FORT KENT, Maine — The 33rd annual Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races may be over, but the business community is still celebrating what Fort Kent’s largest annual event means to its bottom line.
The races bring more than excitement to the Aroostook town. They also bring crowds, who spend money and provide an economic boost to a region that depends on winter tourism.
More than a thousand people converge on Fort Kent and neighboring towns along the race route, including Portage and Allagash. The visitors fill up hotels and short-term rentals and pack restaurants, retail shops and gas stations. The event often inspires visitors to return to the area, and the traffic augments businesses well beyond race weekend.
“The Can-Am Crown is truly a Fort Kent staple event that brings tremendous economic benefit not only to Fort Kent, but to communities throughout Maine and our neighbors in Canada,” Fort Kent Town Manager Suzie Paradis said. “As teams and spectators travel to the race, they stop along the way for fuel, lodging and meals, making this annual highlight a boost for businesses well beyond our town.”
Main Street in particular is packed with spectators as the mushers take off, and many businesses capitalize on this by offering special services, said Beth Marin, executive director of the Greater Fort Kent Area Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber’s Main Street office was “incredibly busy” on the first day of the races, Marin said. People from all over Maine stopped in, and many said they’d like to come back and see what Fort Kent has to offer in the summer.
Several people stopped in to warm up and many purchased souvenirs, Marin said. The chamber has a vendor area containing products made by local businesses, and companies such as Bouchard Farms, Northern Reach Maple and Bogan Books garnered exposure through their products at the office, she said.
“There’s definitely magic in the air that day, just walking outside and seeing all the people lining Main Street and at the different checkpoints,” she said. “It’s just a great energy and it’s a lot of fun.”
Kitchen, bath and plumbing contractor Home Solutions offered coffee and doughnuts on the morning of the race and saw a major influx of guests.
Christine Saucier and her husband, Curtis Saucier, have operated the Main Street business for 15 years. Race day was great from a public relations standpoint, and they saw around 300 visitors within a couple of hours that morning, Christine Saucier said. Some people just wanted to warm up, but the exposure also helped them find future customers.
“There’s no pressure,” she said. “When people are in the preliminary stages of dreaming of a new kitchen or dreaming of putting in new countertops, they just want to look around and browse on their own.”
Main Street was particularly busy this year, and the nearby Swamp Buck restaurant actually sold out of food during their annual breakfast buffet, she said. They reopened for lunch.
Rock’s Family Diner, a bit farther down Main Street, also sees a major boost during the races that helps sustain them into spring, owner Tracy Caron said. Caron also does catering at the Irving tent, which distributes free food.
The restaurant usually has leftovers after the event, but this year everything disappeared, she said — including 30 gallons of chili, 960 burgers and 800 hot dogs.
“Those were all gone,” she said. “Plus we had coffee and hot chocolate going for them, and Irving had chips, soda, candy bars, juices and muffins.”
And while they were at the Irving tent, the diner itself was continually packed to capacity throughout the first day of the race, something that typically only happens during the summer or on holiday weekends.
“Right now we’re getting to the end of snowmobile season,” Caron said. “Our slower time of the year is starting, so that extra income helps us keep going until May.”
College lets out then and the restaurant starts getting busy again, particularly with travelers on ATVs, she said. In the meantime, the extra income will allow some repairs on the restaurant’s equipment.
Even after three decades, the Can-Am continues to gain momentum, Caron said.
“It amazes me how long it’s been going on, and how the spectatorship keeps growing,” she said. “People are not getting bored with it, even local people. There are still a lot of locals going to this every year.”
Warm winters have dampened seasonal tourism the past couple of years, and in 2024 the Can-Am was canceled due to warm conditions that were deemed too dangerous for the dogs.
This season has seen a turnaround, with more snow and colder temperatures. Marin said it has had a positive impact on the local economy, particularly with recreational activities like snowmobiling.
“Somebody once said to me, ‘You can have snow and be happy or you can have snow and be sad about it, but either way you’re going to have snow. So you might as well make the best of it,’” Marin said. “And we really do work to capitalize on what we have here.”
