The Bemidji High School AV Club learned about the real world of the sound and lighting industry from professionals in the community on Wednesday. Entertainment Technology company NLFX Professional took over the school’s Lumberjack Room to teach the students about the importance of safety in the industry.

They showed them the different equipment used, and there was even a demonstration in the hallway that involved dropping one piece of equipment into a watermelon to show how heavy it was. At the end of the class, each student walked away with a free helmet and safety manual.

Ben Stowe, NLFX Professional President, says, “I think the biggest thing that I hope these kids come away with today is a profound love of our industry and absolute dedication to working safe for themselves, for their guests and for their co-workers. I really want them, even if they don’t move into this field, to just take that understanding of the ability to prevent incidents because there’s no such thing as accidents in everything they do in life.”

This is one of many Lumberjack Academy classes that were established to give students hands-on experience in various career fields. The next class in this field will focus on light design and audio mixing.

By — Shirelle Moore