Coverage for Virginia Beach
The CVB Marketing Communications team worked with the Cavalier PR team on an opportunity with Thrillist (UVPM: 6M) around an urban renewal story which ran this week. In the article “8 AMERICAN CITIES GETTING BIG, EXCITING URBAN OVERHAULS THIS YEAR”, Virginia Beach was featured alongside other destinations such as Baton Rouge, Long Beach, Orlando, Columbia, SC, and St. Louis. CVB shared potential plans to redevelop the dome site and that there may be other developments in the area, however, the journalist pulled public information from stories that were already live on The Virginian Pilot. It’s a great story that ends with “Look for Virginia Beach within a few years to be considered a primo American beach destination, a jewel on one of the country’s most underrated stretches of coast.”
Also this week our coastal city made Travelpulse’s list of The 25 Best Beaches in the U.S., joining other beach destinations found in Florida, California and Hawaii, among others. TravelPulse.com, part of the travAlliancemedia network of products, is a leading resource for the latest travel news, offers, and videos. Interested in seeing all the winners? Click here for the full story and a photo of each destination.
M&C Hits Chicago!
The M&C Team conducted a Chicago Sales Mission this week!
Lisa and Todd conducted sales appointments with notable organizations like Common – IBM Users Group, The American Veterinary Medical Association, The Association of Nutrition and Food Service Professionals, the International Sanitary Supply Association all of which have opportunity for Virginia Beach. And the finale was a presentation and lunch for the Chicago Experient Office which manages many meeting organizations and group business!
Polar Plunge Setup
Here are some pics from Polar Plunge setup on Friday morning, Feb. 2. We had rain, sleet, and then snow. Local students plunged Friday afternoon with Cool School Challenge – the air was about 37 degrees (with a wind chill in the 20’s), which means the 38-degree ocean was warmer than the air!
VBCC Activity This Weekend
Just another routine weekend at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. This week we’ve been loading in over 200 boats, over 40 spas, assorted patio furniture, two airplanes, a vintage Jaguar and an antique army jeep.
Virginia Beach featured in Top-Tier Travel Publication
January and the beginning of February proved lucrative for Virginia Beach on a global scale thanks to the efforts of CVB Public Relations Director Charli Sharp. Charli secured interest from Travel + Leisure (T+L) magazine which resulted in great placement of two different features on our coastal city.
The first placement highlights Virginia Beach alongside domestic and international beach destinations in “Here Are 365 Beaches – One for Every Day in 2018.” This visually stunning piece is short on content but heavy on captivating images. Click here and look for a familiar site between Wailea Beach, Hawaii, and Seven Seas Beach, Puerto Rico.
The second feature is timed perfectly as we lead up to Restaurant Week 2018 (Feb. 19-25). In the online article “Free Things to Do in February Across the U.S. and Around the World,” Virginia Beach Restaurant Week was included within the “Foodie February” section of the story, along with destinations recognized for their outstanding culinary scenes such as New York, Denver and Santa Fe. Virginia Beach is the only city listed which is offering breakfast, lunch and dinner deals this year. Read all about it here.
T+L is a top-tier travel publication that serves as a one-stop resource for sophisticated travelers who crave travel tips, news and information about the most exciting destinations in the world. With a reach of 2 million, T+L is available in both print and digital format.
Congratulations, Charli, for the great work in getting the word out on a global scale about two more reasons why Virginia Beach is “The Greatest City in the World.”
VBCC’s Executive Chef Desiree Neal’s Submission to Centerplate was Selected!
VBCC’s Executive Chef Desiree Neal’s submission to Centerplate was selected as one of four from across the country to be served at the company’s annual meeting in Raleigh this year.
The Crispy Ahi Tuna & Scallion Potato Waffle action station was actually tested on CVB members at the Meet the Neighbors party last September.
This chef action station requires assembling in front of guests by rolling the ahi tuna in tempura flakes and topping with caper aioli and micro greens. The protein is then served on top of a scallion potato waffle quarter.
Centerplate provides service in 40 convention centers across the country as well as NFL stadia, MLB ballparks and NBA arenas. Our own Beth Williamson, MBA, was selected as the top convention center manager companywide in 2015.
Congratulations Chef Desiree!
Tower Cafe is No Longer
If you’ve been to VBCC lately you’ll notice some construction work in the tower café. This space has been underutilized for years and is in the process of being transitioned to a more usable space. Demolition is complete and the former concession stand and wood floor have been removed. A new subfloor has been poured which will eventually receive carpet. The new space will be complete with a more usable food service display area and pantry for food service storage. We intend to use the space more for tastings, small meal functions and meetings or receptions. Work should be complete in May.
Updated CVB Logo
A quick heads up that the CVB has an updated corporate logo to align with our current branding—please see attached for the logo in a few file formats. We’ll get these added to Barberstock, but wanted to keep you all in the loop should you have a need for this in the near future.
