 It was a night of celebration as the city of Bemidji came together to celebrate its title of Minnesota Monthly's Best Town in Minnesota. Josh Peterson shows us how one party pulled out all the stops to showcase why it's number one. In a town where things tend to be larger than life, a city that was bestowed a great honor celebrated its new title of the best town in Minnesota. Thousands flooded Paul Bunyan Park to experience the lake and the life and just why Bemidji was presented this title. I mean there's just so much vibrance, so much to do and then being right off the lake I walked through the town saying I certainly know why this town was rated best in Minnesota town. Bemidji was chosen as best town for many reasons but one that stood out was the way the town faces challenges head on and works together. Some people ask me how does Bemidji do everything that you're doing and honestly one of the ways we do it is that we all get together and we work together to make things better. But throwing a party that showcases why Bemidji is the best was challenging and won the community was ready to face head on. From food vendors to home-based products to natural resources the best town party features everything that makes Bemidji number one. Visit Bemidji submitted the application for the honor in 2017 and has come full circle by throwing the party that was a community effort. It is the people that really is the fiber and as I talked with different people most of them said it's the people it's the people. Now that Bemidji has the title the key is to live up to the name which is a challenge the city is ready to take on. We wouldn't have gotten this award if it wasn't for really a lot of people coming together to celebrate what makes Bemidji great. With Bemidji being named Minnesota Monthly's inaugural best town the bar has been set high for whichever town follows in Bemidji's footsteps reporting from the best town in Minnesota in Bemidji Josh Peterson, Lakeland News. Over 42 vendors took part in the celebration and as part of the festivities Bemidji Mayor Rita Albright read a proclamation from Governor Mark Dayton proclaiming Bemidji as the best town in Minnesota. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.