The annual tournament of the Northern Minnesota Firemen's Tournament association (western division) was held in Bemidji during the week of the Fourth of July in 1910. The Bemidji Commercial Club recommended that the races and contests be arranged so that the visiting firemen could camp here and take an outing while participating in the tournament.
Long before Bemidji hosted its first Dragon Boat Festival in 2006, big boats had been on the lake for well over 125 years, ferrying passengers, giving tours and hosting parties.