MARQUETTE, Mich, (WZMQ) – The warm winter has affected the winter sports and events across the UP.
Three major UP sled dog races were cancelled, the Noquemanon Ski Marathon was shortened, and the Meijer State Games were altered, all due to the lack of snow.
With the lack of tourism, many local businesses are suffering.
“We’ve definitely seen fewer people coming in,” said Boomerang Retro and Relics Owner Nick Dupras, “the traffic is down, just fewer tourists. Fewer people are coming up for the winter because there’s not a lot of snow.”
So the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association is holding the Festival of the Sled Dog to give the mushers, their dogs, and the community a chance to come together.
Local Business Owner Patrick Digneit said this years festival was a team effort.
“We are having the Festival of the Sled Dog because we are Yoopers and that’s what we do, and we want to be outside and have a good time,” said Digneit. “NMU, Double Trouble Entertainment, and all the businesses around town have kind of rallied together to really to make this the best February Street festival party that we can put together, so it’ll be a great time.”
Michael Carl, the manager at Spice Merchants said the festival will help them recover from the abnormally slow season.
“Bringing people downtown will always help your business you know,” said Carl, “it doesn’t matter what kind of event is really happening. It’s just a good way to spend time downtown, check out and see all the variety of stores and businesses that are down here.”
Bri Wynsma, the owner of Trenary Toast Cafe, said she’s confident the festival will be just as much of a success as last year.
“The Festival of the Sled Dog last year was a great success,” said Wynsma. “Really busy, we had a lot of fun, the community had a lot of fun, and I think that this year will be similar.
Some businesses have even said they would be open to expanding the festival to include it alongside the UP 200 in years to come.
