One of Ontario’s largest dog sled racing events is kicking off once again in Kearney next weekend.
The Kearney Dog Sled Races are set for the weekend of Feb. 11. Kaitlynn Tidwell, one of the event’s organizers, says the event has a brand new race committee that came on this year just after COVID after past members had to drop out in light of new responsibilities.
Tidwell says there are a lot of events happening this year for the kids, including a colouring contest that’ll take place over the weekend.
“We have dog sled rides, lots of hot drinks and then we have our Kid’n’Mutt class. So if you have a kid and you have a mutt, we have been telling people if they want to come out we’ll help scramble and find people some equipment if they want to give it a try, so that happens both days,” Tidwell says.
She says the Kid’n’Mutt is one of the event’s most popular classes. “Just because it’s so much fun for the kids. It’s only about a hundred feet down the start line that they run and it’s for six to 12-year-olds. The smiles on their faces are awesome. They get everybody cheering them along down the line really good photo of opportunity for parents,” she says.
As of last week, Tidwell says there are about 45 teams signed up adding people can still register all the way up until Friday, Feb. 11. “We usually get about 60 to 70 teams. I’m a musher myself so I know already that we’ve got lots of regulars who still have yet to sign up that I keep bugging so we’re anticipating a really good turnout this year,” she says.
Besides the races themselves, Tidwell says there will also be a silent auction.
Everything’s taking place at the Legion she says, so there will be food and drinks there. “Inside of our actual mushers’ parking area, we have a new little spot that’s called the Pet a Pup Pit Stop where there’s going to be different mushers rotating every hour and people are welcome to go pet the dogs and just ask musher about dog sledding,” she adds.
Tidwell says on Saturday, local restaurant Fork on Main is hosting a party with some music, so if people want to stay later there are definitely some opportunities for fun. She says the race’s awards ceremony will take place on Sunday night at the Legion. “So there will be a bit of a banquet there if people want to join us for dinner and watch the awards they’re absolutely welcome to,” she says.
Tidwell says the event is free to attend, however, some things do have a fee like dog sled rides.
“We are so grateful for the Kearney community at large,” she says, adding that the organizing team has seen an incredible amount of sponsors come back to support the race again this year. “The Town of Kearney is actually kind of the host of the event so we get a lot of community support that we’re really grateful for on top of just having a beautiful area to race in and it’s nice just to get people out and about in the winter,” she says.