The Visit Decorah Event Calendar is a visitor‑first, community resource owned and managed by Visit Decorah
1. Purpose of the Visit Decorah Event Calendar
The Visit Decorah Event Calendar is intended to be the primary, comprehensive source for public events happening in Decorah and the surrounding area. Our goal is to provide a one‑stop, easy‑to‑use calendar that helps people quickly see “what’s happening this weekend” or “what’s coming up,” and add events to their own plans.
The calendar is visitor‑focused first (what a visitor would reasonably attend or find useful), while still serving local residents who rely on it to discover community happenings.
Visit Decorah owns and manages this calendar so that we can ensure quality, consistency, and reliability over time, rather than sending users to external calendars we don’t control.
2. Who the Calendar Serves
Primary audience: Visitors to Decorah looking for things to do.
Secondary audience: Local residents who want a central place to find community events.
Because of this dual audience, we prioritize events that are open to the public and appealing to visitors, while being thoughtful about listing content that is strictly “resident‑only” or highly specialized.
3. Geographic & Content Scope
To be listed on the Visit Decorah Event Calendar, events should generally meet the following:
Location:
Take place in Decorah or the immediate surrounding area (greater Decorah region).
Public access:
Open to the general public (with or without an admission fee).
Limited‑capacity or ticketed events are acceptable as long as they are publicly promoted.
Time‑bound:
Occur on specific date(s) and time(s) rather than being ongoing services, standing offers, or evergreen promotions.
4. Events We Accept
Examples of events that typically fit the calendar:
Arts, culture, and entertainment
Concerts and live music
Theater and performing arts
Gallery openings and arts festivals
Community and family events
Parades, festivals, and fairs
Holiday celebrations
Family‑friendly activities and community gatherings
Educational and experiential events
Public lectures and speaker series
Workshops and hands‑on classes that are clearly scheduled and event‑like (e.g., a one‑day art workshop, beer‑tasting event)
Recreation and outdoor events
Races, organized rides, hikes, and outdoor adventure events
Guided tours (historical, nature, brewery, etc.) when tied to specific dates and times
Partner and key‑organization events
Events hosted by major community partners that are relevant to visitors and residents alike, such as Luther College, Vesterheim Museum, local breweries (Toppling Goliath, Pulpit Rock), Impact Coffee, and other recognized community organizations.
Visit Decorah & Chamber‑related events
Events produced or co‑hosted by Visit Decorah.
Chamber events that are relevant to the broader community and visitors (tickets, if applicable, are handled via Chamber or other external sites).
This list is illustrative, not exhaustive. Visit Decorah reserves full discretion over what is included.
5. Events We Do Not List
To keep the calendar useful and visitor‑focused, we generally do not list:
Routine promotions and sales
General retail sales, discounts, or coupons (“20% off this week,” “clearance sale”), unless they are clearly part of a broader event (e.g., a downtown festival with coordinated sidewalk sales). As discussed, “having a sale run at your local shop is not necessarily an event‑calendar‑worthy event.”
Purely commercial or advertising content
Posts whose primary function is advertising a product, service, or business without a clear event (date/time/activity) component.
Ongoing services or classes without a specific event format
Standing weekly classes with no defined session dates may be declined or grouped.
General services (e.g., ongoing consulting, recurring service offerings) that are not structured as events.
Events not suited to our audience or mission
Events that are inappropriate, discriminatory, or otherwise conflict with Visit Decorah’s mission and community standards.
Events outside the reasonable geographic scope of Decorah and its immediate surroundings.
Political & Issue‑Related Events
Political events are a known gray area, and Visit Decorah reserves the right to limit or decline:
Candidate campaign events, partisan rallies, and fundraisers.
Issue‑advocacy events aimed primarily at lobbying or political organizing.
We may choose to list neutral, informational events (e.g., public forums or nonpartisan voter information sessions) at our discretion, but are not obligated to host all political content. The line we draw will be guided by this policy, our visitor‑first focus, and our judgment about community impact.
Resident‑Only / Specialized Events
Some primarily resident‑focused events (e.g., technical workshops like estate‑planning seminars) may not be listed if they do not have clear visitor relevance.
