Times Observer file photo The organizers of the annual Jim Lobdell Memorial Sled Dog Races and the dog weight pull pictured here are looking for support for this year’s events. Winterfest will be held on Saturday, Feb. 4. The races are set for Friday, Feb. 3, through Sunday, Feb. 5.

Winterfest isn’t just about sled-dog races, but the races have been a staple of the event since the 1970s.

The organizers of the local races are looking for money and volunteers — and hoping for snow.

At least locally, sled-dog races are dying out and there is some jeopardy surrounding the future of the races at Winterfest.

Ed Atwood of the Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club has been involved with the coordination of the Winterfest races at Chapman State Park since 1979.

Back then, there was no shortage of opportunities for those who wanted to hitch up a sled and glide through the snow.

“There were six of them right around here,” Atwood said. “We had races everywhere. We had races on Jackson Valley Country Club.”

Those days are gone. Atwood said the races associated with Winterfest are now the only ones in the state.

“The Pennsylvania Sled Dog Club does not have a race in Pennsylvania,” he said. “They do all their races across the line in New York State.”

And he doesn’t want to lose them entirely, for the benefit of the racers and the people who enjoy them.

“If it’s gone from here, it’s gone from the whole state,” he said. “We have to have a race for them.”

“The sled-dog people… they have that investment,” Atwood said. “They want to run somewhere. They’re going to go right past here to go to Michigan from New Jersey. That’s why they like to come here.”

“To see them dogs work together, it’s a lot better than seeing a football team,” Atwood said.

Teams that started out at Winterfest have gone on to bigger venues.

“I’ve got a lot of people interested in sled-dog races,” he said. “I’ve sent lots of them to Alaska.”

This year, Winterfest and the races traditionally associated with it are being organized separately.

Every part of Winterfest that isn’t sled-dog racing or dog weight pulls will be held Saturday, Feb. 4.

“It was decided after last year’s event, to simplify things, to have the sled dog races under a different permit/paperwork,” Chapman State Park Manager Robert Sweeney said. “This would be separate from Winterfest sponsored by WCCBI, but still held on the same day.”

“Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club mutually wanted and agreed to this,” Sweeney said. “They are responsible to organize, raise funds, advertise, and set up the sled dog races if they wish to hold them.”

The Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry is organizing the festival.

“The chamber is facilitating general festival logistics,” Director of Chamber Operations and Tourism John Papalia said. “This includes permitting, general organization, vendor recruitment, helping to promote, etc.”

“We work with key partners of the event such as the Salvation Army — who organize the polar bear plunge — and the YMCA — who bring activities such as kid games and sled races down the hill,” Papalia said.

“The State Park is organizing environmental education programs, winter recreational activities, and provides traffic control, emergency response, and law enforcement if needed,” Sweeney said. “Each group is responsible for a slice of the overall event and the costs associated with putting on the activities for the ‘free to attend’ Winterfest.”

The club is in charge of races and the sled-dog weight pull event, Atwood said.

“We’ll be doing three days of racing — the first weekend in February,” Atwood said. That’s Friday, Feb. 3, through Sunday, Feb. 5.

To run the races, the organizers need three more things – snow, volunteers, and money.

They have the insurance they need through fiscal agent PennSoil RC&D.

“Any event held on Commonwealth land like this requires insurance that will cover an incident, otherwise the costs associated would come out of general taxpayer funds, which we try to avoid,” Sweeney said.

The insurance is also a first step that allows the group to secure various state and federal permits – “PennDOT, State Parks (Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources), (Pennsylvania) Game Commission, U.S. Forest Service.”

“We have to have a certificate of insurance before they’ll issue the permits,” he said. “Once you have the permits, you can go out and advertise for the race.”

Not having snow for a year means no races. That’s not ideal. Racers might find some other event to go to and decide to stay.

But, having weather problems that call off the races for a year is better than not being ready for the races, Atwood said.

He said the races have old agreements in place with the Game Commission. “The sled-dog race is grandfathered in,” he said. “There isn’t any other sled-dog race on game lands.”

Dropping the permits for a year could jeopardize that, he said.

Next up, money. Atwood is looking for some sponsors.

The event can, and has, run on a couple thousand dollars. Giving out purses to the winners means a better draw, but some mushers will come either way.

Atwood has been working the event for a long time and is ready to hand over the reins.

But, until he finds someone willing to take it over, he plans to keep at it.

“I’ll never give up on it,” Atwood said. “I don’t want to see it die. I’m going to plug away and see what I can accomplish.”