 The weekend rain stayed away just long enough for the 5th annual Loop the Lake Festival that is held around Lake Bemidji. Nearly 1,000 riders hit the road bright and early Saturday morning. The threat of heavy rain and severe weather forced many of the festival's participants to get an early start. Even though rain was in the forecast, the festival still went on and had record numbers participate, which shows the festival can draw participants and volunteers of all ages, regardless of the weather. Well the unique thing about Loop the Lake is that it isn't a race and that's probably, it's a family fun ride. So we have ages from 5 to probably 80 years old that take their pace around Lake Bemidji. There's a lot of people that have lived their whole life and never bikes around Lake Bemidji. So right, and so there's first timers and there's repeat people and that's why each year it keeps growing. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS. Thank you.