The Musings of Ron Kapon:

The Mid-Atlantic Tourism Public Relations Alliance (MATPRA) is a group of tourism marketing and public relations professionals who work to promote the Mid-Atlantic region as a travel destination. Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Virginia and West Virginia are members of the organization. I have always had a teaching conflict with the eight previous conferences, but this year I was determined to attend and cancelled my two university classes. Next year will be easy since they have scheduled the conference for mid-August in Alexander, Virginia. This year it was hosted by Discover Lehigh Valley, the official destination marketing organization for Lehigh and Northampton Counties in eastern Pennsylvania. Bethlehem, Allentown and Easton are the principle cites in the Lehigh Valley. I was planning on driving from New York City until I was told they would supply a van to and from the conference. Six writers took advantage of that option.

During this three-day event, 72 invited members of the media met with public relations representatives from 45 tourism destinations with whom they enjoyed group meals at venues and participated in a variety of FAM tours of Lehigh Valley attractions. Headquarters was the historic Hotel Bethlehem. Built in 1922, it is a National Historic Trust property and is located in the center of historic downtown Bethlehem. The city was founded in 1741 by a group of Moravians, members of a church that traces its heritage to pre-Reformation fifteenth-century central Europe. The Moravian Book Store was established in 1745 and is the oldest continuously operated bookstore in the world. The day we arrived there were torrential downpours and a tornado watch. We were scheduled to have dinner in Allentown (the 3rd largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia and Pittsburgh) at Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. They are the Philadelphia Phillies AAA International League team. The park has a capacity of 10,000 and in 2010 they had the highest average attendance of any minor league team. Two hours before our scheduled departure we were told that the storms had knocked out the power at the park. No lights, no air-conditioning, and no way to cook dinner. I have always believed that “when the going gets tough, the tough gets going.” Within two hours the hotel staff put together a dinner for 130 guests. Bravo.

The next morning was the three-hour Media Marketplace during which I visited information booths for destinations located in the 5 MATPRA states (and Washington, D.C.) while collecting information and discussing story ideas. We then got on buses for lunch at Bethlehem’s Art Quest Center at the Steel Stacks. The four-story performing arts center, with three outdoor venues, faces the old blast furnaces of Bethlehem Steel. Founded in 1904 it was the second largest steel company (U.S. Steel) and went bankrupt in 2001. In August over one million visitors attend the nine-day Musikfest for 600 live performances, many of which are free. I chose the History & More afternoon tour whose first stop was the Sigal Museum in Easton. It is filled with exhibits of local history, farming implements, colonial furniture and decorative arts. We then took a very short boat ride on the Lehigh Canal Towpath (pulled by mules) and visited the National Canal Museum, both located in Easton. Our progressive dinner started at the Sun Inn (1758) for appetizers and Tapas on Main for the main course. Dessert was back at the Hotel Bethlehem.

The next morning was free for wandering around the downtown Bethlehem area. A group of 10 of us joined the hotel historian for her walking tour of the historic downtown sites. There is the Visitors Center, Moravian Museum, Central Moravian Church and the aforementioned Moravian Bookstore. Lunch was on stage at the State Theatre Center for Arts in Easton. Built in 1873 as a bank the theatre opened in 1925. That afternoon I chose the wine tasting tour (of course) with visits and tastings at Clover Hill & Vynecrest Vineyards. Dinner was at Emeril’s Chop House at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem. I filled up on the lobster, clams and shrimp appetizers. We then were given a tour of the hotel (300 rooms), luxury outlet shops and the event center. My evening was not finished as I returned to the Sun Inn for their Paranormal Investigation Team's attempt to communicate with the two ghosts living there. I fell asleep when they turned out the lights.

We were returned to NYC by van the next morning with much better weather than when we arrived. The hotel, food, tours and especially the professionalism of the host Visit Lehigh Valley staff impressed me. I can’t wait until MATPRA 2013 in Arlington, Virginia.