6. Submission Guidelines
Anyone may submit an event that meets this policy. To be considered for listing, each event must include:
Basic details
Event title
Start and end date/time
Venue name and address
Host/organizer name
Description
A clear, concise description of what attendees can expect.
Avoid all‑caps, excessive punctuation, or misleading language.
Contact & link
Contact email or phone for attendee questions.
Optional: link to your website, Facebook event, or ticketing/registration page.
Image (optional but recommended)
A high‑quality photo or graphic that accurately represents the event.
Category
Choose the best‑fit category (e.g., Visit Decorah event, Chamber event, community event, farmers market, etc.). Categories are high‑level and help visitors quickly filter types of events.
Tags
Add relevant tags to help with search and filtering (e.g., “live music,” “family‑friendly,” “free,” “workshop”). Tags are non‑hierarchical and may be applied across categories—e.g., a “live music” tag could be used for a Visit Decorah event, a Chamber event, or a general community event.
By submitting an event, you confirm that the information is accurate to the best of your knowledge and that you have the right to promote the event publicly.
7. Review & Approval Process
Moderation
All community‑submitted events are reviewed by Visit Decorah staff (or designated calendar managers) before publishing.
Approval criteria
Fit with this Event Policy.
Alignment with our visitor‑focused mission.
Clarity and completeness of information.
Trusted partners
Certain high‑volume, trusted organizations (e.g., Vesterheim, Luther College) may be granted enhanced “event manager” permissions, allowing them to submit and manage events with reduced or no manual approval in some cases.
Use of automation / AI
Visit Decorah may use automated tools to pre‑screen event submissions for compliance with this policy and to assist staff decisions, particularly in sensitive categories such as political or issue‑related events.
Decision rights
Visit Decorah reserves the right to approve, edit, decline, or remove any event at our sole discretion, for any reason, including but not limited to violation of this policy, incomplete information, or misalignment with our mission and audience.
8. Edits, Removals, and Ownership
Organizer responsibilities
Organizers are responsible for submitting accurate event details and updating them if plans change.
User accounts
We encourage repeat organizers to create a user account. Logged‑in users may be able to edit their own events, which reduces delays and keeps information current.
Visit Decorah edits
Visit Decorah may edit titles, descriptions, images, categories, and tags for clarity, consistency, formatting, and policy compliance.
Event removal
Events may be removed without notice if they are cancelled, significantly changed, found to be inaccurate, or found to violate this policy.
9. Ticketing, Fees, and External Links
No on‑site ticketing
Visit Decorah does not process ticket sales or payments through the event calendar.
External registration
Events may link to external ticketing or registration platforms (e.g., chamber website, Eventbrite, etc.).
Visit Decorah is not responsible for any transactions, refunds, or issues related to external ticketing or registration platforms.
10. Event Sources and Aggregation
In addition to user‑submitted events, Visit Decorah may import or feature events from:
Partner calendars (e.g., Luther College, Vesterheim Museum, local breweries, and other key community organizations).
Select external websites or platforms (for example, Facebook or similar event listings) where local organizations commonly post events, using tools that respect our data, performance, and quality requirements.
Other local aggregators (e.g., Decorah Now, or its successors/alternatives) where appropriate, and only through non‑destructive, controlled import processes that do not overwrite or delete our locally managed events.
While we aim to keep imported event information accurate and up to date, Visit Decorah is not responsible for last‑minute changes made by external organizers. When in doubt, attendees should confirm details with the event host.
11. Calendar Features (Filters, Tags, and Subscriptions)
To help users find relevant events, the calendar may include:
Filter options
Filters for date, event category (Visit Decorah events, Chamber events, community events, farmers markets, etc.) and tags (e.g., “live music”).
Search
Keyword search across event titles and descriptions.
Add‑to‑calendar tools
Options to add events to personal calendars (e.g., Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook) and/or subscribe to a feed of upcoming events.–
Functionality may evolve over time as we improve the calendar experience.
12. Changes to This Policy
Visit Decorah may update this Event Calendar Policy from time to time. The version posted on this page is the current version and governs event submissions and listings.
13. Questions or Appeals
If you have questions about this policy, believe your event was declined in error, or need help with a submission, please contact:
Email: [insert contact email]
Phone: [insert phone number]
Please reference your event title and proposed event date when reaching out.