Pixar's Danielle Feinberg visits Bemidji as nearly 4,000 attend GigaZone Gaming Championship, TechXpo

Apr. 22—BEMIDJI — The Sanford Center provided a haven for nearly 4,000 tech enthusiasts and gamers as Paul Bunyan Communications hosted its seventh annual GigaZone Gaming Championship and second annual TechXpo event on Saturday.

Making its post-pandemic return last year, gamers flooded the Sanford Center arena to compete in Rocket League — this year's main stage tournament — along with Fortnite, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Valorant and a host of other tournaments.

A total of 32 teams competed on the main stage with Ayden Sander, Cameron Oakgrove and Milo Collings taking the top prize of $900. Tyler Bos, David Bos and Trevor Bos took home second place and a $600 team prize.

A full list of championship results can be found at

gigazonegaming.com.

Introduced last year, the TechXpo housed over 25 exhibitors in the arena, halls and meeting spaces of the Sanford Center.

Following Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's guest appearance as part of the TechXpo last year,

a different notable guest would be brought in to speak about her unconventional path to prosperity.

As the current visual effects supervisor for Pixar Animation Studios, Danielle Feinberg spoke about her career since starting at Pixar in 1997 as well as childhood experiences that paved her path.

Growing up in Boulder, Colo., Feinberg noted interests that weren't represented by many girls during her childhood. Notably, Feinberg had an internal struggle with enrolling in a power mechanics class in eighth grade that involved repairing used lawnmowers that were donated to the class by local hardware stores.

"This sounded really cool, but I was pretty sure there weren't going to be any girls in this class," Feinberg said. "In eighth grade, I was trying to fit in and not stand out, so I had to take a moment and really think through whether I was willing to take that chance. So, I decided to take it."

Feinberg would be the only girl in power mechanics, but her love for the subject would outweigh that fact.

"For me, it's always been a thing where I'm going to follow the things I love or have a fascination with," she added.

Feinberg would maintain this momentum and attend Harvard for computer science, which she graduated with her bachelor's degree in 1996. Pixar would release Toy Story during her junior year, which ultimately led to her professional start.

As she strived to be a part of the representation she wanted to see, Feinberg would work on 14 of Pixar's feature films including "A Bug's Life," "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles."

Following a talk at her high school alma mater in Boulder, an audience member met with Feinberg afterward to discuss "Coco," which Feinberg considers one of her favorite movies she has worked on. The audience member thanked Feinberg for representing Mexican culture.

"She came up to me and said 'I watched it with my brother and when Miguel came on the screen, my brother pointed at the screen and said (Miguel) looked like him. We just don't ever get to see any movies with people that look like us,'" Feinberg recalled. "This really underscored how much it means to see ourselves represented on big and small screens."

Driving her point home, her work on "Turning Red" involved an all-female leadership team with Feinberg in the visual effects supervisor role — the first time a woman had taken the role in 20 years.

The process of finishing the film provided a moment of clarity for Feinberg.

"I finally was able to take a deep breath. I not only felt that I had succeeded but also felt the victory of what we had all created together," she said. "I didn't care about fitting in."

Inviting Feinberg to Bemidji aimed to serve an invaluable purpose as her speech concluded with women leaders from Paul Bunyan Communications joining her onstage to discuss their own journeys.

"There are so many paths that technology can take you," Paul Bunyan Communications CEO and General Manager Gary Johnson said. "It's why we do this. It's really to talk about the potential of careers in technology, not just thousands of miles away, but also right here in this region."

Attendees milled about exhibits that showcased careers that Johnson alluded to.

Bemidji State University's

Technology, Art and Design Department offered interactive activities as a way to feature the department to the public.

"We're looking at luring in students for the TAD Department specifically," sophomore Lydia Bauer said. "A lot of kids here are younger, so we can show that they don't have to go that far to find a good program for graphic design, for event planning, for illustration. They can come to Bemidji."

This marked Bauer's first year attending the GigaZone Gaming Championship and TechXpo, an opportunity she considers unique for the region.

"I had never been to this event before," Bauer mentioned, "and for a town like Bemidji, I think it's really cool that we have an expo this big with so many people coming from a ways away."

"Whatever talents you have, whatever options you have, there is a world out there for you," Johnson left off. "There's a career out there for you. Whether it's on the West Coast or in the Bemidji region, it's all very doable."