From thrilling athletic tournaments, to hands-on ag events and corporate gatherings, Grand Island is the perfect place to make it all happen. Plan your next tournament, group tour, or business event with ease. Grand Island’s welcoming charm and state-of-the-art facilities are ready for you. Let’s make your visit memorable, and a little more GRAND!
Grand Island is ready to host your corporate meeting or trade show. Fonner Park has multiple facilities with open and flexible spaces. The Grand Comic Con uses the 12,000 square foot Aurora Cooperative Pavilion for its annual event, while the 100,000 square foot Pinnacle Bank Expo Center can accommodate RVs for outdoor shows and combines for farm shows. For smaller trade shows, check into one of Grand Island's three convention hotels, Ramada Midtown, Quality Inn, or the Bosselman Conference Center. If the information on this page doesn’t answer your question, please call (308-382-4400) or email (sales@VisitGrandIsland.com) us. We’re happy to help!
Could there be a better place to host your Ag/Livestock event in Nebraska? Bring your livestock, your competitors and your show to Grand Island, and see how our city brings every Ag and Livestock show to life!
“Thank you Grand Island Visitors Bureau for making everything run so smoothly. We have never had so much help from any city we have gone to; you have raised the bar. We look forward to coming back next year.”
— North American Jr. Red Angus Event
Pinnacle Bank Expo Center
Bosselman Conference Center
Grand Island Motor Co. Cattle Barn
Grand Island has hosted scores of regional and national competitions — equine, shooting sports, wrestling, basketball, archery, bowling, cheerleading, and more. We have a high rate of return events, evidence that Grand Island knows how to make sporting competitions and tournaments successful.
Grand Island offers a diverse array of top-notch venues from an arena that can seat more than 7,500 to a state-of-the-art shooting park. We’re equipped to handle competitions in virtually any sport from equine to archery, from trap shooting to wrestling, from dance to basketball.
Located right in the middle of the U.S. off Interstate 80, our regional airport connects us daily with Dallas/Fort Worth and weekly flights connect passengers to Phoenix and Las Vegas. Once you’re here, getting around is simple; you can drive across town in about 15 minutes. There are about 1,500 hotel rooms within five minutes of all major venues. When your teams and fans aren’t busy with your event, there is plenty for them to do including great shopping and recreation, from museums to a water park, from restaurants to nature experiences. Your dollar goes farther in Grand Island whether you're booking hotel rooms or dining out, and you won’t sacrifice quality while you’re saving money. Competitors and fans alike will leave Grand Island with more money in their pockets — and great memories of an event like no other.
Get married where blue skies, fresh air, and good vibes are a given.
A modern, chic event and wedding venue located in Grand Island, NE just east of the Indianhead Golf Course.
An exquisite wedding & event venue located in the heart of downtown Grand Island, Nebraska.
Grand Island’s attractions and events will keep your group tour engaged throughout your entire stay in our city.
In Grand Island you will find Fonner Park, where the springtime tradition of Thoroughbred horse racing thunders around the track, the Nebraska State Fair entertains, and national livestock shows show off the agricultural roots of our community. Grand Island is also home to the Husker Harvest Days farm show, Stuhr Museum and the University of Nebraska’s Raising Nebraska – a modern agricultural showcase.
Grand Island is connected by the popular downtown Railside District with its abundant dining and shopping. The free and festive atmosphere of the Hear Grand Island concert series fills Railside with music of every genre during the summer.
If the information on this page doesn’t answer your question, please call (308-382-4400) or email (Dana@VisitGrandIsland.com) us. We’re happy to help!
Kinkaider Brewing Company | 316 N. Pine, Grand Island, Nebraska 68801
Have dinner at Kinkaiders, located in the former Michelson theater, built in 1908. The beautiful antique bar is the cornerstone of the restaurant. The menu is diverse, including steaks, burgers, salmon, and flatbreads. Kinkaiders also has a full line of their own beers and ales brewed in the Sandhills of Nebraska.
Raising Nebraska | 501 E. Fonner Park Road, Suite 100
Start the day off with breakfast in the Raising Nebraska building operated by the University of Nebraska Extension. There, you’ll enjoy a delicious farm to table breakfast and do hands-on activities such as infusing flavors into cooking oil or visiting the gardens (seasonal).
Allow 2 hours
Family Farm Experience | Various sites are available in and around Grand Island
Your group will visit a family farm, see operations up close, and talk with the people who use science and technology in modern farming. You’ll get to see equipment and learn the process of production — livestock or crops.
Allow 1 hour
Miletta Vista Winery | 1732 Highway 281, St. Paul
Take a short drive up to the edge of the Nebraska Sandhills with a visit to the most established vineyard and winery in the area. You can hear about the process of producing wine from vine to bottle. There you can sample wines and have lunch. If you’re there at the right time of year, you may be able to participate in the grape harvest. A step-on guide may be added to share information during your drive to and from this location.
Stuhr Museum | 3133 W. U.S. Hwy 34
Start your migration experience with the Wings Over the Platte art exhibit and lunch at the beautiful Stuhr Museum. This renowned living history museum hosts Wings Over the Platte, showcasing art themed around the Platte River valley. While at the museum, you can watch videos about the crane migration and take part in behind-the-scenes tours of the museum archives and 150,000-piece collections building.
Driving Tour with Step-on Guide
Next, you’ll hit the road with a local guide who will take you through areas where the Sandhill Cranes feed during the day. If the cranes aren’t too full from feasting on grain and grubs, you may catch them dancing to impress their future lifemate. And, maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a glimpse of an endangered Whooping Crane.
