Baltimore plays host to Baptist Convention visitors

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - With an estimated 50,000 visitors on Baltimore’s streets, the city’s hospitality and retail communities have been the major benefactors of a slew of spending, according to National Baptist convention attendees.

And with an estimated influx of more than $40 million into Baltimore’s economy during the convention, it seems that most are putting their money into good food, shopping and hotels.

Ledell Robinson, of Jackson, Miss., and his friends, Lenard Robinson and Tommy Carter, strolled around the Inner Harbor, thinking about where to eat their next Maryland-style meal. They have taken advice from Baltimore locals and enjoyed restaurants like Phillip’s Seafood Restaurant and the Rose Restaurant.

“Mississippi is called the hospitality state, but Maryland has extended itself,” Robinson said. “Baltimore has gone out of its way to be a good host.”

With the extra congestion in Baltimore streets, they have been using the Light Rail system to check out Baltimore’s best attractions.

“It picks us up right in front of our hotel and drops us off at the Convention Center” where the classes are held, said Robinson.

Others are commuting by bus from hotels near BWI Airport and spending the day exploring Baltimore on foot.

Regina Lofton and a youth group from Memphis, Tenn., travel in a pack of visible, bright orange shirts around the Baltimore area.

They traveled into the city by bus, but are exploring Baltimore with a guide they received from the Inner Harbor visitor’s center. Lofton said the best part so far has been “Maryland’s crab cakes, and the key lime pie at the Cheesecake Factory.” After shopping at Harbor Place, they hope to visit Fort McHenry.

Mary Black, of Pine Bluff, Ark., is a youth director who is showing a group of young Baptists around Baltimore.

“We heard the Inner Harbor was beautiful from other people that had been before, so we came to see it,” Black said.

She and her group waited to take a water taxi boat ride around the harbor and enjoyed the chance to meet people outside of the convention.

According to Nancy Hinds, a spokeswoman with the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, the city was able to snag the convention through a collaboration between BACVA’s host committee and the area’s strong Baptist community.

“We were able to tap into our own resources to bring a national convention to Baltimore,” Hinds said.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com

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