Drive through any 50-mile stretch of land in the Midwest and there is sure to be at least one farm. The Midwest feeds the nation with its harvest and, as a result, is a prime destination for agricultural meetings.
At the same time, the region showcases its heritage with an abundance of farm museums and other bucolic event sites that are a natural enhancement to any meeting with or without an agricultural theme.
Living History Farms
Groups in the mood to take a walk through Iowa's agricultural history can check out Living History Farms, situated just 10 minutes outside Des Moines in Urbandale, Iowa. It's available to groups during the evening from April through August.
"Living History Farms is Des Moines' version of an open-air farming museum," says Katie Stien, sales manager for the Des Moines CVB. "It takes people back in time to when farming started to the present day."
Located on 500 sprawling acres, the attraction features a variety of farms, all dedicated to different historical periods, and costumed interpreters. For example, the 1700 Ioway Indian Farm grows blue corn and melons, and visitors can find suntanned deer hides and food around open fires. At the 1900 Horse-Powered Farm, draft horses pull machinery and visitors can take a look inside a traditional farmhouse.
Historic towns are also sprinkled about, including the 1875 town of Walnut Hill, consisting of 18 shops and a main street.
"Living History Farms is definitely a Des Moines must-see," Stien says. "Agriculture is one of the biggest things we are known for and this is one of the neatest places to see farming in action."
Groups have several event space options, starting with the indoor visitor center, which accommodates up to 180 people. The William G. Murray Conference Center has floor-to-ceiling windows and holds up to 75 people; the Flynn Barn accommodates up to 200 people.
"The Flynn Barn is really great; it was built in the 1870s and is on the National Register of Historic Places," Stien says, adding that a prairie Gothic-style church and a picnic shelter are also available for events.
Black Star Farms
Up in Michigan's Leelanau Peninsula, about 10 miles north of Traverse City, sits Black Star Farms, a 160-acre, high-end agricultural destination. At its center is a luxury inn surrounded by a vineyard, creamery, distillery and equestrian facility.
"We have beautiful event space inside our inn; one room fits 40 people and the other fits 120 people—and you don't have to stay here to book the venues," says Jill Ryan, inn manager and events director for Black Star Farms.
The property includes two wineries and a tasting room that can accommodate up to 80 people for events.
"We also have a private room off of the tasting room that can fit 40 people," Ryan says. "Our property is incredibly unique. We have rolling hills and horses and wooded hiking trails. We are in the middle of the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail—it is our little Napa Valley up here."
The creamery and distillery are not open to guests, but meeting delegates can still witness the action through picture windows in the tasting room.
"We are home to the Leelanau Cheese Company and you can watch cheese makers in their natural habitat through the windows," she says. "We also make fruit brandy and you can watch people make that, too."
Several of the property's meeting spaces open up to a courtyard, where groups like to play croquet, according to Ryan.
"The courtyard is surrounded by woods, and we will have seated dinners out there and appetizers with local ingredients. It is a really nice space," she says.
Shallowbrook Farm Retreat & Conference Center
Shallowbrook Farm is located in Bradford, Ill., about 35 miles north of Peoria. The 10-acre property operated as a horse farm for more than 100 years until it was converted into a retreat and conference center in the 1980s.
"It was a normal working farm, and some of the land is still being used to farm corn and beans, but the rest is a retreat and conference center," says Jill Johnson, owner of the Shallowbrook Farm Retreat & Conference Center. "We are surrounded by countryside. This is a great place to come in, enjoy and just put your feet up."
The main lodge houses 10 guest rooms and is a popular spot for board meetings and executive retreats, according to Johnson.
"People really like coming here because it gets them out of the office, out of normal day-to-day life, and puts them in a nice, quiet setting where they can concentrate on the business at hand," she says. "They don't have to worry about interruptions."
The lodge has one room for up to 60 guests and three breakout spaces able to accommodate up to 15 people in each.
