BEMIDJI — The slopes at Buena Vista Ski Area were bustling over the weekend as it kicked off its 75th season with the annual Fall Colors Festival.
Roughly 600 attendees came out for the fall festivities held Sept. 21-22, which offered wagon rides, live music, children’s activities, food and crafts for sale and demonstrations of blacksmithing, woodcarving and spinning.
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“We like to make memories here and we have been doing that since 1949,” said Suzanne Thomas, the third generation to own Buena Vista. “Our family wants to preserve the land as it is and have the community enjoy coming here all season long.”
While Buena Vista is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the fall festival has been going strong for over 30 years thanks to the hard work of the Dickinson family and all of their volunteers.
“I’ve lived here pretty much all of my life and I’ve been involved with this place forever,” Thomas said. “Now with five generations and 75 years, we are still running.”
Irreplaceable volunteers
Volunteers could be spotted running around keeping things going smoothly on Saturday, with many having helped out around the resort for decades.
“We want people to feel at home here,” Thomas said. “Life goes by so fast and here we can slow down a little bit and learn about how our ancestors used to live.”
Someone whose presence is often heard before it is seen is Muffy Dickinson, the piano player.
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“Muffy Dickinson is my dad’s sister and she plays at all of our events,” Thomas shared. “She plays every day that we are open for our events. To see her at the piano each day is so special. She fills the building with beautiful music. If she’s not playing people will ask where she is because people know she plays there every day.”
Thomas also noted that in addition to the ambiance set by Muffy, the presence of the Go and Whoa Harness Club is a huge draw for the fall event.
“Go and Whoa Harness Club volunteers during the festival and are the key group to make this event happen,” Thomas said. “They provide our wagon rides and we couldn’t do this without them.”
Meanwhile, a much louder volunteer could be heard pounding and shaping metal into horseshoes, cobras, hearts and knives for the children in the audience.
“I’m a farrier by trade,” Joel Hamilton said. “When I’m here I’m just pretending I’m a blacksmith, to pretend I’m a knife maker. My real job is making horseshoes and working with horses, but today I’m a blacksmith for the kids doing the best I can to make things out of my horseshoe forge.”
Hamilton has been a farrier for 30 years and has been using his skills to contribute to the fall festival for the past five.
“I like coming here; I do it because of the community,” Hamilton said. “We are told to make the world a better place … so by coming here I’m doing my part and that makes my life better, too.”
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He added that as a child he grew up going to Buena Vista, and now giving back is a natural next step for him.
“I’ve been coming here for a while, this place has been part of my childhood,” Hamilton said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do that if guys hadn’t volunteered their time back then, so I’d say I better do my part now, right?”
‘A wonderful place’
Thomas shared that it brings her and her whole family enjoyment to see the community come and spend time together at their events.
“This is a place to call home,” Thomas said, “We enjoy having all these families and people here and cherishing their time together at this historical place.”
Buena Vista continues to host events year-round in hopes of fostering a community that lasts generations.
“This is a special place where everyone is welcome,” Thomas said. “Before my dad died in 2006, he left us a list of things he wanted us to do with this place. In his notes we found in his writing, ‘all trails lead to Buena Vista,’ and that’s something we remind ourselves of when planning these events.”
Buena Vista has become like a second home to many people, including longtime volunteers who look back fondly on decades of service.
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“I’ve been helping the Dickinson family out since 1954, I’ve always been here,” Wendell Knutson said. “I had horses for years and I’d give sleigh rides during the wintertime on the weekends. Seeing the kids enjoy the rides was an unbelievable feeling.”
Thomas and others have already started preparations for future upcoming events, so Buena Vista can be a place people can count on to come together, feel connected and have a good time for years to come.
“What would people do without the beautiful Buena Vista?” Knutson left off. “It’s a wonderful place here. I haven’t talked to anyone that hasn’t enjoyed it.”
