More than 1,000 spectators lined Main Street in Fort Kent amid frigid temperatures and steady snowfall for the return of the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races, one of northern Maine’s largest annual events.
The Can-Am was canceled last year due to unseasonably warm weather and a lack of snow.
For Fort Kent, a border town of roughly 2,500, it is by far the year’s largest annual event, requiring hundreds of volunteers and more than 90 sponsors to help organize and fund it.
The race also brings in significant revenue for local businesses such as hotels and restaurants, which depend on income from the annual sled dog races for a good bottom line.
Jacob Pelkey, a media coordinator for the race who works as a tourism developer at the Northern Maine Development Commission, said on Saturday morning that there were 400 volunteers and 625 dogs out on Main Street.
Mushers in both the 30-mile and 100-mile categories are headed to Allagash, whereas participants in the 250-mile race should arrive in Portage by sundown, Pelkey said.
He added that in spite of the weather, the event is seeing a great turnout.
“We had terrible snow and driving conditions this morning, but Main Street is crowded, and there is a steady stream of cars coming in,” he said.
Among the many mushers preparing to start racing with their dogs was 2023 Can-Am Champion Katherine Langlais. Langlais won the 250-mile race and is returning this year to defend her title.
Langlais said, over a chorus of excited, barking dogs, on Saturday morning that it feels great to be back in Fort Kent.
“We feel the energy that the dogs are feeling,” she said. “The spectators are feeling it. Everybody is so happy to see each other again.”
And while the Can-Am was not canceled this year, other races, such as the Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon in Minnesota, were moved to the same weekend as the Can-Am due to a lack of snow. This resulted in fewer racers being available for the 250-mile race in Maine.
Langlais said that while it’s unfortunate that there are not as many mushers in the 250-mile race as usual, it is nice that the races are drawing such a large crowd of spectators, and that there are at least as many people watching as during previous events.
John Dube, who recently moved to Aroostook County from Connecticut, said that he has wanted to come to the Can-Am for the past 25 years, but never got around to making the trip.
“We’ve been coming up here snowmobiling since our kids were little, but we’ve always missed the race because we had to get them back for school,” he said. “But now we actually live in Woodland, so we just took the day.”
Dube said he lived in Van Buren with his grandparents for about a year when he was a baby, but later moved to Connecticut. But Dube said he always thought of coming back to northern Maine. He said his cousin went to school in Fort Kent and that they did some dog sledding when they were younger.
“We always talked about coming back,” he said. “The people are different here. It’s The County, you know?”
And while the road conditions were rough and weather advisories were issued, Dube said the approximately hour-long trip from Woodland wasn’t too bad.
“We’re used to it,” he said. “It’s a 50-mile-an-hour ride. We don’t slow down too much.”
Dube said he’s excited to finally see the event.
“We’ve been talking about it for the past 25-30 years,” he said. “This is our first time here. We didn’t come last year because they canceled it, but hopefully it continues.”
Langlais, as she was preparing with her dogs, said she’s looking forward to the race.
“I hope everybody has fun,” she said. “It’s going to be a great weekend.”
