Meetings and Events City Profiles

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Population: About 720,000

Nearest airport: Dallas-Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW)

Conventions centers/Large event spaces:
Fort Worth Convention Center
1201 Houston Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102

Overview and highlights:
Often called "Cowtown," Fort Worth has long cited its cowboys and culture among its virtues. The nation's 17th-largest city has been experiencing phenomenal growth, resulting in the addition of many exciting new hotels and restaurants.

>> The 614-room Omni Fort Worth Hotel boasts 68,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 18,788-squarefoot Texas Ballroom and the 9,576-square-foot Fort Worth Ballroom, and another 6,500 square feet in outdoor space.
817.255.9300

>> The 431-room Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel and Spa is also just steps from the convention center and faces the Water Gardens, a serene place for a little time-out between functions. For meetings, there's a total of 22,000 square feet with flexible arrangements, plus all the catering and audiovisual services you require. What's more, there's a Shula's 347 Grill and an 8,000-square-foot spa with treatment rooms and studios for yoga and Pilates.
817.335.7000

>> The charming Ashton Hotel, located on the bricks of Main Street, stands as Fort Worth's sole representative in the prestigious Historic Hotels of America collection, and remains one of the city's finest examples of Italianate architecture. It offers three meeting venues that work for groups of 10 to 150. Café Ashton remains delicious and is still the place to see and be seen for afternoon tea.
817.332.0100

>> Grace is a lavish downtown restaurant where the menu offers all-natural beef and veal Milanese. Diners will delight in the floor-to-ceiling, glass-fronted wine room and groups will feel at home in four separate event spaces. Together the rooms seating a total of 110 people and offer high-tech audio-visual capabilities, including 52-inch plasma screens and wireless Internet connection.
817.877.3388

>> Buttons, '70s-inspired restaurant and music venue, is the creation of acclaimed local Chef Keith Hicks and his signature upscale Southern comfort cuisine is showcased. The 6,900-square-foot space also includes an exhibition kitchen, a stage and dance floor, plus a full-service bar.
817.735.4900

>> Don't miss the best-kept secret in the museum-filled Cultural District: Foch Street. Here you can find a collection of independently owned businesses that include La Familia Mexican Restaurant, which is known for its "flaming fajitas" and J'Rae's Bakery, which bakes some of the best cupcakes this side of New York City.
La Familia Mexican Restaurant // 817.870.2002
J. Rae's Bakery // 817.332.0090

For more information:

Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau // 800.433.5747

This article has been re-edited for the Web. Article originally by June Naylor.