JOIN US FOR A FAVORITE SUMMERTIME TRADITION!
The 15th Annual Festival: July 29th – August 1st, 2020
The 15th Annual Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival features four days of fun for the entire family. After all, it’s not just about Dragon Boat racing: festival activities include great food, music, kid’s activities, a parade of teams, cultural performances, camaraderie and much more all along the shores of beautiful Lake Bemidji (on 197 – to the left of the Paul & Babe statues).
Thank you for joining us for the 14th Annual Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival – July 31st-Aug. 3, 2019!
It was a great turnout all week long and on Saturday, August 3rd, 54 teams competed for hardware, memories and pride as well as thousands of spectators took in the amazing weather and of course the fun, competitive racing.
PADDLES UP! RACES ON FRIDAY, JULY 31ST AND SATURDAY, AUGUST 1ST
Dragon Boat racing is fun, fast-paced and engaging for spectators. It’s currently the fastest growing water sport in the nation! Between racers, family, friends, volunteers and spectators, we again anticipate thousands of people at the Lake Bemidji waterfront during the course of the event. Dondelinger’s Sprint Cup will take place the evening of Friday, July 31st and Race day starts at 9:30am on Saturday, August 1st and runs all day.
NEW in 2019
There is a NEW category added this year! As an additional opportunity to bring home some hardware, the CHAMPIONSHIP division has been created. The 4 overall fastest teams (combined times from Heat 1 and 2) will race for the Championship title. The GOLD division will now include the next 4 fastest teams (those that placed 5-8 overall). SILVER and BRONZE will continue as is and will be determined by those teams representing the middle third and lower third field of competing teams. Note: All previous festival GOLD winners will be re-classed and referred to as past CHAMPIONS of the Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival.
PADDLES UP!
This event is co-founded by the Bemidji Rotary Club and the Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce with the backing of some pretty amazing sponsors including our Title Sponsor: Paul Bunyan Communications. All funds raised go right back into our community through their charitable giving.