Crane Trust Nature and Visitor’s Center | 9325 S Alda Rd
At the Crane Trust and Visitors Center, you’ll learn more about the 1 million bird crane migration that draws visitors from around the world. At the Crane Trust, you’ll hear about how conservation efforts help make this spot on the Platte the ideal resting place for the long crane migration.
At dusk, an up close and personal view of the cranes will be the highlight of your visit. You’ll see and hear the birds fly in for their overnight stay from the Crane Trust's blinds on the river. They are a talkative bunch.
The evening will be capped off with dinner at Kinkaiders Brewing Company. Located in a grand old bar that once housed a theater, it will seem like a throwback to a different era. The locally brewed beer and delicious food will make for a great end to the day.
The Chocolate Bar | 116 W 3rd St
Coffee, breakfast, and the pleasant environment of The Chocolate Bar will get you ready for your next day of travel. If you want, we can invite a local story teller, photographer, or historian to join you for one last experience in downtown Grand Island before you set out for your next destination.
For this itinerary, the suggested start time is 11:00 am or 12:30 pm
The Chocolate Bar | 116 W. 3rd St., Grand Island, NE 68801
The Chocolate Bar can accommodate a large group in its meeting spaces. We encourage selecting a buffet-style lunch, including dessert. An artist or foodie may be brought in to talk. This may also be a time when Nebraska Public Media’s video story of Fred’s Flying Circus (another stop on the tour) can be played.
Allow 1 hour
Prairie Pride Brewing Company | 115 E. South Front St. #1, Grand Island, NE 68801
When a home brewer wins awards and turns pro, you get places like Prairie Pride Brewing Company. With on site brewing, you can sample as well as see the process it takes to develop new flavors and brews for retail consumption.
Allow 1 hour
La Mexicana Tortilla Factory and Restaurant | 111 E. 4th St., Grand Island, NE 68801
When you have a Mexican Restaurant, it’s handy to have your own tortilla factory and store. But they don’t stop there, they sell their tortillas on the wholesale and retail markets too, plus they have a bakery. Now those are entrepreneurs!
Allow 30 minutes-1 hour
Fred’s Flying Circus | 503 E. 4th St., Grand Island, NE 68801
Fred’s Flying Circus is a whimsical, 3D art display viewed from across the street. It’s the creation of the late Fred Schritt who operated G.I. Body Shop for years. When his auto body skills took an artistic turn, this unique, sky-high art exhibit was born.
Allow 30 minutes
Prairie Creek Vineyard and Winery | 1600 16th St, Central City, NE 68826
You’ll have supper at Prairie Creek’s restaurant. The small menu focuses on quality ingredients, locally sourced when possible. They’ll suggest which of their wines best pairs with your meal.
Raising Nebraska | 501 E. Fonner Park Road, Suite 100, Grand Island, Nebraska 68801
Have a delicious farm-to-table breakfast and hear about local crops and ingredients that may be part of your meal. You might enjoy local sausage, bacon, eggs, honey, mushrooms, or milk.
Add an art element to your morning. Raising Nebraska staff, or a local artist can lead your group in a hands-on project.
Allow 1-1.5 hours
Depart for your next travel stop.
Liederkranz | 401 W. 1st St., Grand Island, Nebraska 68801
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Liederkranz club was formed in 1870. Step back in time when you visit the original German Bar from the early 1900s, and the retro bowling alley. Have supper and get a historical tour.
1.5 hours
Burlington Station | 603 N. Plum, Grand Island, Nebraska 68801
Start the day off with breakfast in the restored Burlington Train Depot. This venue is owned and operated by the Hall County Historical Society. Have breakfast served up by members of the Historical Society and hear stories about locals and those who passed through. You’ll probably even find out why there is an island in the most landlocked state in the U.S. If we play our cards right, you may even get a tour of the Tri-City Model Railroaders set up in the north building of the depot.
Allow 1.5—2 hours
Railside Tour | 201 W. 3rd St., Grand Island, NE 68801
Take a walking tour of historic downtown sites with a Grand Island Tourism team member and/or Railside district’s director. Stop into some of our favorite spots and learn about the movers, shakers, saints, and sinners that made this railroad town thrive. A stop at the Grand Theatre, built in 1911, takes you back to earlier movie houses and a 1937, art deco renovation.
Allow 1.5 hour
Chicken Coop | 120 E. 3rd St., Grand Island, NE 68801
Enjoy lunch in this historic building which, during the early days of the railroad, serviced workers and patrons alike. Learn about those who passed through the doors. The Chicken Coop has a varied menu of great food and its own brews (including root beer).
1 hour
Driving Tour with Step-On Guide
See the sites and hear the stories of Grand Island and Hall County. Learn about how two boys on horseback lived after being shot by an arrow that pinned them together. Plus, hear about how the Oregon and Mormon Trails cut through the county along the Wood River trail.
Allow 1 hour
Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer | 3133 W. US Hwy 34, Grand Island, NE 68801
The gateway into this living history museum is the main building, designed by Edward Durell Stone — designer of the Kennedy Center and Radio City Music Hall. As you get further into the museum’s 200 acres, you find a historic, working town comprised of homes, a church, a school, a general store, a planing mill, a tin smith, and a blacksmith. The town is inhabited by historic interpreters from late spring to early fall. While at Stuhr, get a behind-the-scenes tour of the archive and the collections building, boasting over 150,000 pieces.
Allow 2 hours
A year-round facility, Fonner Park is host to numerous annual events including livestock shows, trade shows, the Hall County Fair, the Nebraska State Fair and various other meetings and conventions.
Stay informed, stay inspired, and stay ahead with Grand Island Tourism.
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