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FARGO WALK OF ✩ FAME ✩
by Jamee Larson
Trivia time: How far is it from Fargo to the nearest Celebrity Walk of Fame? It is 1,800 miles to the famed Hollywood Walk of Fame, but that certainly isn’t the nearest. Las Vegas maybe? New York? How about Chicago? No, no, and no. The nearest Celebrity Walk of Fame is located … in Fargo.
Haven’t heard of Fargo’s Celebrity Walk of Fame? You are not alone. Many times, visitors who actively search out a city’s attractions know more about them than do the residents. We often take for granted that which is right outside our doorways. Located at the Fargo-Moorhead Visitors Center, the Celebrity Walk of Fame is a collection of over 110 celebrity signatures, handprints, and footprints preserved in cement. The inception of the attraction dates back to the early 1980s when Mike Stevens founded the original “Fargo Walk of Fame” in downtown Fargo. According to Travel Ambassador Lead Danni Riley, the first star to be inducted was trumpeter Al Hirt. “The walk was great until there was no more room on the sidewalk,” she explained. Eventually, the Fargo-Moorhead Convention and Visitors Bureau was chosen as the new home and the Walk of Fame was relocated in May of 2000. The Hollywood Walk of Fame includes over 2,500 stars. Although Fargo’s doesn’t come anywhere close to that number, the list of celebrities that have left a lasting impact on the city is equal as impressive. Among the most popular are Bill Gates, Styx, Def Leppard, Garth Brooks, Kiss, the Monkees, and Alice Cooper. Fargo-Moorhead really loves its music. One of the neatest ways to experience the Walk of Fame is to size up your hands and feet to those of the stars. The largest footprints come in at just over 17 inches. The owner? None other than Sesame Street’s Ernie. Burt’s print is a bit smaller. The celebrity presence that surprised me the most was famous sex therapist and media personality Dr. Ruth. The good doctor is only 4’7”, so you can imagine the diminutive size of the prints she left. Although I am an ardent Styx fan, they are not my favorite step on the Walk of Fame. That honor goes to famed basketball player Meadowlark Lemon, famed member of the original Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. I could hear “Sweet Georgia Brown” playing in the background as I paid my respects to the “Clown Prince.” Never been to Fargo’s Celebrity Walk of Fame? Danni Riley would like to change that. “I would say that the Fargo Celebrity Walk of Fame is a different and unique part of Fargo’s history that you cannot find anywhere else,” she said. “It is so interesting to see the huge names that not only came to Fargo but also took the time to put their hand prints in the cement for visitors to see. It is definitely worth the stop.” The Celebrity Walk of Fame is located at 2001 44th Street South, just off exit 348 on Interstate-94. More information can be obtained at www.fargomoorhead.org.
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| ShopDineLive.net | August 2016