August Schell Brewery - New Ulm $5.95 US $7.95 CAN www.itinerariesminnesota.com GRAND PRIZE Win a bus load of tickets to Pompeii at the Museum of MinnesotaScience (All planners attending the show ! If you’re tired of attending the same old “walk-by” travel trade shows, Monday, October 15 will be eligible.) and want to develop more quality tours that sell out, then come to the 12 – 12:45 pm . REGISTRATION & WELCOME TO THE 2007 Great North Group Travel Show & FAM GREAT NORTH GROUP TRAVEL SHOW! Sit down with travel trade industry leaders during one-on-one 1 – 4:00 pm presentations. Discover innovative events, and plan itineraries with ONE-ON-ONE NET-WORTHING SESSION top destination representatives from the upper Midwest. Find Individual suppliers introduce themselves as they sit down with you during this “Speed Touring” session. personal opportunities that you never even knew existed — and have 4 – 5:00 pm fun while you’re doing it. MARKETPLACE RECEPTION Casual chat-time with the suppliers you met during the introductions. Hors d’eurves and Cash Bar in the Great North Marketplace. 6 – 9:00 pm DINNER EVENT FOR GROUP TRAVEL BUYERS Host: Shakopee CVB Tuesday, October 16 8 – 9:00 am SPONSORED BREAKFAST Special Guest Speaker: Destination Winnipeg Inc. 9 – 12:00 pm ITINERARY PLANNING TIME In-depth face-to-face meetings with suppliers. Time to “seriously” have fun planning itineraries with suppliers. 12 – 2:00 pm GREAT NORTH LUNCHEON 2007 Great North Group Travel Show & FAM & THE GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY Enjoy the Great North Show’s feature luncheon with Oct 15–16, 2007. Canterbury Park. Shakopee, MN. suppliers. Reserve your place today. 2 – 4:30 pm SHAKOPEE AREA FAM TOUR for buyers Starting at just $95 -includes accommodations, meals Host: Shakopee CVB 4:30 – 5:30 pm and all Great North show events. Call 877-832-7267 or “COME BACK AGAIN SOON” SEND-OFF visit www.itinerariesminnesota.com to register today. Final Drawing for the SHOW GIFTS from the suppliers. NEW! Student & Youth Field Trip Planners [teachers, scout leaders (boy & girl), community educators, church youth group leaders, etc.] are invited to the FREE FIELD TRIPS Expo on October 15, 2007 from 6-8 pm at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, MN. For more details go to www.itinerariesminnesota.com or call 877-832-7267. The GREAT NORTH Group Travel Show & FAM and FIELD TRIPS Expo are produced by Heather Lahren and Mark Peterson of Itineraries Minnesota, Inc. Itineraries Minnesota is not a tour operator, and does not sell tours, but independently promotes group travel throughout the upper Midwest using Itineraries Minnesota Magazine, Itineraries Midwest, Field Trips Minnesota and Field Trips Wisconsin. letter from the publishers 8014 Olson Memorial Hwy #215 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55427 320-230-4840 | 877-832-7267 | Fax: 763-201-7945 [email protected] | www.itinerariesminnesota.com Heather J. Lahren | CO-PUBLISHER [email protected] Mark W. Peterson | CO-PUBLISHER [email protected] Kathleen Somers | DIR OF SALES & OPERATIONS Dear Reader, [email protected] So what exactly does it mean to tour a winery…and is a brewery all about Kelly Surla | OPERATIONS MANAGER [email protected] drinking beer? Lynn Gottwalt | TRAFFIC MANAGER No, not by a long shot! We like to go and experience the same things that we [email protected] suggest to you in each feature, so we did just that! Now we’ll show you what we’ve Jill Ressemann | MARKETING SUPPORT [email protected] discovered for your groups to go behind the scenes of the wineries and breweries Tara Ostendorf | GRAPHICS/WEB PROGRAMMER of Minnesota and the upper Midwest. You’ll learn about the popularity of modern [email protected] Carinna K. Hard Bullemer | ART DIRECTOR wineries in the Midwest and its cold hardy variety of grapes and why they are so HARD AT WORK Design, inc. | [email protected] important to Minnesota. Mix that in with the tasty history of still thriving brew- Shawn Sweeney | SENIOR WRITER/EDITOR eries and the microbreweries of today and you’ve got yourself a busload of fun! [email protected] Take your student and youth groups on the Prohibition Tour at the August CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Shell Brewery where history comes alive for the kids and samples of root beer Heather Lahren | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. Mark Peterson | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. await at the end! Kathleen Somers | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. Now is also the time to set your sights on the GREAT NORTH GROUP TRAVEL Lynn Gottwalt | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. Jill Ressemann | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. SHOW for this October 15-16, 2007. We’ll be guests of the Shakopee Area CVB, Kelly Surla | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. and in addition to meeting many group-friendly exhibitors from the upper Alexandra Lahren | ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. Steven J. Kline | Kline Communications Midwest (and even Canada!), you’ll have a FAM opportunity