The River’s Edge Convention Center Has A New Website!

Planning your wedding, coordinating your next businesses meeting or figuring out how you’re going to spend your next night out in St. Cloud became a whole lot easier with the launch of the River’s Edge Convention Center’s new website! The new website was built with you in mind -- the people who plan and attend events in St. Cloud’s 180,000 square foot premier destination. The website is clean, easy to navigate and all the resources you need are readily available.

The main tabs across the top of the screen direct you to the pages you need when you’re planning an event at River’s Edge Convention Center. Click on the tab you need (Weddings/Socials, Conferences, Meetings, Entertainment, Consumer/Trade Shows) and you’ll be directed to all the information and resources needed to make your event a success. You’ll have access to our building layouts, catering information, internet service, room prices and more.

Not planning an event but are looking for something fun to do in the area? Scroll down our home page for our calendar of events, parking information and directions, or you can even sign up to receive notifications about River’s Edge Convention Center news and happenings. We want your experience at our facility to be the absolute best it can be, and we are very excited to provide you with all the resources you need to make that happen. You can also stay updated about events by getting social with us; click on the social media icons on the left side of the homepage.

We look forward to seeing you at the River’s Edge Convention Center! What do you like best about our new website? Your feedback is important to us! Let us know in the comments below:

Make Your Event A Success At River's Edge

Guest Blog: DAYTA Marketing

When looking for a home for DAYTA U St. Cloud 2015, all of us at DAYTA Marketing knew we needed to go BIG. After the past couple years, our one-day social media marketing seminar for local business owners and marketers has risen dramatically in popularity, and we expected attendance to double or triple. When looking for a venue, we wanted a space that could fit everyone attending and we also needed the right equipment and technology. We went to River’s Edge Convention Center and found everything we were looking for!

The staff at River's Edge worked with us on planning the event from the time we booked until the last box was packed up at the end of the day. Their assistance made everything less stressful and made the days and weeks leading up to the big day go more smoothly. Our Director of Marketing, Ellie Backes, was able to do walkthroughs and the Convention Center's team provided great insights and tips for room layouts.

“They made themselves available the day of and checked in consistently throughout the day,” said Ellie. “I've had events where our event coordinator is nowhere to be found the day of. This definitely gave us peace of mind that if anything came up we'd have support to get it handled.”

The night before DAYTA U, we were able to go to River’s Edge Convention Center and start setting up some of our supplies and to get a feel for the rooms. We realized we needed to make some last-minute adjustments to the room layouts, and the convention center staff was there to help in an instant. We were incredibly impressed with the staff’s responsiveness and customer service.

The morning of our event we had some late registrations, which wasn’t a problem. The staff was there to add some chairs to rooms to accommodate our new students. They also helped us make extra copies of print materials. Our attendees gave us feedback about how smoothly the whole day went and how impressed they were.

During the day of a big event, small things can really create a big dent, but we had peace of mind the whole day. River’s Edge Convention Center truly is the premier destination for the best events in Central Minnesota!

Key Benefits of Off-site Meetings

When planning a meeting, there are many factors to think about. We look into a time that is available for everyone involved, the agenda and (if we’re lucky) perhaps plan for a sweet treat, but often the location itself gets overlooked. There are many reasons why the location can sometimes be as important a factor as all other considerations. Choosing an off-site location such as St. Cloud River's Edge Convention Center can maximize meeting time and efficiency in many different ways.

Distance from the Desk
Leaving the office helps individuals step away and stop thinking about outside duties. It takes away the possibilities of being distracted when client comes in or sending unrelated emails during a meeting. A new location helps co-workers compartmentalize their time and focus on current topics, which allows for more quality participation.

Spark Creativity
Getting away from day-to-day operations can help open space for new and innovative ideas- people think out of the box when thrown into a new situation. Utilizing a different space may also allow a greater amount of people to gather from various locations and meet with new individuals for an outside perspective. Mentoring relationships bloom during these kinds of meetings.

Enhance Presentation Opportunity
A new location can give presenters more opportunity for the use of equipment that may not be supported in the office, which makes for a more effective presentation. The speaker can be better equipped to engage the audience with a larger screen or more easily manipulated tools. The more engaging a presentation is, the more the team will likely remember and take new skills to the office with them.

Boost Team Morale- There is something invigorating about breaking habit. With co-workers, it can be a great way to infuse a team building opportunity. An off-site meeting allows the opportunity for face-to-face interaction, which is too often lost in the use of technology. Being present allows one to view the body language and other social cues that otherwise are missed. Even the opportunity to eat a meal together affords co-workers to have more relaxed time with one another to build a relationship and understanding beyond usual business. Also, an off-site meeting makes teams feel like there was more care taken in preparing for the meeting,  making the team members feel more valued. Boosting the team’s feeling of importance can translate into more commitment and loyalty.

A meeting’s location is a large factor in its ability maximize the time co-workers have with one another.  An off-site meeting at River’s Edge Convention Center may re-energize and bring passion back to those you work with. Plan your next event at an off-site location, and see the difference it makes in your team.