Festival Recap: Headwaters at the 57th Annual Watermark Art Festival

Connecting creativity, community, and conversation in downtown Bemidji.

This past weekend, thousands gathered for one of Northern Minnesota’s longest-running summer traditions—the Watermark Art Festival. Hosted right in the heart of Bemidji since 1967, the juried fine arts and crafts celebration showcased over 100 artists and vendors, live music across three stages, and a dazzling mix of handmade goods from jewelry and ceramics to soaps, preserves, and garden art.

Headwaters Music & Arts was proud to join the festivities with event booths designed to welcome and engage. Thanks to the incredible support from our admin team and volunteers, we connected deeply with community members and shared our mission to make the arts accessible and inspiring for all.

Quick Glance at Our Impact:

• 140 raffle tickets completed

• 20 new contacts interested in lessons or programs

• 26 volunteer hours contributed with heart and joy

Whether chatting about music lessons, sharing the joy of hands-on art, or simply basking in the collective energy of creatives all around—Headwaters showed up with purpose and passion.

To everyone who stopped by: thank you. To our volunteers: you are our rhythm section. And to the community that continues to celebrate art as a living, breathing force—this is why we do what we do.

Let’s keep the creative conversation going.