CopperDog 150 races canceled, event activities to continue
CALUMET, Mich. (WLUC) - The show must go on. That is the current mindset of CopperDog 150 organizers.
Despite canceling its races, the CopperDog 150 still plans to host activities throughout the event’s weekend. These include the kickoff night with fireworks and a full weekend of activities such as a dog pull and a dog dash for children.
“We’re hopeful that just because the race isn’t happening, people know that we’re still doing a fun weekend,” CopperDog Board Chair Doug Harrer said.
One of the main reasons for the cancellation is for the safety of the sled dogs. A minimum of six to eight inches of a base of snow is needed for the races. As of Tuesday morning, all mushers have been refunded.
Harrer notes they especially want to keep the event going to support businesses tied to the event. They are currently working with all 110 sponsors to figure out what they want to do with their sponsorship contributions.
“It’s going to be exciting to see how it plays out, but we really need people to come from the community and outside the community to support businesses,” Harrer continued. “The businesses are the ones that are impacted by this weather the most.”
For everything to run smoothly, however, volunteers are still needed across the board.
“We’re also doing a new version of our mushers banquet,” adds CopperDog Volunteer Director and Musher Liaison Krissy Kovachich. “We’re doing more of a fundraiser for CopperDog. That’s going to be at the Heritage Center from 2 to 4, so we will need volunteers to help set up and tear down tables and get everything prepped up.”
A revised schedule for CopperDog will be posted to the event’s Facebook page and website around noon on Wednesday. All needed volunteer openings will also be ready for sign-up around the same time.
Last published: Feb 12, 2024 9:22:21 PM
Race organizers say they have decided to cancel the 2024 CopperDog races from March 1 through March 3.
Doug Harrer, CopperDog board chair, says the decision comes with the lack of snow. The race’s motto has always been ‘happy, healthy dogs,’ according to Harrer, and organizers have to take this into consideration.
The Copper pole and the Copper dash will still be taking place on Saturday and Sunday. Harrer says they are going to follow the UP200′s lead and make a festival out of the weekend.
We will update this story with more information as organizers decide on a weekend schedule, which Harrer says they are hard at work on.
According to Keweenaw County, only 4.8 inches of snow has fallen since January 20. There was 8 inches of snow on the ground at the February 11 measurement. Last year, there was 28 inches of snow on the ground for race weekend. The season snowfall total currently stands at 99.8 inches.
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