 Thousands took in the sights and sounds of the Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat Festival over the weekend, and this week's Northwest Adventure, our Josh Peterson shows us how the festival continues to draw new teams and spectators each year. The spirit of friendly competition runs rampant through the Dragon Boat Festival grounds along the shoreline of Lake Bemidji. Throughout the festival, thousands will turn out to compete or watch the Dragon Boats in action. Even though the festival has run 12 years, it continues to draw new interest. We're really starting to see a draw from a wider area than we had before when it's just local teams, local businesses, and things of that nature, which only speaks to the event itself and the area that it's starting to reach to and the appeal. Since day one, the festival has seen growth throughout the entire event. While the number of teams may fluctuate each year, it is the spirit of competition complemented by a friendly atmosphere that continues to draw new faces regionally each year. It's coming together of 50 plus, sometimes 60 or 70 plus teams, which is 25 people plus per team usually, and it's just a wide swath of the region and community, so it's really just a family fun activity that brings out the best in everybody. Many businesses like the idea of friendly competition for the first time competitor Garden Valley Drifters of Erskine, this was a chance to do some team building for the workplace. We would have loved to have 20 employees, I mean but we have about half of the boat that's employees and then they got to bring a guest or whatever. For the Cedar River gang who traveled all the way from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, it is the atmosphere and setting that makes them travel to Bemidji to compete each year. So it's a nice balance, I think, where anybody can come to this race and have a good experience, I think. Team WikiWiki Ohana is a first time competitor in Bemidji, it has been a long time goal for this Duluth Dragon Boat team to compete in the annual festival. This is one of the best setups, the amphitheater area, you can view the finish line and the festival organizers do such a great job of incorporating culture. With larger crowds turning out for race day each year, organizers expect to continue drawing new teams and spectators in the coming years. With this week's Northwood's adventure in Bemidji, Josh Peterson, Lakeland News. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.