Cincinnati USA's October Familiarization Tour

The October Fam Tour is, by far, my favorite. Those who love sports would beg to differ, as they would prefer the Spring Fam Tours when the guests of the CVB dine on the Bengals 50 yard line in Paul Brown Stadium, which has a charm of its own. But, the Fine Arts Fam Tour strikes a wonderous chord in its sheer beauty. Let's begin our journey through the day's events.

It always begins at Jean Robert's retaurant, Pigalls, where the guests dine in unpretentious elegance on sumptuous courses, the names of which I cannot begin to pronounce.





After dinner, the group boarded a touring bus and took a ride around downtown. There was a brief stop at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.



This following photo is the eternal flame, seen across the Ohio River from Kentucky, from which slaves were secreted to Ohio to gain their freedom.





After a brief rest from a filling dinner at Pigalls followed by the city tour, the guests gathered at the Duke Energy Center, Cincinnati's primiere convention center, and visited with representatives from local government and the hospitality industry. Of course, the main attraction was the food.







While the guests were being entertained at DEC, I made my way over to Music Hall to get some photos before the guests arrived. When they entered the beautiful Hall, they were amazed at what they saw.









And, behind the curtain an elegant and intimate setting for dining.









Their evening at the Music Hall afforded them an opportunity to feast on a sampling of the arts. The first sample was the ballet. Val Liberatore, Dean of the Otto M. Budig Academy of the Cincinnati Ballet, introduced three wonderful students of the Academy who gave the guests a marvelous and impressive performance (pieces from the Nutcrack,er, if I recall correctly).













(If you want to see some of the other dance photos, just click on one of the photos above to be taken to Flickr.)

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra assistant conductor Vince Lee introduced the musicians, both of whom performed with french horns.





The opera was likewise represented. The young man's voice filled the Hall.





This will be an evening these folks will long remember.

Women's Health Conference

This past Saturday, women from the greater Cincinnati area came to the 5th Annual Women's Health Experience, where they heard from local medical experts talk about feeling great and staying healthy.


Founders, Mona and Dr. Karram


Dr. Karram, Mona, and Carol Williams (of WCPO, Channel 9)


Cincinnati Sports Club offered free sessions.




Winning Guidance, Healing Touch


Complimentary make-overs by Christian Dior

Mona addresses the luncheon crowd and introduces Carol Williams of WCPO.


Carol Williams


The luncheon was very well attended.


One of the main attractions of the luncheon was a fashion show.








Keynote speaker, Dr. Barbara Levy


Carol Williams moderates a panel discussion.

Cincinnati USA's June Familiarization Tour

The CincinnatiUSA team and various CVB members, including Jean-Robert, Accent on Cincinnati, Crown Charters, Duke Energy Center, and others, are tirelessly working to encourage meeting planners from across the country to strongly consider Cincinnati as their meeting destination. One of the ways this is being accomplished are the More in 24 Familiarization Tours.

The second Familiarization Tour of 2008 hosted nine meeting planners from across the country. At noon the guests arrived with their escorts to there first stop of the day, Jean Robert at Pigalls, where the guests were treated to an exquisite dining experience in one of Cincinnati's finest restaurants.

At 1:30 sharp, dinner (lunch, if you are from the North) concluded and the guests boarded a deluxe touring bus provided by Crown Charters.


Harriet, the very competent and hopitable tour guide, enthusiastically greets everyone with a big smile and wave of the hand. (Truth is: she didn't want me to take her picture!)

The tour bus, after taking a drive around a couple of the downtown blocks, took the guests to the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

The Freedom Center tour guide was superb.

If any of the participants caught his name, please let me know, as he should be recognized.

By four o'clock everyone was hungry again. The timing for said hunger could not have been more perfect as it was time for the guests to experience a Cincinnati dining tradition, Skyline Chili.

At 5:30, after the guests had a brief break in the hotel rooms to nap and freshen up, there was a reception in the Duke Energy Center, where, to no one's surprise, was a spread to titillate the senses. Check out the desserts. Ovations, the official caterer at the Center, deserves a standing ovation for their artistic display of culinary delights.

Barrie Perks, VP at Cincinnati USA, for reasons yet undetermined, began to have a meltdown.

Marc Edwards of the Millenium Hotel tells Barrie, "Get a grip, man!"

Don Roesch of Prestige Audio Visual converses with a couple of the out-of-town guests.

The next stop, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the guests were entertained at Paul Brown Stadium's Players Lounge (the planned dinner on the football field was changed to indoors due to inclement weather).

If you are a meeting planner, it would behoove you to contact CincinnatiUSA and reserve your spot for the next Fam Tour and experience Midwestern hospitality unlike you have ever experienced it before.