Delegates like meeting off the beaten path. North Dakota, which maintains a good-spirited atmosphere where groups will feel welcome and safe, and where planners can count on affordable prices and a helping hand from CVBs, is one such destination.
Sheri Grossman, director of sales at the Bismarck-Mandan CVB, speaks for the whole state when she says: “We sell that we’re out of the ordinary. You’ve been to California and Florida, so you come here to try something different.”
Grossman adds that a couple of groups she’s worked with have “never been anywhere else twice except here.”
Dakota is, after all, the Sioux Indian word for friend. In addition to wanting to visit that friend more than once, guests of North Dakota are after the feeling of inspiration that comes with entering the Wild West. It is a place that is rich with awesome landscapes—from plains to Badlands—and entertaining, meetings-friendly city centers.
Fargo-Moorhead
In keeping with Grossman’s sentiment, Cole Carley, CDME, president and CEO of the Fargo-Moorhead CVB, explains that the area boasts great attractions not found in other parts of the country—venues that double as function space for meetings and receptions.
The last Viking ship in the Atlantic is the centerpiece of the Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center.?(“Hjemkomst” means homecoming in Norwegian.) It is one example of the area’s unique attractions. Others include a recreated pioneer village, Bonanzaville; Plains Art Museum; the restored circa-1920s Fargo Theatre, which serves as home base for the annual Fargo Film Festival; the Fargo Air Museum, featuring WWII Japanese fighter planes that still fly; and Red River Zoo, which according to Carley hosts rare and endangered species you won’t see in all zoos because “the weather here is a better breeding environment for many animals.”
Speaking of climate, Carley says the destination is always finding creative ways to deal with people’s perception about its bad weather.
“We have to fight that,” Carley says. “We’re not exactly top-of-mind, so we have fun with it and emphasize our advantages. Our promise statement is that we’re always warm—the people here, the smiles. Plus there’s the value of the dollar here; it may cost more than flying to a hub city, but F&B and accommodations are less.”
Among the area’s hotel options are AmericInn of Fargo, AmericInn Lodge & Suites and Events Center of Moorhead, Best Western Fargo Doublewood Inn, Courtyard by Marriott Moorhead and the adjacent Moorhead Area Conference Center, Holiday Inn of Fargo, Radisson Hotel Fargo, and Ramada Plaza Suites & Conference Center.
“We’re one of about four CVBs with funding in two states, and we have meeting facilities on each side,” Carley says, explaining that the CVB serves Fargo and Moorhead, Minn. “We’re one destination and we pride ourselves on service—name badges, banners, signs, registration help—all complimentary. We really do want to be the meeting planner’s best friend.”
Bismarck-Mandan
North Dakota’s capital city is home to one of the state’s largest meeting facilities, the Bismarck Civic Center, a convention and event venue that features 80,000 square feet of function space. According to the Bismarck-Mandan CVB’s Grossman, the area, like Fargo-Moorhead, is considered one destination.
Among its prime meetings-ready facilities are Best Western Ramkota Hotel Bismarck, with 800 rooms within four blocks of the civic center; Radisson Bismarck; and Mandan’s Best Western Seven Seas Inn & Conference Center, which recently completed renovations. Meanwhile, a Hampton Inn recently opened, and Grossman says a Candlewood Suites property is in the works.
When meeting in Bismarck-Mandan, she adds, delegates look forward to and actually attend events, since there’s not quite as many distractions as other meeting destinations.
“Mickey Mouse isn’t here to drag them off in a different direction from the group,” she says.
Some of the venues and attractions that will pique a group’s interest include the 19-story capitol building, which features a beautiful great hall for formal off-site gatherings; the North Dakota Heritage Center, which has one of the largest displays of Native American artifacts and is currently in the midst of a renovation and expansion; a Lewis and Clark Riverboat cruise for lunch or dinner; and Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, complete with an air-conditioned facility and a reconstructed home of Gen. Custer.
“You can have a great outside event there,” Grossman says. “The park is unique to the area, it’s casual, and groups love the fresh air and pitchfork steak fondues, also unique to the area.”
The best time for meetings, according to Grossman, is spring, summer and fall, but there are still options during the winter.
Grossman adds that taxis aren’t expensive in Bismarck-Mandan; all hotels, which offer free Internet and shuttle service to and from the Bismarck Airport, are within 15 minutes of the airport. And if planners work with Northwest Airlines, booking flights for at least 10 people, they’ll receive a code to get a “zone fare discount.”
Greater Grand Forks
According to Julie Rygg, executive director of the Greater Grand Forks CVB, the Greater Grand Forks area—encompassing Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks, Minn.—while not extra-large, is booming with creativity.
“We’re not a community full of typical attractions,” she says, citing unique shopping and entertainment opportunities, lively restaurants and a town square with a weekly farmers’ market where bands play during the warmer months. “Plus we have a number of performance venues, including the North Dakota Museum of Art, which is a hidden gem if you like art.”
The nationally recognized museum, located on the University of North Dakota (UND) campus in Grand Forks, has an on-site cafe for catering and is available for events.
Off-site venues in East Grand Forks include A Touch of Magic Ballroom, owned by local celebrity chef NarDane; and “Restaurant Row,” an area featuring a number of dining options.
Back in Grand Forks, the Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center at UND, filled with artwork by North Dakota artists, opened within the last few years for university programs, according to Rygg, but it boasts “an amazing room for up to 90 people for luncheons and training—just press a button, it’s all high tech.”
Planners also look to the Canad Inn Destination Center for group events. The property, connected to the Alerus Center (Grand Forks’ top group venue that is host to conventions, trade shows, concerts, and UND football), opened last May with 200 rooms, two bars and three restaurants, according to Rygg.
“We see a lot of Canadian business, particularly from the Winnipeg area,” she says, explaining that Canad Inns is a Canadian outfit.
Holiday Inn Grand Forks Hotel, Hilton Garden Inn Grand Forks, Ramada Inn & Conference Center, and Best Western Town House are among the other area properties equipped for groups.
Minot
The folks at the Minot CVB, according to Convention Sales Manager Elicia Jamsa, often deal with customers who “come here with no idea how much there is to do.”
At the top of its list of attractions is Pointe of View Winery, the first federally bonded winery in North Dakota (the last state in the union to have one).
“It’s a quaint, hidden gem and people love it,” Jamsa says, adding that Minot’s downtown is bustling with small shops and activities.
At Scandinavian Heritage Park, which represents the community’s Scandinavian population, planners can hold receptions and attendees can tour the grounds to find replicas from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland. Jamsa also recommends groups check out the Railroad Museum of Minot and the Dakota Territory Air Museum.
“We’re big enough to give planners what they need and small enough to give them the full attention they deserve,” Jamsa says. “We’re willing to help with registration, and all of our convention and hotel staff are experienced and trained to help with groups.”
The main properties that accommodate groups in Minot are the Grand International, Holiday Inn Minot (Riverside), Sleep Inn and Suites, and The Vegas Motel, all of which are newly remodeled, according to Jamsa.
Additionally, the North Dakota State Fair Center hosts large trade shows and conventions.
For More Info
Bismarck–Mandan CVB 701.222.4308
www.discoverbismarckmandan.com
Fargo–Moorhead CVB 701.282.3653
www.fargomoorhead.org
Greater Grand Forks CVB 701.746.0444
www.meetingsgrandforks.com
Minot CVB 701.857.8206
www.visitminot.org
North Dakota Tourism 701.328.2525
www.ndtourism.com
