GRAND MARAIS, Mich. (WZMQ) – Despite the cancellation of the UP200 sled dog races, the communities that host sled dog teams on their race journey are still celebrating the sport.
Grand Marais will host Winterfest- Powered by NMU on Saturday, Feb. 17. The family-friendly event will feature a raffle and silent auction with proceeds going to the UP200 race organization, as well as a chili and hotdog luncheon, cornhole and bingo tournaments, a kids coloring contest, a cardboard sled decorating contest, a chance to meet sled dog teams, and the crowd-favorite pie by the slice at the Grand Marais Christian Church.
“What we decided to do was to try to keep Saturday, which is typically our race day, as our Winterfest day,” said Egerer. “So we’re inviting people to come up and enjoy the day anyway. It’ll just be a little bit different, and we won’t have the sled dogs coming in for the race.”
The town is the halfway checkpoint for UP200 teams during a typical race year. The Checkpoint Coordinator Cathy Egerer says during race years, the teams will begin pulling into Grand Marais late morning and spend the afternoon in town before returning back to the Wetmore checkpoint that evening.
Egerer says during a typical race year, the dog staging area in Grand Marais is open to the public for people to come meet the teams, speak with mushers, and give some love to the dogs. She says to keep Grand Marais in mind for future UP200 races.
“For me, personally, I love the evening shift when the dogs are departing. It’s a little quieter, and the dogs are so excited and eager to get going,” she said. “I would invite people to think about coming up in the future and spend Saturday with us. I think you’ll really enjoy it.”
To see a full rundown of events for Winterfest- Powered by NMU on Saturday, Feb. 17, click here.
