With its laid-back charm and distinctive attractions, North Dakota is a dream come true for planners thinking outside the box. A taste of the Wild West, Native American heritage, painterly prairie views, unique museums and small-town ambience are all part of the picture. The state boasts sophisticated meeting facilities and creative ideas for gatherings like picnicking next to Gen. Custer’s home and sipping chokeberry wine while perched atop a hill overlooking the city lights. One big surprise: North Dakota has more golf courses per capita than any other state.
The cherry on top is the affordability of facilities, particularly important as planners look to slash costs during the recession while still offering value for attendees.
“Even though the economy has dipped since the same time last year, we offer a great value,” notes Cole Carley, president and CEO of the Fargo-Moorhead CVB. “It’s been tough because we compete with cities like Minneapolis because [the bigger cities are] slashing rates. But we can offer very affordable food and beverage and a high quality of meeting facilities for the price.”
Fargo-Moorhead
The metropolitan area of Fargo-Moorhead, which consists of the cities of Fargo, N.D., and Moorhead, Minn., has group facilities in both towns, as well as several attractions that double as meeting space.
Fargo, the state’s largest city, battled with the rising floodwaters of the Red River this spring, but the city center did not flood. No meeting facilities or hotels were affected at press time, Carley noted. No evacuations were necessary, and many citizens volunteered to fill sandbags to fight the flood danger.
“There’s a lot of determination here,” Carley says. “The effort shows the sense of community we have.”
The destination’s slogan, “Always Warm,” promotes that spirit of community as the region’s biggest selling point.
“That perception about bad weather is going to be there,” Carley says. “But people are warm here. They have big hearts.”
In addition to friendly faces, Fargo-Moorhead features unique attractions. The Red River Zoo specializes in rare and endangered species. The Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center boasts a replica Viking ship that sailed from Duluth, Minn., to Norway. The center is a memorable place for cocktail parties, Carley notes. The Fargo Air Museum, another popular spot for receptions, is home to only one of four flying Japanese Zeros in the world. The restored warplanes here still fly.
Groups can also convene at the Art Deco Fargo Theatre. The facility is a center for the arts and features a Wurlitzer pipe organ that is still played on weekends before films begin and during special Silent Movie Night shows. The Plains Art Museum, located in a renovated warehouse, is another area hub for the arts. The facility is available for rental and features two pianos, which groups can use free of charge.
Sports buffs are well served in Fargo-Moorhead. The Roger Maris Museum traces the career of the legendary Fargo athlete who broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing, single-season record for most home runs in 1961. Visitors can watch films of Roger’s last dozen homers.
Outdoor enthusiasts can easily explore the region by renting canoes, kayaks and bicycles.
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, which recently completed a renovation; Prairie Rose Inn & Conference Center; Radisson Hotel Fargo; and Ramada Plaza Suites & Conference Center.
A 111-room Hilton Garden Inn is expected to open in 2010, according to Carley.
Direct flights to Salt Lake City are slated to begin in June, thanks to the Delta Air Lines-Northwest merger. Additionally, there’s talk of the possibility of direct flights to Atlanta. Carley admits that would be quite a coup for Fargo-Moorhead and says planners should stay tuned.
Bismarck-Mandan
Bismarck-Mandan, which includes the capital and the town of Mandan, located about 6.5 miles to the east, is considered one destination. The two towns are separated by the Missouri River.
Bismarck, 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.
Group-centric facilities here are the Best Western Ramkota Hotel Bismarck, with 800 rooms within four blocks of the civic center; Radisson Bismarck; Hampton Inn Bismarck; Candlewood Suites Bismarck; and Mandan’s Best Western Seven Seas Inn & Conference Center.
Sheri Grossman, director of sales for the Bismarck-Mandan CVB, says the area contains 2,500 hotel rooms, and 800 of those are located within three or four blocks of the Bismarck Civic Center.
“Most hotels are no more than 10 to 15 minutes away from the civic center,” Grossman says. “It doesn’t really take groups more time than that to get wherever they need to go. All hotels are within 15 minutes of the airport.”
It’s not only the accessibility of facilities that make the area appealing; accessibility from other parts of the country is becoming more convenient. Bismarck Airport recently added direct flights to Las Vegas and Phoenix Gateway Airport in Mesa, Ariz. The addition of direct flights to Chicago and Salt Lake City are in the works. Direct flights are already available to Minneapolis and Denver.
One of the major attractions is the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck, which boasts one of the largest displays of Native American artifacts and a special exhibit of a mummified dinosaur (that would be a duck-billed hadrosaur) found in 1999 in southwestern North Dakota, one of the rarest fossils ever discovered. The Corridor of Time exhibit recreates the period 60 million years ago when the state’s climate resembled that of the Florida Everglades.
“The center has a beautiful patio,” Grossman says. “There are some great spaces there for evening receptions.
Wireless Internet access is available in the Heritage Center’s Russell Reid Auditorium and meeting rooms.
Another focal point for groups: the 19-story capitol building in Bismarck, which features a great hall for formal off-site gatherings. Grossman says the capitol is popular with attendees of government meetings and national and regional board meetings.
The Lewis and Clark Riverboat accommodates groups of up to 150 people. Special entertainment, charitable gaming and other features are available during cruises, which run spring through fall.
History buffs will be drawn to Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park, which includes a reconstructed home of Gen. Custer. The fort’s Commissary Great Room and The Post are available for rental.
