Bemidji Parks and Rec Benefits from Community Pint Night at Bemidji Brewing

For several years, Bemidji Brewing has hosted Community Pint Nights every Wednesday evening to help raise funds for different nonprofit organizations. On Wednesday, they welcomed the Bemidji Parks and Recreation Department in an effort to raise funds for Bemidji parks.

“Every year we select about 17 to 18 nonprofit organizations in the Bemidji community to host here at Bemidji Brewing,” explained Bemidji Brewing Events and Marketing Coordinator Mallory Arnold. “They come, they bring in a booth, set up a table, and they tell our customers about their organization.”

Although it’s called “pint” night, one dollar from every beverage sold Wednesday from 4-7 p.m. went towards to the department.

“We are just raising funds for general kind of improvements to the park[s],” said Bemidi Parks and Rec Program Coordinator Liz Rynders. “So thinking about those improvements to the playgrounds or the trails. Putting up additional hammock poles throughout the parks and any shade structures in those parks that kind of need that additional infrastructure – just kind of making ways so that everybody can enjoy the parks.”

The department works throughout the city on a wide range of projects.

“It’s Parks and Rec, so [the] park side is more of the maintenance, maintaining and keeping all the parks looking beautiful throughout all seasons,” Rynders stated. “And then the recreation side of things is doing those family and youth programs throughout the year. So we put on large events like Daddy Daughter Dance, and then we do our summer camps throughout the summer which are highly attended, and we do smaller programs for families and after-school clubs, a whole variety of things.”

Bemidji Parks and Rec also has other fundraisers to support more things like their scholarship programs. But the Community Pint Night has also been successful.

“We really want to thank Bemidji Brewing for putting on these events, not for us, but for all the different community organizations that they work through,” added Rynders, “So if you won’t get a chance to come out tonight, definitely stop by throughout the Wednesdays and support those other local organizations, too.”