Foxburg Winterfest: Featuring Sled Dog Races

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow, is the chant one hears as Foxburg prepares to host its first WinterFest, Saturday February 4th. A big event of the day will be the Sled Dog Fun Race at RiverStone Farm. The race will begin the day’s activities, with the gates at RiverStone opening at 9:30 AM.

Race events will begin at 10:30 AM with the presentation of various dog breeds, types of sleds, and explanation of the race, showing the race course layout and the rules. Demonstrations of the “mushing” equipment, dog team protocol, and mush commands will be included. Introduction of the Mushers will round out pre race activities.

At 11:00 AM the race kicks off with a solo Skijorning exhibition and proceeds the first teams push off for the main event, The Dog Sled Relay Race. The relay race is a new, one of a kind event in the tri-state area. At least eight teams will be divided into two relay teams. The Red and Blue teams will each send off one team at a time to race the two mile course. The teams will be competing in the hook up area as well as on the racecourse to place first after the four heats. Spectators are urged to cheer on the teams. Following the end of the race, medals will be presented to the mushers.

A sled dog weight pulling demonstration will follow the relay race and end the day’s dog activities. If snow conditions permit horse drawn sleigh and bobsled rides will be available for a charge during the afternoon. Coffee, tea and hot chocolate with pastries will be sold to warm the mush watchers. At the end of race activities spectators will be invited to head downtown for lunch and other Winterfest activities including meet the mushers at the Allegheny Grille and Foxburg Pizza. Foxburg Wine Cellars will be holding a special you can take advantage of by downloading and printing this coupon!

It is important to remember there must be snow (2″ to 3″ on the ground) or conditions suitable for packed snow on the course. Bare brown ground means no mush and there is no snow date to reschedule.

There is NO gate admission charge, and there is plenty of free parking. Again gates open at 9:30 AM. For more details, call 412-867-1816.