Plenty to Plan your Group’s Greater Fayetteville (NC) Adventure in 2016

Greater Fayetteville (NC) –   There's plenty to keep your group happy in Fayetteville and  Cumberland County during 2015.   Here's five ideas for your group:                                                        

NATURE ESCAPE

Enjoy lunch and explore over 2,000 ornamental plants at the 78 acre Cape Fear Botanical Garden.   A favorite guided adult tour and workshop, the "Heritage Farm Life," explores daily life at the turn of the century on a typical southeastern North Carolina farm. Highlights include the Garden's tobacco barn, other buildings, and a take-a-way from your workshop.  The trails are flat, and peak season is fall. 

Visit between September 2016 and January 2017 and your group will enjoy a special exhibit, Nature Connects, which was inspired by nature and built from half-a-million LEGO® pieces. The larger-than-life sculptures such as a tiger swallowtail butterfly, an 8 foot hummingbird and a 7-foot rose will be installed throughout the  garden.   The display is included in the garden admission.

Following lunch, bring your group on a guided Cape Fear River tour.

HISTORIC ESTATE TOUR

Visit Carvers Creek State Park in Spring Lake during the 100th Anniversary year of the North Carolina State Park System. .  Here your group will tour Long Valley Farm,  James Stillman Rockefeller's winter estate.   Carvers Creek State Park is home to the unique Long Leaf Pine Ecosystem. This environment is home to the federally endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker.

PATRIOTS: PAST & PRESENT

Learn the history of the US Army Airborne from Test Platoon (1940) to present day at the US Army Airborne & Special Operations Museum.   On the grounds is the world's first memorial to Special Operations Dogs killed in action called "Constant Vigilance," and Iron Mike, a 16-ft iconic statue of an Airborne trooper. Select other sites to visit from those on the Patriots, Past & Present Cultural Heritage Trail

CUSTOMIZED HISTORY ADVENTURE

Create a customized group activity with the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex, a branch of the North Carolina Museum of History.  The complex includes 1897 EA Poe House, the remains of the 1860's Fayetteville Arsenal and museum galleries that tell the history of southeastern North Carolina from Native American era to the early 20th century.

FOLLOW FOOTSTEPS OF HISTORY

Did you know that North Carolina delegates ratified the US Constitution in Fayetteville?  Your local guide will recount the history, stories and people who were important to Fayetteville during your guided walking tour of historic downtown Fayetteville. Included on the tour are stops at the Fayetteville Area Transportation and Local History Museum, Fayetteville Independent Light Infantry Armory, historic churches, the Market House, Cool Springs Tavern and Liberty Point.

If your group has a specific interest, consider using one of our 18 themed Cultural Heritage Trails  as a guide to plan your visit.  The trails have grouped the community's historic and cultural sites into specific themes for ease of use.

Want more information?  Check out our four Signature Itineraries,  download our Profile Sheet or contact our Tourism Department  at 888-98-HEROES  to plan your visit.  

Photos to accompany this story are available from dropbox here:  PHOTOS.

 About Fayetteville Area Convention & Visitors  Bureau (FACVB)

Fayetteville Area Convention and Visitors Bureau is a private, not-for-profit organization responsible for positioning Fayetteville/Cumberland County as a destination for conventions, sporting events and individual travel. For additional information, visit www.visitfayettevillenc.com or call 1-800-255-8217. Cumberland County is America's first military sanctuary.