Cvent’s Jackson meeting planning guide is an extensive city guide for Jackson meeting planners. Meeting space in Jackson, the capital of Mississippi, naturally benefits from the flow of business that is part of government, but the city is also well known for numerous universities that keep the city young, and its arts pedigree. The USA International Ballet Competition, for example, has been held in Jackson every four years since 1978, and is worth groups inquiring about should they be meeting during its stay.
Jackson-Evers International Airport (JAN) is a domestic airport served by American Eagle, Continental, Delta, Southwest and US Airways Express. Five miles east of the city center, the farthest city west that it serves is Houston, Texas.
The Jackson Convention Complex, one of the largest venues in Jackson, has 330,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 382-seat theater, a 25,000-square-foot ballroom and 33,000 square feet of lobby and reception space.
Hotel venues in Jackson include the 303-room Jackson Marriott Downtown, which has 33,000 square feet of meeting space; the 276-room Hilton Jackson Hotel & Convention Center, which has 30,000 square feet of meeting space; the grand, landmark, 180-room Hilton Garden Inn Jackson Downtown, which was formerly the historic King Edward Hotel that lay dormant for 40 years before 2009 but now has 7,000 square feet of meeting space; and the 147-room Regency Hotel & Conference Center, which has 20,000 square feet of meeting space. A boutique choice is the 24-room Old Capital Inn, which has themed rooms (Elvis Presley or William Faulkner?) and a 5,000-square-foot ballroom, among other meeting space.
Ideas for off-site functions include The Commons, the house in which the American writer Eudora Welty was born and lived in for most of her life; it has oodles of Southern charm, a coffee shop, a bookstore and a wonderful garden. Other choices include the Mississippi Museum of Art, right in downtown, which has event space for up to 600 persons; Thalia Mara Hall, which has 2,362 seats (and hosts that ballet competition); Mississippi e-Center, part of Jackson State University, which has a conference center, among other event space; and the Mississippi Coliseum, on the site of the Mississippi Fairgrounds, which has space for up to 6,500 persons.
Southern and soul-food restaurants stand out, but there also are fine-dining venues in Jackson as well. Three choices in the first category include the Chimneyville Smokehouse, which has a railroad motif and informal atmosphere, Country Fisherman, which has space for groups of up to 40 persons, and spacious Hal & Mal's Restaurant & Brewery, which has room for 600 persons. Two selections in the second category are Julep, which still nods to the region's cuisine and has legions of fans for its fried chicken, and Olga's Fine Dining, which mixes regional fare with Russian dishes.
