GROUP TOUR VIRGINIA 2019 VIRG NIA PATRIOTIC& PRESIDENTIAL HANDCRAFTED ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT JUST ADD WATER RETAIL THERAPY Rockin’ The October Boardwalk 13 –16 ,2020 GOOD TIMES YOU WANT TO SHOW THEM ARE INEVITABLE AMERICA. START AT THE BEGINNING. Williamsburg, VA was ranked as a Top 10 Student Travel Destination by SYTA The past comes alive at the world’s largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg. Travel back in time with your group to the 18th century, and experience the dawn of America. Learn how things were made, discover what the culture was all about and feel the passion of the people who turned a colony into a country. SPECIAL SAVINGS FOR GROUPS OF 15 OR MORE. To begin planning your journey to the past, BRING YOUR GROUP TOUR TO LIFE. call 1-800-228-8878, [email protected], or visit colonialwilliamsburg.com/grouptours Hands-on experiences and uncommon access offered exclusively for groups. • TAKE TIME TO GO BACK • Plan your group’s Live the Life Adventure at VisitVirginiaBeach.com/GroupTour. © 2018 The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 1/18 TIS-12650858 Rockin’ The October Boardwalk 13 –16 ,2020 GOOD TIMES YOU WANT TO SHOW THEM ARE INEVITABLE AMERICA. START AT THE BEGINNING. Williamsburg, VA was ranked as a Top 10 Student Travel Destination by SYTA The past comes alive at the world’s largest living history museum, Colonial Williamsburg. Travel back in time with your group to the 18th century, and experience the dawn of America. Learn how things were made, discover what the culture was all about and feel the passion of the people who turned a colony into a country. SPECIAL SAVINGS FOR GROUPS OF 15 OR MORE. To begin planning your journey to the past, BRING YOUR GROUP TOUR TO LIFE. call 1-800-228-8878, [email protected], or visit colonialwilliamsburg.com/grouptours Hands-on experiences and uncommon access offered exclusively for groups. • TAKE TIME TO GO BACK • Plan your group’s Live the Life Adventure at VisitVirginiaBeach.com/GroupTour. © 2018 The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation 1/18 TIS-12650858 EDITOR’S NOTE 2465 112th Ave., Holland, MI 49424 800-767-3489 • fax: 616-393-0085 grouptour.com FALL IN LOVE Publisher WITH VIRGINIA ELLY DEVRIES • President Editorial COURTNEY BIRCHMEIER • Editor in Chief DAVID HOEKMAN There’s no doubt about it; groups • Managing Editor love Virginia. And this year, groups CORTNEY ERNDT can celebrate #50YearsOfLove in • Associate Editor honor of the “Virginia is for Lovers” KELSEY SMITH • Associate Editor slogan’s 50th anniversary. While planning out this year’s Art guide, I caught up with Joni Johnson, MARK DRYER • Art Director director of domestic sales & market- GABRIELLE ALEMAN-GORDON ing with Virginia Tourism Corp., to • Graphic Designer discuss what’s new in the Common- wealth this year. You can read more Audience Development of my interview on page 6. CINDY FISH “In 2019, we’re celebrating 50 • Audience Development Director Years of Love, in honor of our ‘Virginia BETHANY VANDER KOLK KELSEY SMITH • Circulation Coordinator ASSOCIATE EDITOR is for Lovers’ slogan, with special ex- periences across the state,” she said. Marketing “I invite groups to discover their love BEN DEVRIES [email protected] for Virginia’s mountains, beaches, his- • Marketing Director RADONNA LARANJA @KELSEYGROUPTOUR tory, wine, craft beer and hospitality.” • Sales & Marketing Assistant On a tour through Virginia, groups will find vibrant cities, coastal Administration getaways, outdoor thrills and plenty JIM BOWSER • Webmaster of patriotic adventures. KIM KRAKER • Accounting Inside, find tour inspiration and Advertising ideas for your group, ranging from ALAN LININGER presidential tours to shopping desti- • [email protected] nations. 717-778-8056 I invite you to flip through the pages of Group Tour Virginia and dis- cover all there is to love. GROUP TOUR MEDIA, 800-767-3489, GROUPTOUR.COM WHAT’S INSIDE THANK YOU TO Q&A OUR ADVERTISING 6 VIRGINIA TOURISM CORP. PARTNERS AT A GLANCE 7 BRISTOL ARLINGTON CONVENTION & VISITOR SERVICE 38 STAYARLINGTON.COM HANDCRAFTED BEDFORD AREA OFFICE OF TOURISM 17 8 CRAFT BREWS AND ART VISITBEDFORD.COM CHINCOTEAGUE CHAMBER FEEL THE RHYTHM OF COMMERCE 30 AT A GLANCE 25 EXPLORE VIRGINIA’S CHINCOTEAGUECHAMBER.COM 13 LYNCHBURG MUSICAL HERITAGE COLONIAL WILLIAMSBURG FOUNDATION 3 COLONIALWILLIAMSBURG.COM AT A GLANCE FREDERICKSBURG TOURISM 11 ALTITUDE VISITFRED.COM 14 ADJUSTMENT 26 NORFOLK JAMESTOWN - YORKTOWN FOUNDATION 21 ELEVATE YOUR HISTORYISFUN.ORG GROUP EXPERIENCES JUST ADD WATER MONTGOMERY REGIONAL TOURISM 35 27 AQUATIC ADVENTURES GOTOMONTVA.COM AT A GLANCE NATIONAL ARMY MUSEUM 21 ARMYHISTORY.ORG 19 WILLIAMSBURG AT A GLANCE NAUTICUS, THE NATIONAL 31 ALEXANDRIA MARITIME CENTER 9 NAUTICUS.ORG PATRIOTIC PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY/HISTORIC 20 & PRESIDENTIAL RETAIL THERAPY PRESERVATION DIVISION 15 LET FREEDOM RING 32 BROWSE VIRGINIA’S DISCOVERPWM.COM AT HISTORIC SITES VIBRANT SHOPPING SCENE SUFFOLK DIVISION OF TOURISM 17 SUFFOLK-FUN.COM THE MARINERS MUSEUM AND PARK 30 MARINERSMUSEUM.ORG VIRGINIA BEACH CVB 2 VISITVIRGINIABEACH.COM VISIT LOUDOUN 9 WWW.VISITLOUDOUN.ORG WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS 