 We are now in day two of Bemidji's hockey day weekend and while the concept of the event celebrates the outdoor roots of the sport there's still much more to experience. Josh Peterson is live in Bemidji's hockey day village where fans are still celebrating despite the cold. Josh? All right thank you very much Dennis. When it was announced a year ago that Bemidji was selected to host Hockey Day Minnesota the entire community came together to make sure Bemidji's hockey day experience stands out from all the rest. Minnesota the land of 10,000 rinks so when hosting a hockey event in the state of hockey you have to set the bar high and one way Bemidji did that was by the expansion of the hockey village. Hockey's the center point of the festivities but it's not the only thing going on as a matter of fact you know we got a huge hockey village it's a festival atmosphere out here it reminds me a lot of dragon boats about 70 degrees colder. After the inaugural year of the hockey village in St. Cloud last year organizers in Bemidji knew they had to make it their own and did so by adding the northwood's touch. A hockey is a byproduct of this event and I think that's a really good way to look at this. The hockey game is a really fun part of it but there's so much fun in the tents in the hockey village around the fire pits we've got cornhole lots of things to do. Another way the committee enhanced the experience was by bringing in a variety of food. You don't need to be a cake eater to eat a brownie and for hockey mom brownies they say they are excited to be part of Bemidji's event. At the end of the day everybody's excited about hockey in Minnesota so I'm looking forward to you know having everybody hang out and and enjoy brownie. But the event expands beyond the perimeter of the hockey day site and on to Lake Bemidji where a partnership with the Bemidji JC's will welcome everyone to take the Burr-Midji plunge. The air is going to be colder than the water the water is going to be warm compared to tomorrow so we're very excited we're all pumped we just hope to have people there even though it's freezing cold. But as Bemidji's hockey day draws to a close tomorrow night it's about the community that came together to make it all happen. It has taken hundreds of volunteers hundreds of businesses has stepped up to the plate whether that's sponsorship dollars services whatever it might be. So whether it's the live music the bonding around the fire the food or the love of the sport fans of all ages are sure to enjoy every aspect of the hockey day experience. All right now many of the items you see here in the hockey village are actually up for auction at the end of the day tomorrow now all that money will go to help fund an outdoor hockey program here in Bemidji but as for many of the people out here it's the key is just trying to find a way to stay warm and one of the ways people are doing that is by trying a variety of the hot food out here and what I have here is the buttercream swirl brownie from hockey mom's brownies and it's actually a great way to stay warm. Reporting live here in Bemidji at hockey day Minnesota Josh Peterson Lakeland News. All right thank you very much Josh the festivities continue with a full day of action tomorrow during the official hockey day games are at 931 and 430. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.