BEMIDJI — With the annual First City of Lights Celebration right around the corner, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as the town is currently undergoing a makeover in preparation for the holiday season.
On Thursday, Nov. 2, at Paul Bunyan Park, the grand event commenced as First City of Lights Foundation Executive Director Josh Peterson and employees from Otter Tail Power Company began assembling Paul Bunyan’s Christmas Tree — marking only the beginning of Bemidji’s makeover.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is the largest expansion of the First City of Lights in its 27-year history. I know I keep saying that it's bigger and better every year, but that’s simply because it is,” Peterson said. “We just keep adding to it and the thousands of people that saw it last year got more people excited about it this year and more and more people want to be a part of this.”
Anyone who’s come to know Peterson, who also serves as a Bemidji City Councilor and executive director of Visit Bemidji, knows Christmas isn’t just a day or another season for him. This holiday enthusiast strives every year to give the people of Bemidji the greatest gift of all — making sure everyone who comes to witness the celebration feels the same magic and joy Christmas time brings to him.
His passion for Christmas is part of the reason why the annual lights show is such an important staple in the community and why it keeps getting better every year. He added that he doesn’t do it for the recognition or to take any of the credit, he does it because Christmas is all about bringing people together.
One big tree
To make sure he was giving Bemidjians and its out-of-town visitors the best holiday experience, he attended a Christmas trade show earlier this year to learn the latest technologies and to be the first to hop on up-and-coming decorations.
“I went to a Christmas trade show back in February and I got to meet with the companies and CEOs that actually build commercial Christmas decor,” Peterson said. “So having that information and seeing the latest in technology and the new Christmas decor, I was able to learn how to improve this event and I brought that information back.”
With all of the sponsors and committee members on board to make the event a success, Peterson brought it the largest Christmas Tree the Midwest has ever seen standing at a whopping 58-and-a-half feet tall from the bottom to the top of the star — but that’s not all.
“The biggest thing this year is Paul Bunyan’s Christmas tree and it’s the largest of its kind, but it’s also a pixel tree,” Peterson said. “This is a state-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology with 360-degree pixel light so we have program video images, logos, animations and more.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Although the frame of the tree is the same as last year, what makes it reach the 58.5-foot mark is a brand-new star at the top of the tree sponsored by Evolve Creative. The new and improved tree also has an all-new sound system and music thanks to
“It’s a sight to see,” Peterson said. “It sets us apart from any other community in Minnesota and this is something not even Bentleyville in Duluth has.”
But after setting up the tree last Thursday, Peterson admitted he understands why very few towns have a 58-foot Christmas tree.
“After our setup on Thursday last week, I completely understand why it's rare to see a tree above 30 feet. It was a very labor-intensive project,” he said. “But nevertheless, we are home to the largest Christmas tree in the Midwest. Being able to have the pixel tree is a huge draw for Bemidji and what better way to do it than on a Paul Bunyan-sized scale.”
Peterson, working on the tree set-up for more than 16 hours on Thursday, said he could not have assembled the tree without the generous help of the employees at Otter Tail Power Company.
“When I gave them a heads up that it's a new set-up process and that it was going to take a lot more time, the crew was so dedicated and we cannot thank them enough for staying longer than expected to help us get that tree figured out and organized,” Peterson said.
ADVERTISEMENT
More surprises
Along with the new and improved pixel tree, Peterson and the First City of Lights committee have even more Christmas surprises up their sleeve.
Through a partnership with Hills Plumbing and Heating, the United Way of Bemidji Area, LePier Shoreline and Outdoors and CD Haugen Trucking Inc., a new display called "Giving Ornament of Dreams" will make its debut this year to give back to those in need.
“The whole point of the Giving Ornament of Dreams is that it’s a giving mall,” Peterson said. “So when you go inside, there’s going to be a QR code so people can scan that on their phones and it’ll send them to the and they can choose to contribute to their various programs and charities like
The giving ornament is also a photo booth so attendees can take photos with Bemidji's iconic Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox statues in the background. Other new implements include a family ice skating rink along with an ice fishing display to provide families with new ways to enjoy Paul Bunyan Park this winter.
“We have another new display through Bemidji Co-op and A&W that's an ice fishing display celebrating winter fun on the south end of the park,” Peterson said. “Parks and Recreation will also be implementing a new family skating rink on the north half by the Tourist Information Center.”
Peterson added that they are nearing the one million lights mark as they hover around 800,000 lights this year — a couple hundred thousand more than last year.
“I've been working on this project since 2015 and when we took this on, our goal has always been to hit a million lights within 10 years — and we were getting close,” he said. “The community support and the growth that we've seen each year has just been contagious. People get excited for this and Bemidji is starting to be a shining star on the map when it comes to light displays in the state of Minnesota.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Although there are many new additions, a slew of traditional displays are returning this year such as the "Salute to the Heroes" American flag, the illuminated Ferris wheel, the "Fountain of Hope" and the nature trail — an illuminated display of various woodland creatures placed along the path leading to Chief Bemidji’s statue as a way to pay homage to the area’s Anishinaabe people by presenting each animal with accompanying signage of its name in Ojibwe.
Like every year, the event is solely put on by community donations. Peterson said fundraising for the grand holiday celebration is ongoing and much appreciated. To donate to the First City of Lights Foundation or register for activities, visit
“This celebration is unlike anything I've ever seen in any other community,” Peterson left off. “Celebrating the holidays with your family and friends is what it’s all about.”
The Trust Project