29 WOLFTRAP.ORG WYTHEVILLE CVB 23 VISITWYTHEVILLE.COM Q & VIRGINIA MONTICELLO, CHARLOTTESVILLE “ PLANA AN History buffs, craft-beer enthusiasts and artists can all find IS WHERE UNFORGETTABLE something to celebrate in Virginia. From presidential homes to high peaks TOUR WITH and breathtaking sights, Virginia has an adventure for every group. AMERICA VIRGINIA Joni Johnson, director of domestic sales & marketing with Virginia Tourism Corp., gave Associate Editor Kelsey Smith the inside scoop on TOURISM CORP. everything groups can experience in Virginia. WAS BORN... ” Q. What can groups experience Q. How should a tour operator go about creating a Virginia tour? in Virginia? A. Contact Virginia Tourism for complimentary assistance with A. Virginia offers unparalleled itinerary planning and to be connected with key industry contacts history, heritage, cultural and statewide. Visit virginia.org/groups for inspiration with single- and performing arts experiences, multi-day itineraries, student performance venues, maps, experience outdoor adventures, and exciting suggestions, group-friendly business contacts and a toolkit. culinary and craft beverages for JONI JOHNSON you to customize and design an Q. What are some common tour themes in Virginia that operators DIRECTOR OF unforgettable tour experience. can build from? DOMESTIC SALES & MARKETING Q. What makes Virginia unique? A. History: Virginia is where America was born — now more than 400 years ago — and is also home to civil rights, and Revolutionary A. Virginia’s historic sites are incomparable. America’s first and Civil War history. permanent English-speaking settlement was at Jamestown. Our Trails: Try The Crooked Road music trail or the Civil Rights in country gained its independence at nearby Yorktown. Colonial Education Heritage Trail. Nature trails highlight birding and wildlife, Williamsburg has been one of the top historical destinations in and there’s also the Fields of Gold Farm Trail, and wine, craft beer America for generations. Presidential homes, such as George and oyster trails. Washington’s Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Theater, music and the arts: Enjoy entertainment at a dinner greet visitors in surprising new ways. theater, drama under the stars, old-time music in a general store and There are hundreds of miles of lookouts over spectacular drums of the Virginia International Tattoo. scenery on Virginia’s Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway, Educational: From Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to Busch which ride the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Gardens, Virginia has the perfect mix of education and fun! n VIRGINIA TOURISM CORP., 804-545-5544, VIRGINIA.ORG/GROUPS FROM TOP: ISTOCK, VIRGINIA TOURISM CORP. 6 GROUP TOUR VIRGINIA 2019 AT A GLANCE BRISTOL SEE IT ALL Bristol is built on sound: engines revving, fiddles singing and the silence of the outdoors. Downtown buzzes with live music and the outdoors quietly await just beyond. Nestled in the Appalachian Mountains and surrounded by scenic South Holston Lake and the Holston River, Bristol is the birthplace of country music and home of the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” — Bristol Motor Speedway. Discover Bristol, 423-989-4850, discoverbristol.org LISTEN The Birthplace of Country Music Museum, a Smithsonian-affiliated museum, opened back in 2014 and FROM THE EXPERT COURTNEY CACATIAN honors Bristol’s musical roots, which began with the historic 1927 Bristol Sessions. The museum offers a state-of-the-art, interactive multimedia experience charged with making history come alive. Special guided tours are available for groups. 423-573-1927, birthplaceofcountrymusic.org RACE Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway, on the Tennessee side, hosts NASCAR events in April and August. In- depth, behind-the-scenes track tours are available for groups. Visitors can climb the famous high banks of Bristol’s track and even sign it; experience the excitement of Victory Lane; and explore Thunder Valley, the speedway’s famous drag strip. 423-989-6960, bristolmotorspeedway.com/fans/tours BRISTOL BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY AND DRAGWAY EXPLORE Virginia has such an Historic downtown features unique gems including the array of experiences to offer Bristol Train Station, the Paramount Center for the Arts, and “ groups, whether it’s the solemn locally owned restaurants and shops. Any journey to Bristol experience of watching the should start on State Street. Tennessee and Virginia are Changing of the Guard at divided by brass markers and it’s the ultimate photo op. Arlington National Cemetery Discover Bristol, 423-989-4850, discoverbristol.org or taking in the scenery with wild ponies at your side at EAT Grayson Highlands State Park or Assateague Island, or Burger Bar, a favorite burger joint among locals, is discovering the roots of country forever linked to Hank Williams as it’s allegedly the last place music here in Bristol. the country music legend was known to be alive. A group dining room, owned and operated by Burger Bar, is located Cacatian is the executive” next door and is available for groups of up to 80.