jimdahl Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 Grand Cities please, please, please, die, die, die. It would be fine if it were just some random word that were associated with the area, but while the "grand" in the city name referred to the forks being striking in size, the name "Grand Cities" invites interpretation of it as indicating some sort of ostentatious greatness. It's embarrassing. IMHO, of course. Quote
sioux fan in phoenix Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 Let's see, most BIG metro areas have a catchy nickname. The Windy City; The Tottling Town; The City with Broad Shoulders.--Chicago The City that never sleeps; The Big Apple--New York The Twin Cities--Mpls/St. Paul The Emerald City--Seattle Steel Town--Pittsburgh The City of Brotherly Love--Philadelphia ...and many others. I'm undecided about "Grand Cities" & don't know how a slick-sounding name is going to draw more revenue & a larger population. The fact that complaints are waning maybe means that people are starting to accept it..or, they could still despise it & are just tolerating it. Perhaps they could work off something that deals with hockey or aviation because those are the 2 things I think of when I think about G.F. I also think of "freezing cold", "flat", "husky women", "small" & other things which wouldn't be very good. Quote
mksioux Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 Most people I know say "the Forks" when referring to Grand Forks-East Grand Forks. Quote
ScottM Posted February 29, 2004 Posted February 29, 2004 Could they just refer to the area as "The Stench of the North", and be honest about it? Quote
The Sicatoka Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 The want something they can market on both sides of the border. To Manitobans, "The Forks" is The Forks Marketplace in downtown Winnipeg. Quote
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 I really hate the Grand Cities moniker. I hope it does die and is no longer used in every single promotion the city does. Quote
Cratter Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 The Grand Cities is here to stay, whether anyone likes it or not, because the Grand Cities Mall probably won't change its name. I think it's nice to have that option if people want to use it. Quote
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 1, 2004 Posted March 1, 2004 The Grand Cities is here to stay, whether anyone likes it or not, because the Grand Cities Mall probably won't change its name. I think it's nice to have that option if people want to use it. I don't mind if individual businesses want to use it, I just don't want the city or the chamber of commerce to keep using it on every piece of literature or promotional acitivity the city does. Quote
Smoggy Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 At least it's better than sunflake city. What a mouthful, and I couldn't believe that the air force tankers have the emblem on them. Quote
jakester Posted March 2, 2004 Posted March 2, 2004 Most people I know say "the Forks" when referring to Grand Forks-East Grand Forks. Growing up in a small town near Grand Forks I never heard anyone say "I'm driving into 'the Forks' to go shopping." For us it was always just 'Forks' without the 'the' added to it. This always covered both sides of the river, too. I haven't talked to anybody who actually likes the Grand Cities and it's time to drop it for good. As far as 'The Forks', when I hear that, I think of Winnipeg. Quote
sioux fan in phoenix Posted March 3, 2004 Posted March 3, 2004 Growing up in a small town near Grand Forks I never heard anyone say "I'm driving into 'the Forks' to go shopping." For us it was always just 'Forks' without the 'the' added to it. I'm not trying to be insulting in any way, but saying just "Forks" sounds kinda, well, retarded. "Hey, Dave, let's go to Forks." It just doesn't sound right & it makes it seem either like the person saying it has never heard of "the" or he's not very smart. Again, I'm not trying to be rude, jakester, as I grew up there myself. JMNSHO... Quote
Goon Posted March 3, 2004 Posted March 3, 2004 Growing up in a small town near Grand Forks I never heard anyone say "I'm driving into 'the Forks' to go shopping." For us it was always just 'Forks' without the 'the' added to it. This always covered both sides of the river, too. I haven't talked to anybody who actually likes the Grand Cities and it's time to drop it for good. As far as 'The Forks', when I hear that, I think of Winnipeg. One of the first things that I noticed when I moved here was that "the" is a common part of the ND language. People go to "the Lake", "the Mall", "the bar", "the Club", the Forks". I always got a kick out of it. Especially when they say the lake, you know Minnesota. I always asked which one since there were 10,000 of them in Minnesota. Quote
sioux fan in phoenix Posted March 4, 2004 Posted March 4, 2004 One of the first things that I noticed when I moved here was that "the" is a common part of the ND language. People go to "the Lake", "the Mall", "the bar", "the Club", the Forks". I always got a kick out of it. Especially when they say the lake, you know Minnesota. I always asked which one since there were 10,000 of them in Minnesota. I think "the" is a common & essential word of any American dialect. If someone says, "I'm going to Forks" it sounds incomplete & moronic (sorry again, jakester, just my opinion). If you don't throw a "the" in there it makes Forks sound like a verb & not a noun like it was intended. Quote
