Eelpout Festival Will Stay In Walker

After considering a possible move to Lake Bemidji, the International Eelpout Festival will stay in Walker.

According to a release from Eelpout Festival organizers,it says that after fielding interest from the City of Bemidji, Eelpout organizers were enticed by a new proposal from Chase on the Lake Resort to keep the festival in Walker Bay. The arrangement includes leveraging the expertise of the resort’s third-party service provider, Leisure Hotels & Resorts, to further improve operational management, planning, personnel and daily facilitation of the event.

“We are committed to further nurturing our collaboration with the business leaders, residents and municipalities here in Walker,” says Jared Olson, Owner of the Eelpout Festival. “After investigating all options, we felt were feasible to ensure the growth and sustainability of the event, we concluded that staying in Walker is in the best interest of the festival and the nearly 12,000 people who attend every year.”

Leisure Hotels & Resorts will provide additional staff, operational strategies and resources for the festival. “We’ll bring on an external operations team to manage the planning, sponsorship and day-to-day operations of the event,” says Jamie Tatge, President and COO of Leisure Hotels & Resorts. “We will also continue to execute and grow the many other proactive improvements established over the past few years while attempting to create a new standard for how the festival is run.”

For 38 years, The Eelpout Festival has provided a much-needed outlet during the long winter for the more than 12,000 participants who descend on Walker, Minn. (pop. 1,069). The revelry and gamesmanship that ensues has drawn the curiosity of countless reporters and media over the years including national coverage from big-hitters like the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Animal Planet. The Eelpout Festival’s Polar Pout Plunge has also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Walker Community Center.

“Over the years the Eelpout Festival has proven to be irreplaceable both in terms of the branding and the economic boost to our community, so we’re quite thrilled that it’s staying in Walker,” adds Cindy Wannarka, President/CEO Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. “It definitely gives us a vehicle to showcase what our city has to offer, especially during those winter months when we tend to need it most.”