There were a lot of events that happened in 2025. Some were big. Some were small. These are the 10 stories that stood out.
Sierra Ferrell casts her spell
David Samson / The Forum
It was a relatively quiet year for concerts at The Fargodome, though
put on an intense show in July. Other venues stepped up with The Lights and Scheels Arena putting on more shows than ever with Bluestem Amphitheater and UP District Festival Field holding their own.
For my money, the best was
Sierra Ferrell at Festival Field.
The Americana singer — wearing a vintage dress and a crown of bell flowers — played on a stage filled with lit mushrooms and other flowers. It was a mesmerizing show that seemed like an Appalachian fever dream, punctuated by her soliciting prayers for water bottles on a warm July night. It was all lovingly kooky.
Murray Lemley and Catherine Mulligan come home
Anna Paige / The Forum
A couple of art openings turned into reunions this year. The Plains Art Museum’s retrospective of
and
sculptor/printmaker Catherine Esmond Mulligan’s
show at the Rourke Art Gallery + Museum brought the artists — both major players from the 1970s to the ’90s — back for their first major shows in years.
The events also brought out dozens of old friends of the artists.
Lemley’s exhibit remains up through Jan. 4.
Anna Paige / The Forum
FM Symphony gets dramatic
Anna Paige / The Forum
The
Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra started its new season with a bang in September.
The show opened with the premiere of Noir Concerto No. 1, which Concordia College graduate Adam Hochstatter wrote for his former teacher and saxophone soloist Russell Peterson. The piece sounded like a score to a murder mystery and had the crowd on the edge of their seats.
Peterson’s own composition, “Between Two Cultures,” written for Indigenous artist Star Wallowing Bull’s work, celebrated its 20th anniversary with The Buffalo River Drummers playing and singing, wowing the crowd.
Lauren Daigle sets RRVF record (maybe)
Pulse Evangelism / Contributed
The Red River Valley Fair needed a strong year to bounce back after calling its
2024 concert attendance “a disaster.”
It did just that, thanks in part to
closing out the run, pulling in 12,800 fans. The RRVF staff called that an attendance record, but in 2024 the same was said after Jelly Roll drew between 13,000 and 15,000.
In 2013 RRVF staff were expecting 21,000 for The Band Perry. Current staff disputed past attendance numbers and maintained Daigle holds the record, but declined to say how many tickets were sold and how many were given away.
David Samson / The Forum
Child movie stars from the 1980s
and
C. Thomas Howell were back on the big screen at the Fargo Theatre
and on the stage to talk about it. A screening of “The Breakfast Club” closed out the Fargo Film Festival with Ringwald fielding questions from the crowd in late March.
A few days later Howell brought “The Outsiders” to the theater and similarly engaged with the audience.
‘A.J. Goes to the Dog Park’ destroys the Fargo Theatre
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Outsiders may always associate the movie “Fargo” with the town, but
did it one better with the oddball comedy “AJ Goes to the Dog Park.” Made in town and by Fargoans, the quirky comedy follows a Fargo man’s fight to get his dog park back. By the end of the film, the Demon Lord Krogloch appears and demolishes the Fargo Theatre and a Hornbachers, among other things.
The film’s theatrical premiere in July was interrupted by a 14-foot-tall Kroglock who sat for a panel discussion.
The absurdist movie was released to BlueRay later in the year.
Spirit Room closes its doors
Contributed
The
Spirit Room, which celebrated and fostered regional culture, closed in September.
The space, above Moonrise Cafe, held art exhibits, concerts, readings, discussions as well as yoga and meditation classes for more than 25 years. Executive Director Dawn Morgan said the people weren’t coming out for events and classes as much, prompting the shutdown.
Michael Walling takes a final bow
Chris Flynn / The Forum
After 34 years of producing main stage musicals at Trollwood Performing Arts School,
Michael Walling took his final bow in August.
The former artistic director saw the productions grow from the former stage at Trollwood Park in north Moorhead to the Bluestem Amphitheater in south Moorhead.
He directed future Broadway stars like
Becky Gulsvig, who will return in 2026 to direct “Frozen.”
Louis CK sells out in a flash
There were bigger comedy shows in town, like Theo Von at the Fargodome and Jeff Dunham and Tom Segura both at Scheels Arena. Oddly, the biggest name played the smallest show. The Cellar at Front Street Taproom quietly announced a show with
and star of “Louie,” over a weekend and quickly sold out the $35 seats.
The April 15 show was the day before he played the 1,600-seat Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg.
Madd Frank says good night
Contributed
In the 10 years of producing “Madd Frank Presents,” the B-level horror movie host, played by Delray Dvoracek, developed a strong regional following. Those followers paid their respects in October when
Dvoracek died at the age of 85.
The actor estimated that he and his friends did hundreds of episodes of the low budget spooky movie showcase.
“Nothing was taken seriously. It was just for fun,” Fargo filmmaker Tony Tilton said. “He encouraged people to do stuff. They didn’t have great production values, but they made something fun.”
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