MPI Minnesota July 2024 President's Message

Hello, MPI Minnesota! I hope that you are enjoying all things Minnesota related – escaping to somebody’s cabin “up north” (even if it’s not actually north of here), getting out on the lake, enjoying some city or town festival, getting out to a concert or two, maybe eating a North Mallow s’more, or just doing anything you can possibly do to enjoy our beautiful summers.

July is also the start of what is referred to as the “dog days of summer”. As anyone with an internet connection and a propensity for curiosity would do, I fell down a rabbit hole of Googling where this term originated from. No, the dog days of summer does not refer to sweaty dogs panting in the heat. It actually comes from the phenomenon where, on the hottest days of the year, the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major disappears from the night sky and instead rises and sets with the sun.

As event professionals, this time of the year can seem slow for us, as events taper down before the fall hits. However, that doesn’t mean that we aren’t still diligently working behind the scenes, getting ready for that time where we will once again shine in our proper place in the sky. Just like that star, we are still there – our focus is just shifted as we prepare behind the scenes.

And for those of you that did not know the origin of the “dog days of summer” – you’re welcome. You now have a fun fact that you can impress your friends or family with at your next BBQ.

As an organization, we just wrapped up our summer social at the Mall of America. This event was also the first time that we hosted a planner-exclusive bus tour, thank to our good friends in Bloomington. And this coming August, we’ll be bringing our education A game as Michael Dominguez joins us to talk all things industry related. If you haven’t seem Michael present before, this is one presentation you won’t want to miss! Just get ready to write down all of the knowledge that he’ll impart on you!

As always, I hope to see each and everyone of you at an upcoming event, shining bright!