WHY DALLAS:

Dallas’ slogan is "Live Large. Think Big." It describes the essence and vitality of a city built on big thinkers, freshly blazed trails, and an attitude that all things are possible. This richly diverse city offers a thriving culinary scene, and a leading arts district. Did you know that Dallas is home to the largest urban arts district in the country? Plus, all over the city you'll find historic museums, beautiful architecture, rare collections of artwork and stirring performances. When the sun goes down, it heats up in this Dallas town. Several entertainment districts are hubs of energy. Live music flows in the famed Deep Ellum area, which is near the host hotel for the Dallas Convergence. Gothic Beauty mentions Dallas as one of the top 25 best cities for a Goth to live.


Arts & Entertainment

• Dallas has more than 115 public art works scattered throughout the city.

• Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Dallas Theater Center, the only freestanding theater built to his design.

• The $81.5 million Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, designed by the famous architect I. M. Pei, houses the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the last hand-made Fisk organ actually to be worked on by Mr. Fisk before he died (Opus 101).

• The Dallas Public Library in Downtown Dallas has one of the original copies of the Declaration of Independence, printed on July 4, 1776, on permanent display.

• The Dallas Public Library in Downtown Dallas has the First Folio of William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies on permanent display. This important book marks the first printing of Shakespeare's plays.

• The Dallas Symphony Orchestra is the eighth oldest symphony in the U.S.

• The Dallas Theater Center is the nation's oldest regional theater company.

• The Dallas Wind Symphony is the largest wind band in the country.

• The only Asian Art museum in the Southwest, The Crow Collection of Asian Art is located in Downtown Dallas across from the Dallas Museum of Art.

• There are more than 160 museums, galleries and artistic attractions in Dallas -- and more than 110 live performances nightly.

• With more than a quarter of a century of productions behind it, the Shakespeare Festival of Dallas is the oldest free Shakespeare festival in the Southwest and the second oldest in the nation.

• KERA-TV PBS Channel 13 Dallas is the most watched PBS station in the United States and was the first PBS station to air British comedies.


Food & Spirits

• "There aren't enough superlatives" to describe it (The French Room at the Adolphus Hotel ranked #1 Restaurant in U.S.), Zagat Survey says about the French-American restaurant, which has hand-blown crystal chandeliers and an 18-foot-high domed ceiling adorned with frescoes.

• According to the Texas Restaurant Association, Dallas has more than 7,000 restaurants to enjoy. And Dallas has more restaurants per person than New York City.

• Dallas is the home of two of America's most romantic restaurants, according to Dining by Candlelight magazine.

• The frozen margarita, a cocktail made of tequila, lime juice, sugar and salt, was invented in Dallas. Dallas is home to more than 1,600 places that serve cold beer, wine and cocktails.

• Dallas has some of the best Tex Mex Cuisine in the United States.

• Between the years 2000 and 2023, there are more than 250 definite and an additional 250+ tentative citywide conventions booked in Dallas. Combined, they represent more than 7 million room nights over the next quarter century.

• Dallas ranks among the top cities in the nation in convention and meeting attendees, with more than 3.8 million people attending more than 3,600 conventions and leaving more than $4.2 billion behind.

• In a poll conducted by the readers of a leading meeting planners' trade magazine, Dallas ranked as the #2 "most mentioned city."

• The Dallas Convention Center has been rated "Top Management/Staff," "Top Exhibit Space," and "Best Managed" by peer groups and users.

• The Dallas Convention Center's expansion in the year 2002 features the world's largest singular column-free exhibit hall in the world, at 203,000 square feet.