Growing Destinations

Avital Rabinowitz is in her second year as Director of Rochester Civic Music, a department of the City of Rochester, Minnesota. Its mission is to bring people together by creating fun and memorable live music experiences. Rochester Civic Music produces a variety of programming throughout the community including the ever popular Down by the Riverside free public concert series, now in its 31st season. Every Sunday starting in mid-July for five weeks, Mayo Park along the Zumbro River in downtown Rochester turns into an outdoor music venue featuring local, regional and national acts. Avital says events like Down by the Riverside are a fantastic way to build community.

Rochester Civic Music
Experience Rochester, MN

Barry Zelickson is a leader in the attractions industry. His past accomplishments include the creation of a Halloween Theme Park and Family Entertainment Centers in Minnesota. Now, he has focused his attention on a new venture - Fun Across America, a YouTube channel highlighting entertainment centers around the country. It's a passion project for Barry to share stories and unique experiences, which comes at a needed time when people are seeking new ways to engage with each other.

Fun Across America
Experience Rochester, MN

The National Eagle Center in Wabasha, Minnesota is the only facility in the country that has been designated by Congress as a National Eagle Center. Meg Gammage-Tucker, the National Eagle Center's CEO, says the center's recent renovation and expansion provides greater opportunity for storytelling and community outreach about the bald eagle, which is an incredible conservation success story.

National Eagle Center
Experience Rochester, MN

In Rochester, Minnesota, Nick Novotny is a force in the music scene. He grew up playing different instruments and was influenced by live music and festivals. Today, he's the drummer in the Clay Fulton and the Lost Forty band, he's a partner in a music promotion business called My Town My Music, and he's the founder of the Rochester Thaw Music Festival, a community building event, bringing a higher level of music impact to Rochester.

Clay Fulton and the Lost Forty
My Town My Music
The Rochester Thaw
Experience Rochester, MN

LeeAnn Zubay is a lifelong foodie. Since 1978, she and her husband helped shape the restaurant scene in Rochester, Minnesota. She's taken her passion for food beyond restaurants, including a new venture called Food Union, an online gift box subscription service, which has evolved into a physical storefront in the heart of downtown Rochester. LeeAnn shares more about her excitement for new restaurant concepts and sourcing unique and hard-to-find items for her customers.

Food Union
Experience Rochester, MN

Lauren Bennett McGinty is one of Minnesota's biggest cheerleaders. It's no surprise, since she heads up Explore Minnesota, the state's official tourism booster. Tourism is big business for Minnesota, with direct impact of more than $13 billion, and leisure and hospitality is the 4th largest industry for employment in the state. With increased competition, Lauren says it's time for Minnesota to up its game. Lauren shares her vision for Minnesota to be a top 10 destination and what it will take to get there.

Explore Minnesota Tourism
Experience Rochester, MN

Sammi Loo grew up in the restaurant business in Malaysia. When she moved to Rochester, Minnesota in 2004, it didn't take long to turn her passion for food into business opportunities. She currently owns and operates a sushi restaurant and a European cafe in Rochester. Sammi says navigating the regulatory process can be challenging, but it's not a deterrent. She's planning to open two new Asian-inspired restaurants in downtown Rochester this year.

Ootori Sushi
Mezza9 Cafe & Desserts
Experience Rochester, MN

When he was 15 years old, Seamus Kolb got his first part-time job at Carroll's Corn, a popular gourmet popcorn shop in downtown Rochester, MN. Sixteen years later, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he purchased the shop, which just celebrated its 30th anniversary. Seamus shares more about the growth of Carroll's Corn, the changing dynamic of his customer base and why he's bullish on downtown Rochester's future.

Carroll's Corn
Experience Rochester, MN

In Rochester, Minnesota, the intersection of beer and music can be found at Thesis Beer Project. Adam Fredericksen and his wife opened the microbrewery in 2019. While 2022 proved to be a good year for Thesis, the pandemic was a big challenge for Rochester's newest taproom, but they learned a lot and pivoted to a new business model.

From the beginning, Adam set out for Thesis to be a preferred music venue and a hub for musicians, and the community has enthusiastically responded.

Thesis Beer Project
Experience Rochester, MN

Recognizing a need for broader community engagement on public projects, an innovative approach has been created in Rochester, Minnesota. It's called Community Co-Design -- a process that encourages, compensates and prioritizes the inclusion of diverse populations throughout the design and development process. Chao Mwatela, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director for the City of Rochester, and Kevin Bright, Director of Housing and Sustainability for the Destination Medical Center Economic Development Agency and City of Rochester, were both involved in the formation of Community Co-Design.

In the past two years, 10 local community co-design pilots have been completed. The success of Community Co-Design has caught the eye of Bloomberg Philanthropies, which awarded the City of Rochester a million-dollar grant in the Global Mayor's Challenge for its work in Community Co-Design.

More information on Community Co-Design in Rochester, Minnesota
Destination Medical Center
City of Rochester, MN
Experience Rochester, MN