“The fort is probably the most talked about attraction,” Grossman says. “It’s very popular for outdoor events. In June, it doesn’t get dark until 10 p.m. Groups really take advantage of our long summer days.”
One unique outdoor activity in North Dakota is the cooking of steak and other foods on real pitchforks dipped in hot oil. It’s called pitchfork fondue, and it’s available at the fort and other hotels in the area.
Greater Grand Forks
Like Fargo-Moorhead, the Greater Grand Forks area encompasses twin cities, one in each state: Grand Forks, N.D., and East Grand Forks, Minn.
Julie Rygg, executive director of the Greater Grand Forks CVB, says that the destination offers groups that famous Midwestern hospitality mixed with a good dose of great art and historic attractions.
The North Dakota Museum of Art, located on the campus of the University of North Dakota (UND), showcases collections of contemporary international art, starting with the early 1970s, including works from Native Americans from the same time period. The venue is available for events and includes an on-site cafe that has free wireless Internet access.
Several distinct neighborhoods make up Grand Forks, S.D., and a couple of them, downtown Grand Forks and the Near Southside neighborhood, were granted Historic District designations by the National Register of Historic Places. A number of old mansions are set along Reeves Drive.
“We have many charming little boutiques and historic buildings downtown,” Rygg says. “Widman’s Candy Shop is a must.”
The most popular items at the shop are “Chippers” (chocolate-covered potato chips) and toffee. A weekly farmers’ market is held downtown every Saturday during summer. Handmade crafts and rhubarb bread are popular purchases. East Grand Forks boasts a restaurant-packed boardwalk.
The Art & Wine Walk is held every third Saturday from May to October, spotlighting downtown businesses in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks that host artists and display their works.
One meetings-friendly facility here is the Canad Inn Destination Center-Grand Forks, which offers 201 rooms and a waterpark. A climate-controlled walkway connects the property to the city’s main convention and entertainment facility, Alerus Center, which offers a 26,000-square-foot ballroom and 12 meeting rooms ranging in size from 620 square feet to 1,330 square feet.
The Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center at UND, filled with artwork by North Dakota artists, is a popular site for university programs, according to Rygg. It also includes a cozy room with a fireplace for groups of up to 90 people. The 100-room Hilton Garden Inn Grand Forks/UND is attached to the university’s aerospace school via a skywalk.
Holiday Inn Grand Forks Hotel, Ramada Inn & Conference Center, Best Western Town House and Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Grand Forks, are among the other area properties equipped for groups.
Fire Hall Theatre in downtown Grand Forks is the place for great community theater. It’s also a site that welcomes groups. The lobby was renovated last year, and meeting spaces are being added and enhanced, Rygg notes.
Off-site venues in East Grand Forks include A Touch of Magic Ballroom and “Restaurant Row,” an area featuring a number of dining options.
The CVB recently launched a microsite for meeting planners at www.meetingsgrandforks.com, where planners can create and manage events, customize forms and allow event participants to register and pay online. The special site includes a tutorial on managing events and a facilities map.
“So many CVB sites are geared toward leisure travelers,” Rygg says. “This way, planners don’t have to try to navigate around a lot of information that might not be useful.”
Minot
Groups are pleasantly surprised that there’s much to do in Minot, from experiencing the variety of arts venues to checking out the eclectic mix of downtown boutiques, says Elicia Des-
Lauriers, convention sales manager at the Minot CVB.
The top attraction is the Pointe of View Winery, just outside Minot, according to DesLauriers.
“The winery is located on a hill that overlooks the city,” she says. “It’s a great place for groups to mingle and try 20 different wines. They have chokecherry wine.”
The chokecherry was only recently named the official fruit of North Dakota (in 2007), and the fruit turns up not only in wine, but in jams and other foods that can be found in several shops in Minot’s inviting downtown district.
“Our downtown has an old Chicago feel,” DesLauriers says. “We have neat little antique shops and gourmet food stores where you can get locally made foods like bison jerky.”
Another important attraction is Scandinavian Heritage Park, which represents the community’s Scandinavian ancestry. Receptions can be held on the grounds, and tours are conducted. Highlights include a Finnish sauna, a replica of a Norwegian church and a working Danish-style windmill. Its Nordic Pavilion of the Arts hosts a number of summer events.
The Railroad Museum of Minot and the Dakota Territory Air Museum are other notable sites in Minot.
One of the most unique opportunities is being able to tour portions of Minot Air Force Base. Tours of air bases by the public is not commonplace.
“The tour isn’t considered a tourist attraction,” DesLauriers notes. “The CVB can get a call anytime from the base saying that the tours aren’t available.”
Minot features 1,600 guest rooms, and the main properties that accommodate groups are the Grand International, Holiday Inn Minot (Riverside), Sleep Inn and Suites, and The Vegas Motel.
Convention facilities include the Minot Municipal Auditorium, which seats 5,000 in its main arena and includes several meeting rooms accommodating from 12 people to 380 people. It’s completely accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Minot State University Dome on the campus of Minot State University holds many conferences and community events throughout the year. Additionally, the flexible space at the North Dakota State Fair Center hosts large trade shows, conventions, rodeos and concerts. The complex features more than 250,000 square feet of display space and support areas. The venue can accommodate 1,000 people in a traditional conference that includes a general session and breakout sessions.
Recently, the Minot CVB website received a makeover. The site offers planners more in-depth information on a number of facilities and is more interactive, DesLauriers says.
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
