Kalamazoo Travel and Things to Do Guide

Welcome to Cvent's Meeting and Event Planning Guide to Kalamazoo – a city guide for meeting professionals. From its exciting downtown with countless leisure activities to its convenient location midway between Chicago and Detroit, Kalamazoo is a fantastic meeting destination that is bursting with energy, innovation and charm. Home to Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo College, Davenport University, Cornerstone University and Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kalamazoo is undoubtedly a center of higher learning and hub for life science with big-city benefits and a small-town feel. What's more, it sits less than an hour from Lake Michigan and within easy reach of 20 area golf courses and other outdoor recreation activities. When it comes to getting down to business, Kalamazoo can accommodate groups of up to 3,000 people in its thousands of square feet of meeting and event space, which range from ballrooms and restaurants to hands-on art centers and historic sites.
Conveniently set at the crossroads of I-94 and U.S. 131, Kalamazoo sits less than two hours from Chicago, a short distance from nearby ski resorts and about a 15-minute drive from the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport. Complete with a new terminal that opened in 2011, the airport flies hundreds of passengers each day to major hubs with worldwide connections, as well as provides nonstop service to Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Atlanta. Passengers can easily hop aboard regional Metro Transit bus service from the airport, as well as navigate downtown Kalamazoo aboard Metro Transit buses. Kalamazoo's historic downtown transportation center houses Amtrak and Greyhound service, making it easy for delegates to get to and from Kalamazoo, as well as explore the surrounding region.
Downtown Kalamazoo is also home to the AAA 4 Diamond Radisson Plaza Hotel & Suites Kalamazoo, which features 44,000 square feet of meeting and event space and accommodates gatherings of up to 1,000 people. The 340-room downtown Kalamazoo hotel anchors the Kalamazoo Mall, the first outdoor pedestrian shopping mall in the U.S., and sits near Bronson Park, which features outdoor concerts and seasonal events. Event spaces include two 10,000-square-foot ballrooms, a 70-person seminar theater, 22 separate meeting rooms, two executive boardrooms and two hospitality suites; while meeting amenities include a dedicated conference services team, and on-site audio-visual, technology and catering services. In between meetings, delegates can enjoy the hotel's four restaurants, two shops, a spa salon, business center and 11,000-square-foot Kalamazoo Athletic Club. Several private dining spaces are also available.
In addition to its sprawling Radisson Plaza & Suites Kalamazoo, this Michigan business and leisure destination is home to a range of unique venues perfectly outfitted for group gatherings and teambuilding. A sampling of these venues includes the nearby Air Zoo, an aviation and space museum cum amusement park, complete with a 3D/4D theater, full-motion flight simulators, indoor rides, more than 50 rare aircraft and event space for up to 1,500 people. The nearby Gilmore Car Museum, ranked among the top five automobile museums in the country, welcomes groups to hold events in its restored barns, 1940s diner, multi-media theater and other unique spaces, while the grand W.K. Kellogg Manor House, the former residence of philanthropist and cereal magnate W.K. Kellogg, has been restored to its original 1920s grandeur and now functions as a dedicated event space. Team building opportunities abound at the hands-on West Michigan Glass Art Center, which welcomes groups to create pendants, beads, tiles and suncatchers, as well as the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, which houses its very own art school complete with group-friendly 2D and 3D classes in photography, pastels, ceramics, precious metal clay and more.