Minnesota Meetings + Events
Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Fargo.
For the past couple years, the Fargo-Moorhead area has enjoyed a wealth of stellar national press: In 2011, Men’s Health and Women’s Health both named Fargo the second-best place to live in America. Bicycling Magazine ranked it among the top 50 biking cities in nation. In 2009, Forbes called it one of the nation’s best places for jobs.
Children’s Health magazine said Fargo was the third-best place to raise kids. Last year, U.S. News and World Report listed Fargo among its best places to retire. But it was the July 2010 Newsweek story “The Great, Great Plains,” that was the stereotype breaker, showing Fargo as a hip, trendy place to be: “On a drizzly, warm June night, the bars, galleries, and restaurants along Broadway are packed with young revelers. Traffic moves slowly, as drivers look for parking. The bar at the Donaldson, a boutique hotel, is so packed with stylish patrons that I can’t get a drink.”
That’s quite different picture than the one painted in the 1996 Coen brothers’ film “Fargo,” which catapulted the city to dubious fame as Hicksville on the tundra.
The truth is, this area is evolving, and its economy is strong. North Dakota was recently ranked third in the nation for hospitality growth—the state’s leisure and hospitality sector adding 3,400 jobs between 2005 and 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Minnesota ranked 20th.) That’s good news for meeting and event planners looking for an option on the Minnesota-North Dakota border.
The Fargo-Moorhead area consists of two cities in two states, with a total metro population of more than 200,000. Located on the upper Northwest Minnesota border, it is the largest metro area and shopping destination between Minneapolis and Spokane, forming the region’s agricultural capital and its most important shipping and processing center. The two cities are divided by the North-flowing Red River.
>>Hotels and Event Spaces
Home to the Fargodome, eight convention hotels and more than 4,100 sleeping rooms among all hotels—the cities can service conventions up to 2,000 people. The Holiday Inn Fargo is the largest hotel, with 310 sleeping rooms and total meeting capacity of 2,300. It also offers a 13,500-square-foot waterpark, a casino and 20 meeting rooms (including a great hall that can seat up to 1,250).
Best Western Doublewood has 172 sleeping rooms, 11 meeting rooms and 1,150 total meeting capacity. Ramada Plaza Suites & Convention Center offers 185 sleeping rooms, 13 meeting rooms and 1,800 total meeting capacity.
Non-lodging event spaces range from the vast Fargodome to the Avalon Event Centers, built in 1908 (meeting capacity of 325). But there are a plethora of other top-notch choices. The Fargo-Moorhead CVB has the gamut of options on its website, and is happy to assist.
>>Activities
The city is spending money to revitalize the downtown, and visitors should investigate. Walk down Broadway, and you won’t find chain stores, but chic shops and bistros and the beautiful Art Deco-style Fargo Theatre (which recently opened a new 76-seat theater within the building, available for rentals, and also houses a restored theater pipe organ, the “Mighty Wurlitzer”).
ECCE Art + Yoga exhibits talented regional artists and showcases diverse international design. The century-old Hotel Donaldson is one of many great spots for happy hour on Broadway, while upstairs in the hotel, each of its 17 sleeping rooms showcases regional art.
For mall shopping, head across town to West Acres Shopping Center, located conveniently across the street from the Holiday Inn. For regional art and culture, visit the Plains Art Museum, a 56,000-square-foot facility accredited by the American Association of Museums that celebrates Native American and traditional folk art (and also has meeting room capacity for 250); the Historical & Cultural Society of Clay County; Bonanzaville, USA, a reconstructed 19th century farm; Heritage Hjemkomst Interpretive Center, which houses a replica Viking Ship that sailed to Norway; and the Fargo Air Museum.
Outdoor options include scheduling a boat tour on the Red River, renting a kayak, golfing at a range of courses, or watching horse racing at North Dakota Horse Park.
Whatever the activity or the season, the Fargo-Moorhead CVB would like you to know that Fargo-Moorhead is “always warm,” as its tagline goes. According to the CVB website: “When you get out and experience our community–and our people–you’ll find that Fargo-Moorhead is one of the warmest metro areas in the nation."
which one do you prefer?
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