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Culture and the Arts
Our Quality of Life Comes Naturally!
 
 
Performing and Visual Arts...Bemidji is the cultural center for northern Minnesota offering a broad range of opportunities to be either a participant or spectator in the visual and performing arts. There are very active theatre groups in Bemidji including Minnesota's longest running summer stock theatre at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse, the Bemidji Community Theatre and numerous thesbian productions at Bemidji State University. The new Rose & Mask Theatre has provided a number of special performances at the Masonic Hall in downtown Bemidji. The music scene is also alive and well with venues for live jazz, country and folk music in downtown Bemidji's restaurants, bars and bistros. Bring your guitar or banjo and join the Tuesday night jam session at the Cabin Coffeehouse or sit in on the Thursday night jam session at Pony Lake Church.
Bemidji State University offers a wide variety of programs over the year including their famous Madrigal Dinners during the Christmas season as well as their mid-summer Opera Festival. It further presents a year round music concert series which brings in top line musicians from across the US and Canada. The BSU Jazz Band is the best in the northwest and offers two concerts a year as well as playing for local dances and other community events. The City further hosts a full compliment of music including Bemidji Symphony Orchestra, Bemidji Community Band, the Bemidji Chorale and the First City Bagpipe Band.
Bemidji School District 31 has a broad based music and theatre program that includes the national award-winning Vocalmotive Show Choir. The community further supports training in the musical arts through the Headwaters School of Music and the Arts that opens its classes to all ages.
The Beltrami County History Center is dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of its citizens as a way of helping them to better understand the world that we live in today. The History Center is housed in the former Great Northern Railroad Depot. A research library and museum with changing exhibits are within the Center. The Center is considered to be one of the best examples of railroad depot restoration in Minnesota.
Veteran's Memorial at the History Center
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