 The Buena Vista ski area near Bemidji hosted an open house this past weekend to get everyone excited to hit the slopes. The event doubled as a fundraiser and swapped so everyone could get their gear and their passes before the season. 15% of the proceeds from the fundraiser will go towards ski patrol which helps to keep everyone safe on the snow. What we buy with some of that is medical supplies, training that we go through, any medical training that we do, we do refreshers every year supplies to that. The open house also had free food and vendors for the community to enjoy. As for plans this upcoming season, a Buena Vista representative says skiers can expect everything from classes to beginner lessons and socials. It's a good family event to come out and ski. It's a good exercise and just enjoy the winters in Bemidji. It's great. We got cross-country skiing, we host the Finlandia every year. The Buena Vista ski area says they plan to open this weekend. They got some snow earlier, they kind of melted. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland news, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland public television.