FORT KENT, Maine – Mushers can now sign up for the 2024 Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races, which will have bigger prizes this year after receiving roughly $100,000 in sponsorships from 75 businesses throughout Aroostook County.
According to Fort Kent Town Manager Suzie Paradis, the purse, or total prize money, for each event has increased by 25 percent over last year. The total purse for the Can-Am Crown 250 is now $25,000, with the first place finisher earning $5,600; the second place finisher earning $4,400; and the third place finisher earning an award of $3,100.
Mushers can register online via the Can-Am website. Entry fees for the Can-Am Crown 30, 100 and 250-mile races are, respectively, $175, $250,and $350. Payments can be made online or by mail via check.
The events begin on Friday, March 1, 2024 with check-in, veterinary exams and a mushers’ meeting at the Lonesome Pine Ski Lodge in Fort Kent. The races begin on Saturday, March 2. Once the mushers start, an antique snowmobile parade will be held on Main Street.
An awards ceremony and brunch will be held on Sunday, March 3 for the 30-mile and 100-mile racers at the Lonesome Pine Ski Lodge. The 250-mile mushers will finish at the lodge on Monday, March 4, followed by an awards banquet at the K of C Hall in Fort Kent.
The event brings in thousands of attendants and participants, with Fort Kent Town Manager Suzie Paradis noting that some come from as far away as Minnesota and Ontario.
In addition to the sponsorships from businesses, Paradis said the event also receives in-kind donations.
“Our Public Works Department works through the night to put the snow onto main street,” she said. “And then after the race they pick up the snow. There’s a lot that goes into the entire event.”
Altogether, about 200 volunteers work to make the Can-Am race a reality. Some of these volunteers work for the town while others are in high school or attending the University of Maine at Fort Kent.
Paradis said the event economically benefits the St. John Valley as well as the entire state.
“We have people traveling from out of state and from downstate,” she said. “They’re stopping to either fuel up, get groceries or go to restaurants. So I think it’s good for the entire state.”
