Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival marks 20 years in Bemidji

As Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival organizers prepare for the event’s 20th year, Beltrami County is pairing the summer draw with a practical reminder about trash, recycling and cleanup around Bemidji.

Brian Bissonette, the voice of the Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival, said the boats are back for the 20th annual event, set for July 30 through Aug. 1 at 300 Bemidji Ave. N. along Lake Bemidji. Organizers say the weekend will include a 400-meter race course on Saturday and a bonus 200-meter race on Friday evening, along with a parade of teams, opening ceremonies, food, music, kids’ activities, cultural performances, a 5K run/walk, a kids’ fun run and evening entertainment.

Registration is already open, and organizers expect about 40 to 50 teams. Each team is made up of 16 to 20 paddlers plus a drummer. The early-bird team fee was listed at $700, and the discount ended June 1.

The festival’s roots run back to 2006, when the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce and Bemidji Rotary Club brought dragon boats to Lake Bemidji for the first time. An early festival account said that inaugural event drew 35 teams. Two decades later, organizers are treating 2026 as both a milestone year and a test of whether the event can keep its momentum, with volunteers still needed to keep the festival running.

The county’s own segment on solid waste is less festive, but no less tied to how Bemidji handles busy weekends and everyday living. Jared Davidson, Beltrami County’s solid waste operations manager, walked through a system built around a residential service fee enacted in 1992. That fee helps fund two full-service transfer stations, a demolition landfill, rural collection sites and equipment used across the county.

Beltrami County says residents can bring household garbage, recyclables, appliances, electronics, oil filters, batteries, light bulbs, cooking oil, tires, scrap metal, old fuel, antifreeze, waste oil and household hazardous waste to county transfer facilities at no additional cost. County officials also post site and hours information, including holiday closures and the demolition landfill’s seasonal schedule, to help residents plan drop-offs and avoid extra trips.

The bigger change this year is the county’s organics push. Beltrami County launched curbside organics collection in Bemidji and Park Rapids in 2026, alongside a new single-sort recycling site at 1917 Fern Street NW in Bemidji. Officials say the organics program is meant to separate food scraps and other compostable material for processing, part of a broader effort to cut landfill tonnage and improve how waste moves through the county system.