Behind the Scenes
The Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce and Bemidji Rotary Club teamed up years ago to foster the idea of bringing a dragon boat festival to our beautiful Lake Bemidji waterfront. After a couple of years of competing in other races, the planning began and the first festival started in 2006. With 35 teams on board to compete and the overwhelming crowd that came to watch the inaugural year’s races, ended up being proof enough that this was going to be an event Bemidjiians would look forward to year after year. Not only has the number of teams registering to race doubled in size, we have added a number of additional events consistently throughout the years to entertain our attendees. The festival is organized and staffed entirely with volunteers and all proceeds of this event are invested back into the community through the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce and Bemidji Rotary Club initiatives.
