North Dakota Ready Mix Association

For a touch of class–or classic–make music a big part of your evening when you plan to take in a performance of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra. This highly accomplished group of musicians regularly performs at the Belle Mehus City Auditorium. An appealing mix of classics as well as the work of more modern composers is presented throughout the year, as well as special engagements with featured singers. There's also seasonal entertainment like The Nutcracker, but you will most definitely want to check out the symphony's excellent offerings all year long.

Each fall, the Downtowners produce an arts, craft, and food show called Street Fair. This event was created by the Downtowners in 1973 as “Customer Appreciation Days” then grew into a full blown Street Fair and is now in its 51st year. Arts, craft, and food vendors will once again line the streets of Downtown Bismarck during September.

If you think that the concept of the cowboy was invented by John Wayne-types, Bismarck's North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame will challenge everything you think you know about cattle rustlers from the past. This attraction is an interpretive center for the history of Native Americans, and you will see the dramatic link between their culture to various “western” traditions like the rodeo, ranching, and the rustic “cowboy” lifestyle that owes much to the tribes that first inhabited the land.