"We also have outdoor spaces where people can meet as well as a fire pit," Johnson says. "It is such a quiet setting; it just feels like a perfect place to be."
Mill City Museum
The Mill City Museum is arguably one of the Midwest's most unique venues. Located in Minneapolis, the venue sits inside the ruins of the Washburn A Mill, a former flour mill.
"The Washburn A Mill was, at one point, the largest flour mill in the world," says Patrick Pfundstein, visitor services manager at the Mill City Museum. "The mills in Minneapolis are basically what took a city that didn't exist into being the flour milling capital of the world.
The Washburn A Mill closed its doors in 1965 and was almost destroyed in a fire in 1991. It was then that the city decided to intervene.
"Planning for the museum started the evening of the 1991 fire," Pfundstein says, adding that the museum opened in 2003, keeping historical remnants and adding modern touches.
Today, groups can see what is left of the former flour mill in the museum's courtyard, which comfortably fits up to 300 people for private events. Also available for groups of up to 310 is the Mill Commons area, which offers a balcony overlooking the historic courtyard.
"The museum is incredibly popular for groups because it is an absolutely unique space," Pfundstein says. "We host more than 50 weddings every year and about 40 corporate events per year—so about every one in four nights someone is here having an event after=hours."
The Durham Museum
Located in the center of downtown Omaha, Neb., The Durham Museum is a state treasure because of its building and interior contents. Housed inside the city's former Union Station, The Durham, as locals call it, houses a wide variety of exhibits, including many highlighting the area's agricultural history.
"Agriculture was and still is a major component of the story of our region," says Shawna Forsberg, director of marketing and public relations. "In fact, this fall we are bringing in a George Washington Carver exhibit—a man who had a huge agriculture background."
The building is one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the country, Forsberg adds.
Groups of up to 800 people can rent the Suzanne and Walter Scott Great Hall, while spaces such as the Swanson Gallery and Stanley and Dorothy Truhlsen Lecture hall accommodate up to 250 guests.
"We have the technology to help planners put on beautiful events," Forsberg says. "A lot of groups like to come here for evening receptions and dinners. We've also done several scavenger hunts as team-building activities."
North Dakota Heritage Center
The North Dakota Heritage Center is a great place for agricultural groups visiting Bismarck. Located in the center of the city, the facility is a full-scale history museum with several exhibits on area agriculture, past and present.
"The museum gives a great representation of the entire state, and with agriculture being our number-one industry, it is a large part of our history," says Sheri J. Grossman, director of sales for the Bismarck-Mandan CVB.
Mid-size and large groups can rent several spaces at the center, including a plaza, lobby, mezzanine and 333-seat auditorium.
"We also have several meeting rooms for up to 25 people," Grossman says, adding that an expansion is under way at the center. "We anticipate the updates finishing by summer 2012. Planners love coming out here because it gives groups a chance to view history and different aspects of life in North Dakota. It is also just five minutes from most hotels, so it is an easy off-site getaway."
Traders Point Creamery
Located just 20 minutes from downtown Indianapolis is Traders Point Creamery, a 220-acre farm that produces a variety of dairy products.
"We are very different than most farms you would go to," says Gail Alden, director of marketing and events. "We are located on an absolutely beautiful plot of land, our cows are treated incredibly well and we are a family business. It feels very European here."
The farm opened in 2003 and has several spaces for groups, starting with The Loft Restaurant.
"We can fit 100 people for a private event in The Loft," Alden says. "We also have a big red barn that can fit up to 400 people. If you have dinner tables and a band in there, you can fit around 300 people. We also have a beautiful garden deck and patio where we've done tented events. The area has a pasture view and we can accommodate groups of any size out there."
The creamery also has a porch with rocking chairs, overlooking a beach and freshwater pond, holding groups of around 100.
"We cook with the food we grow," Alden says. "Groups really love it. I especially recommend our cheese plates."
Katie Morell is a Chicago-based freelance writer and former Meetings Focus editor. She is a Midwest native who loves visiting farms in her home state of Michigan.
