Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival returns for 20th year on Lake Bemidji

Lake Bemidji is set to draw teams, spectators and summer foot traffic as the Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival marks its 20th year July 30-Aug. 1. The Bemidji Rotary Club and Bemidji Chamber of Commerce are again organizing the three-day event on the waterfront, where race weekend has become one of the more visible stretches of the season for local businesses.

The festival’s sponsors page calls it “one of the most talked about events held in Bemidji” and says business support helps deliver “an economic boost to the region” while sending proceeds to local charities and community groups. That civic and commercial role has helped keep the event in place since 2006, when the first festival brought 35 teams and an “overwhelming crowd” to Lake Bemidji.

This year’s racing centers on a 400-meter course on Saturday and a bonus 200-meter race Friday evening. The festival also lists a parade of teams, an opening ceremony at the waterfront, team villages, kids activities and evening entertainment, turning the lakefront into more than a one-day competition. A dragon boat holds 20 paddlers, one drummer and one steerer, making each heat a full crew effort on the water.

Around 40 to 50 teams are expected to take part, with hundreds of spectators lining the shore. The Rotary Club calendar also lists a Bemidji Rotary Kick-Off! for July 27, giving the anniversary edition an early launch before racing begins. For Bemidji, the draw is not only the boats themselves but the concentration of people they bring to the lake, downtown and the businesses that benefit from a busy summer weekend.