How Fargo Will You Go?

Despite my hatred toward cold temperatures, I decided to accept the first opportunity offered to me to be a judge for the ADDY® Awards. The catch—it was for AAF of North Dakota and judging would be held in January. Cold, crisp, negative temperature January. It gets cold in Northeastern, PA but not that cold!

Nearby Minneapolis had been a stop before, but I’ve never ventured to North Dakota so I was really looking forward to it once I overcame my bitterness toward the cold. That is until closer to the date of judging when I got wind of a storm on the rise with a few feet of snow and 30+ mile an hour winds. Luckily it was near finished when I arrived and I only suffered a slight flight delay from Minneapolis into Fargo. Once settled in, it was brought to my attention that they were actually having above normal temperatures for the season at a balmy 11 degrees. That was great news, but it was still extremely cold.

Luckily judging was in a cozy place and ordering in for lunch meant you didn’t have to go out into the frigid temps. Of course, a lot of time is spent indoors during cold Fargo winters, but that doesn’t stop them from having fun. I was told they have more bars per capita than anyone else in the nation, so that seems to make winter a little bit more bearable. I also found out that karaoke is a huge favorite on one of our nights out on the town to Divas & Rockstars.

Staying in was fun, but I had to venture outside to check out this cool town during some downtime. I stopped at some local shops and warmed up with a latte at a comfy coffee shop. I then, ventured across town to the Plains Art Museum, but they had just closed when I arrived around 5 o’ clock. A little disappointed, I made the trek back toward the hotel and went over to the Fargo Theater, a landmark in the town, to snap a photo. This is one of the few photos I got to capture on my walk through downtown before my phone literally froze because the temperature was so frigid. I decided I’d seen enough at that point since my fingers and nose had turned numb. I figured that meant it was time to head back to the hotel to belly up to the bar for a warm up before our last night out to dinner with the AAF folks.

I can say now–despite my negative attitude at the cold–that this was truly a great career experience and a pleasure to meet so many talented individuals from the AAF-ND organization. The work was plentiful with well over a hundred entries and the quality and creativity spoke volumes for their agencies and vibrant culture. It was definitely cold, but well worth bearing for the experience.