Sled dog races require snow.

There’s no getting around it.

Without a suitable amount of snow already on the ground and no snow in the forecast this week, the Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club has canceled the annual Jim Lobdell Memorial Sled Dog Races.

“We are always hopeful that we will get plenty of snow,” Warren County Chamber of Business and Industries Director of Chamber Operations and Tourism John Papalia said. “Unfortunately, due to weather and snow conditions, the Tionesta Valley Snowmobile Club has had to cancel the races. They do require a good base of snow to make the races possible.”

The rest of the Winterfest festivities planned for Saturday at Chapman State Park are still on.

“The committee has worked hard to ensure a great time can be had even if the weather conditions are not ideal,” Papalia said. “As for the festival side of things, we will still be able to have plenty of fun.”

“The park has groomed the sledding hill, and it appears that with some colder temperatures forecasted this week it will remain in great shape for this weekend,” he said.

If there is sufficient ice on the lake, the Pennwild Outdoors Ice Fishing Tournament starts at 9 a.m. “We will be monitoring ice conditions,” Papalia said.

There will still be strong dogs pulling things. The canine weight pull starts at 9:30 a.m. at Pavilion 2.

Fat-tire mountain bikes go with or without snow, and that ride starts at 10 a.m. from the main event tent on the sledding hill side of the lake.

Sled Races sponsored by the Warren County YMCA start at 11 a.m.

The water in the lake is plenty cold for the Polar Bear Plunge, which starts at 2 p.m and benefits the Salvation Army

If heading down a hill in a sled is too mundane, the downhill kayak races, sponsored by WCCBI, might appeal. The new event kicks off at 3:30 p.m.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) will hold several educational events at Pavilion 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., including, a snowshoeing demonstration, Trivia Quest, nature education activities, winter birding, make your own bird feeder, and an ice fishing demonstration.

Various vendors will be available at the event tent all day, Papalia said.

A full schedule of events can be found at www.warrenwinterfest.com