BEMIDJI — It’s homecoming season, and in Bemidji, two major schools are celebrating at the same time with a return of old traditions and the start of some new ones.
Homecoming for the Bemidji High School Lumberjacks kicked off with a dance Saturday, Sept. 19 — a reemerging tradition for the school.
Zivah Zebro and Brynn Klaers joined the school’s student council as freshmen. Now seniors and council co-presidents, they’ve been part of the committee to bring back the homecoming dance.
“Last year was our first year bringing back the homecoming dance, and we had around 300 students come,” Klaers said during a Tuesday interview in the school library. “The second time, we almost doubled that number to 554 students this year. So bringing that tradition back has been really, really well received.”
Zebro and Klaers estimated the dance had up to a 15-year hiatus due to lack of interest.
“The student body has really enjoyed it so far, and it helps bring us closer together without having to be online as much as we usually are,” Zebro added.
Lumberjacks continued to celebrate Sunday with a homecoming parade downtown. Spirit Week began Monday, with Tuesday featuring leis and Hawaiian shirts. Powderpuff Football is Wednesday evening at the school football field, with the homecoming football game against Sauk Rapids Friday night at the Chet Anderson Stadium.
Bemidji State University kicked off its homecoming Monday. The Beavers were on the grass near the John Glas Fieldhouse Tuesday evening for a newer homecoming tradition: a hot air balloon festival.
Students signed up for tethered hot air balloon rides. The balloon was provided by Brian Rohr, who is carrying on a family business from McKinney, Texas.
“Usually, it's a stabilizing factor when the sun rises and sets; things kind of stabilize and calm down a little bit. So that's what we're banking on here,” Rohr said of the 15 mph breezes across the field. “We're going to probably give it a few minutes... start puffing some air in it and see what we can do.”
The hot air balloon festival is in its second year at Bemidji State.
DeSean Prosser is a BSU sophomore who was on hand during the festival, staffing the booth for the Black Student Union. He was recently elected homecoming king, and said he was speechless when he found out about the honor by his fellow students.
“We [the Black Student Union] do all of the fun stuff on campus. This is homecoming. This is a lot of fun. But throughout the rest of the year, we do a lot of the block parties, the festivals,” Prosser said.
“During Black History Month, we also have some keynote speakers. I spoke at the conference, at the seminar for Martin Luther King [Jr.] Day last year. So hopefully we'll do something similar to that or even more better than we did.”
The University’s homecoming roster includes a number of events for students and alumni. The Alumni & Foundation Honors Gala is a black-tie optional event Friday at the Sanford Center Ballroom. The Alumni & Foundation will also host another planting ceremony for the Replant our Roots campaign during homecoming. The campaign is a fundraising effort to also replant trees on campus lost in the June 2025 derecho.
Homecoming events open to the public
Bemidji High School
- Powderpuff Football: 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23 at the Bemidji High School football field. Free admission.
- Lumberjack’s Homecoming Tailgate: 3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 at BHS. Food and games before the football game, including a teacher dunk tank and car smash.
- Bemidji v. Sauk Rapids: 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 at the Chet Anderson Stadium on the Bemidji State campus
Bemidji State University
- Game Day Experience: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 on the Decker Hall lawn. Bemidji-area businesses will be tailgating ahead of the game
- Bemidji State vs. Minot State: 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Chet Anderson Stadium
- Beaver Pond re-creation: 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 on the David Park House lawn. A social re-creation of the 1970s-era Bemidji bar.
- Carl O. Thompson Memorial Concert: 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27, at the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex
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