A Tribute to Fargo’s 3-Stage (1984-2022) [2.0 in 2022 & Closed in 2024]

This week marks the official start to the reconstruction of Fargo’s CEC for 2.0. Last night, the animatronics had been permanently removed from the store and thrown into the two big dumpsters placed out back of the building; bringing an end to the one & only 3 stage in ND. Driving by, I could plainly see the bare stage, and it was a very surreal sight. It’s weird to wrap my mind around the fact that this HUGE piece of my childhood is now forever simply a memory—a thing of the past. I will never forget the first time I went to CEC, I was maybe 3-years-old. My parents & I sat in a booth on the balcony in the back of the showroom, and a set of curtains opened to reveal the rat himself; big teeth, huge snout, big ears, tuxedo, and a red baseball cap. And he was standing there, talking to me, as if he were real. Before I knew it, the other curtains opened, and the rest of the band appeared and proceeded to play their concert. I was mesmerized. My little kid brain had been blown—I had never seen anything so interesting in my life. I can never forget the sheer excitement that would rush through my body as a kid when my mom would start pulling up towards the building for those surprise lunches at Chuck E’s. It’s the same feeling I would later get as I got older when I started attending concerts. I knew I was about to see my favorite band (even though I knew they weren’t real). Real or not, they always felt like my five closest friends—they’d never hurt me & I knew I could always count on them to be right where they were when I left them. I stopped going years ago, but I recently went back in August because in some corny-ass way, I needed to see them one last time. I knew there wasn’t much time left before they’d be gone. During that last visit, right before leaving, I decided to go walk up to the stage and individually look at them just as I always did as a child. And during those last few minutes, I started thinking about all the memories we had shared together, and all the great music & pop culture I had learned & loved over the years because of these characters. It struck me, that that was really the last time I’d ever see them. At that moment, I felt like I was saying goodbye and giving myself some closer to this thing that had brought me so much happiness as a kid. It all felt very bitter sweet. So with the current remodel taking place, I will end this cheesy-ass note off by saying that while I am a little sad that it’s now over; I’m very grateful that I got to witness this in person, and for all the joyous memories I got from it.

P.S., I still have a whole conglomerate of old shows I filmed that I will be posting, so this channel isn’t dead yet.