to visit some top Rick Pearson itinerary spots that will surprise you and help to sell your packages. Get registered ADVISORY BOARD today--because reservations are limited! Bill Deef | Greater Mpls Convention & Visitors Association Bill Dorn | Publishing Advisors Int’l As you know, this magazine is definitely not just for groups in the upper Tom Dupont | Publishing Advisors Int’l Midwest. We invite travel and trade professionals from all over the U.S. and Michael Heim | Trip Trivia - Explore MN Highways Barb Oswell | Odyssey Development, Duluth Canada to visit our region by presenting quality itineraries filled with new and Jean Robbins | Saint Cloud CVB unique ideas that will help fill your motorcoaches time and time again. We invite Mary Ann Steen | MN Office of Tourism Terry Sveine | New Ulm CVB you--no matter where you’re from--to not only create upper Midwest packages for Brad Toll | Packer Country CVB, Green Bay WI your groups, but also to take some special “FAM-time” by visiting us first! We Linda Twiss | Troupe America, Plymouth Playhouse Pat Mutter | Winona CVB know of many attractions and venues that are looking for groups, so feel free to Sherri Mullery | Bloomington CVB call us for insight or advice. We make every effort to be as accurate as possible, but assume no Now sit back and enjoy a glass of wine or a cold beer as you read through responsibility for errors or omissions found in this magazine or any other these new and exciting itineraries, and we’ll see you on the road! Cheers! corporate publications produced by ITINERARIES MINNESOTA, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ITINERARIES MINNESOTA Magazine Heather Lahren and Mark Peterson 8014 Olson Memorial Highway #215, Minneapolis, MN 55427 Co-Publishers, ITINERARIES MINNESOTA Magazine COPYRIGHT 2007 MAKING THIS MAGAZINE WORK FOR YOU: ITINERARIES MINNESOTA Magazine is published specifically for the Coming Fall 2007 travel trade professional three times a year: Winter/Spring, Summer, and Fall. Minnesota and the upper Midwest are presented topically and by Hand-On-Tours… region, and strive to communicate the rich flavors of our destinations Experience and Learn through unique sample itineraries, travel ideas, and fresh editorial. This publication is purposefully designed as a planning tool and resource to As you know, the numbers of boomers traveling in assist you with your group travel planning. The sample itineraries groups is growing as more boomers enter the travel suggest destinations, are not intended for sale, and are presented in formats that can be easily customized to your needs. Simply call your market. And they don’t just want to sit and watch tour operator or the direct contact at the end of each itinerary, or fax the anymore. They want to get right in there, roll up the Reader Response page to us after indicating which destinations you sleeves, and participate! For the travel trade profession- have an interest in and would like more information on. We suggest that you contact our group-friendly advertisers since they specifically seek al, this means more opportunities than ever! your group travel business. Their presence in Itineraries Minnesota underscores the importance of your business for them. s summer 2007 contents 8 Schell Brewery workers 10 featuring departments 12 Two for the Road. Suggested itineraries, with map coordinates, which Wineries and Breweries. can be customized by your tour operator, or contact the person/organization below the itinerary. 14 feature itinerary Wineries with a Beer Chaser 16 southeast minnesota 22 southwest minnesota columns 30 northwest minnesota 6 travel tips Winning Ways 34 northeast minnesota 7 explore our festivals now 8 profile New Ulm, MN 38 twin cities metro 10 destination highlight Wine Time 54 upper midwest 63 Ponca State Park - Nebraska on the cover photos provided by cover photos Heather Lahren, Mark Peterson, Aberdeen Area CVB, American Swedish Institute, Ashfall Fossil Bad State Historical Park, Working on the Line... These two guys never knew August Schell Brewery, Austin CVB, Bismark-Mandan CVB, Bloomington CVB, Blue Earth County Heritage Center, they’d be cover models for a nationally acclaimed travel Branson Chamber of Commerce, Carlos Creek Winery, Chateau St. Croix Winery, Devils Lake Chamber, Eagan CVB, trade magazine. With thanks to the August Schell Brewery Falconer Vineyards, Forestedge Winery, Fort Hartsuff State Historical Park, Gluek Brewing Company, Gluek Restaurant in New Ulm, Minnesota for giving us a picture into their & Bar, Historic R.D. Hubbard House, International Crane Foundation, Ironworld Discovery Center, John Lind House, colorful history. Lanesboro Chamber, Mantorville Brewing Co., Meet Minneapolis, Milwaukee Public Museum, Minneapolis Institute The Main Reasons for upper Midwest Wineries... of Arts, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Minnesota Renaissance Festival, Minnestalgia Winery & Gift Shop, Morgan Creek Vineyards, Mystic Lake Casino, New Ulm CVB, Ontario’s North, Prairie Wetlands Learning Center, Ponca State The new hardy grapes that flourish even during cold Park, Rutters Bay Lake Dodge, St.