Lubbock for Groups

Stars--from musical performers to stellar bodies--join fine wines to draw groups to the Panhandle city of Lubbock. This community was the home of musician Buddy Holly and today remembers the late performer at along Buddy Holly Avenue and at the Buddy Holly Center, located in the former Ft. Worth and Denver Train Depot. The historic building is available for group use and includes the Buddy Holly Gallery, with a permanent exhibit on the Lubbock resident's career, the Fine Arts Gallery, filled with contemporary art, and the Texas Musicians Hall of Fame, with changing exhibits on the music history of the Lone Star State, especially West Texas. Groups of up to 415 may be booked indoors; a courtyard can also be booked for a capacity of 250.

The Buddy Holly Center is often just a part of a full evening's worth of entertainment planned for groups in downtown Lubbock. "The Center is in the Depot District, filled with small bars and restaurants. We always suggest an event at the Buddy Holly Center then for groups to go to the Cactus Theater for shows," points out Gena Godinez, director of sales for the Lubbock CVB. "They do Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies revues, and it's always a huge hit. After the show, attendees can stay in the Depot District and visit all the nightspots."

Or, if your attendees are looking for stars of another type, the Science Spectrum and OMNI Theater focuses on science, especially space travel. Air travel of a nearer sort draws many groups to one of the city's newest attractions, the Silent Wings Museum, located at the airport. "The Silent Wings Museum is dedicated to the men who flew in the glider program in World War II," notes Godinez. "It's located in the old terminal building, and they've done an excellent job with it and made it very high tech. It tells the history of the glider program which is fairly unknown."

Today's air arrivals find easy connection to the city through Southwest, American, Continental, and Delta airlines. In fact, Godinez cites "the ease of transportation to the city, with the airport less than 10 minutes from downtown" as one of the city's top selling points to meeting planners. "Also, the facilities are very centralized and very affordable." Meeting planners also find that the city is home to the 300,000-square-foot Lubbock Memorial Civic Center.

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