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 4, 2004 Posted March 4, 2004 I agree with sfip You wouldn't say, "i'm going to mall or i'm going to club" That sounds like a caveman talking. Quote
BigGreyAnt41 Posted March 4, 2004 Posted March 4, 2004 Although I've only lived in Grand Forks for 3 years (grew up in Moorhead), I swear I've been hearing the term "Grand Cities" for more than 3 years. At least it seems that way. It has never bothered me, though. Quote
CoteauRinkRat Posted March 4, 2004 Posted March 4, 2004 Although I've only lived in Grand Forks for 3 years (grew up in Moorhead), I swear I've been hearing the term "Grand Cities" for more than 3 years. At least it seems that way. It has never bothered me, though. I have lived here for a long time and had never heard it until a little over three years ago when they unveiled the marketing slogan. Quote
sioux fan in phoenix Posted March 4, 2004 Posted March 4, 2004 I agree with sfip You wouldn't say, "i'm going to mall or i'm going to club" That sounds like a caveman talking. F'n hilarious. Without "the", Sicatoka would be half the man he is today Quote
tony Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 I think the proper usage is, "Me going to Forks. Me shop at Mall." OTOH, maybe it's some sort of British influence by way of Canada. After all, Brits say "visiting hospital" instead of "visiting the hospital" and "going down the shops" instead of "going to the shops" and all sorts of weird things. Grand Cities isn't really that bad. The motto they came up with, "There's more on our horizon," should definitely go. What's it mean? Is something good about to happen or something bad; or is it going to be just more of the same? Every time I read it, it makes me think you're telling people to leave Grand Forks. I suggest going with "Funky Town". There'd be no need for a "the" with that; and you would have a pre-written song for your commercials. Just for smack purposes, how about "La Dame Malodorante du Nord?" Quote
The Sicatoka Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 Without "the", Sicatoka would be half the man he is today And that's still twice the rest of you. Quote
The Sicatoka Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 Just for smack purposes, how about "La Dame Malodorante du Nord?" Driven past all the NDSU stockyards at 19th Avenue North and I-29 lately given the recent thaw? "The Grand Cities" can't approach that level. "Malodorante" indeed. Quote
PCM Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 And that's still twice the rest of you. That's it. I'm going to start calling myself "The PCM." Quote
airmail Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 I think "the" is a common & essential word of any American dialect. If someone says, "I'm going to Forks" it sounds incomplete & moronic (sorry again, jakester, just my opinion). If you don't throw a "the" in there it makes Forks sound like a verb & not a noun like it was intended. Its okay, jakester! In my adolescent years, we also "went to Forks" on weekend evenings. Must be a local small town thing, albeit incomplete & moronic. Similarly, if I went to Dean Blais' house, I could say the following: I went to the Blais'. I went to Dean's. Either way, it works... Quote
tony Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 Driven past all the NDSU stockyards at 19th Avenue North and I-29 lately given the recent thaw? "The Grand Cities" can't approach that level. "Malodorante" indeed. In truth, I only vaguely remember GF's smell and don't remember it getting bad all that often. I don't remember smelling the livestock barns at 'SU at all, but I'm sure that up close during a thaw it'd be fragrant. My advice, quit cruising (by) the sheep barns Twice the man indeed Quote
The Sicatoka Posted March 10, 2004 Posted March 10, 2004 Sorry, I can't control the routing of I-29 (not any more at least). Quote
GVSU Yooper Posted March 12, 2004 Posted March 12, 2004 Hello everyone. I found this to be my favorite forum & thread on your website. I go to college at Grand Valley State University which is just out of of Grand Rapids, MI. Its funny & interesting to hear all of your opinions on the "Grand Cities" issue. We have an East Grand Rapids here but its so small and insignifcant. People will say "I am going to Grand Rapids" or "going to GR". I have never heard anyone refer to Grand Rapids as "The Grand City" or "going to the Rapids". This primarly because there are multiple cities in Michigan with the name Rapid or rapids in it. Such as: Grand Rapids, Big Rapids, Rapid River, etc. Also, there are several cities with the word Grand in it such as: Grand Ledge, Grand Blanc, Grandville, Grand Marais, and such. Anyhow, im sure most of you out in ND do not care about what I just posted, but I find your thread on the topic pretty interesting. I am a Geography major and stuff like that is interesting to hear the local perspective & thoughts compared to folks outside the area of country (Canada). HAVE A NICE DAY & STAY WARM IN GRAND FORKS JUST AS I WILL TRY TO HERE IN GRAND RAPIDS. OOT Quote
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