Editing Bemidji, Minnesota (section)

==Culture==
[[File:20230826-Bemidji Pride 2023-00.jpg|thumb|Drum ceremony at Bemidji Pride festival opening]]The [[Concordia Language Villages]] are near Bemidji. <!-- Need to explain more about these -->They have supported several language conversational groups (including [[French language|French]], [[Chinese language|Chinese]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Spanish language|Spanish]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[German language|German]]) that meet weekly in local coffeehouses. In 2018 Concordia's [[Korean language|Korean]] Language Village received a $5 million grant. The Korean village is the newest of the Villages.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hyatt|first1=Kim|title=Global handbag king hands $5 million donation to Concordia's Korean Language Village|url=http://bemidjipioneer.com|access-date=April 26, 2018|date=April 2, 2018}}</ref>

In 2011, Chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr., of the [[Red Lake Indian Reservation|Red Lake Ojibwe Nation]], complimented Bemidji's [[Ojibwe language]] signage in places-of-business.<ref>{{Cite news
| last = Meurs, Michael
| title = Native American Language Revitalization on Red Lake Agenda
| work = Indian Country Today Media Network
| access-date = April 13, 2013
| date = September 21, 2011
| url = http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/native-american-language-revitalization-on-red-lake-agenda-54853
| archive-url = https://archive.today/20130629120759/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/article/native-american-language-revitalization-on-red-lake-agenda-54853
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = June 29, 2013
}}</ref>

During the summer, the Paul Bunyan Playhouse operates a non-[[Actors' Equity Association|Equity]], [[Summer stock theatre|summer stock theater]] at the Chief Theater.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Chief Theater |url=http://www.thechieftheater.com/historic-chief-theatre.html |website=thechieftheater.com |access-date=July 21, 2018 |archive-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180722011507/http://www.thechieftheater.com/historic-chief-theatre.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Bemidji Community Theatre provides live theatre there when the Paul Bunyan Playhouse is not in operation.<ref>{{cite web |title=The BCT Story |url=https://bemidjicommunitytheater.org/about.html |website=bemidjicommunitytheater.org |access-date=July 21, 2018}}</ref> Bemidji is also home to the Bemidji Symphony Orchestra (BSO), which was established in 1938 under the auspices of (what was then) Bemidji State College. In 2000, the BSO became an independent arts organization.<ref>{{Cite web |title=About the BSO |url=https://www.bemidjisymphony.org/about-us.html |access-date=July 26, 2022 |website=Bemidji Symphony Orchestra |language=en}}</ref>

The statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox are popular tourist destinations, and people photograph themselves in front of them. The statues are next to the Bemidji Tourist Information Center, where tourists can learn about local activities, events, and attractions. The center also includes many artifacts of the lumberjack's legend and a giant visitors' book in which travelers can sign their names; the list of signatures goes back decades. An old fireplace there was built with 900 stones, the stones having been taken from every state in the United States, most of the Canadian provinces, and Minnesota national parks.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bemidji Tourist Information Center|url=https://www.visitbemidji.com/paul-bunyan-babe-information-center/|website=Visit Bemidji Minnesota|access-date=April 26, 2018|archive-date=June 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614221236/https://www.visitbemidji.com/paul-bunyan-babe-information-center/|url-status=dead}}</ref>