Easter Seals Snowarama has been a major event in Yorkton for 37 years. This year it is kicking off once again, but major changes are in store. There will be a new, longer route available for snowmobilers at the event.
According to Barry Bradshaw, chair of Snowarama, the new route is going to be longer, and the kind of new direction that a long-running event needs to stay fresh. The trail will start the same way, going to Rhein from the Gallagher Centre. Bradshaw says Rhein has been a long time supporter of Snowarama, so they are continuing to be a big part of the event into the future.
From Rhein, the route changes, now stopping at Zeke's in Mikado for lunch. Bradshaw says it's a fine establishment that wanted to get on board, so it was incentive to start thinking of a new route for the event. Riders will then travel from there to Canora, Good Spirit Lake, and finally home again. The previous, shorter route is available for those who wish to take it.
"Just from talking to people who have ridden in it for a few years, they say it's great, they're going to bring friends along and I'm sure we'll get more entries," Bradshaw says.
Also joining Snowarama this year is a new ambassador, Brooke Perpeluk. John Denysek, Regional Director of the Sask Abilities Council, says that they look for an ambassador who has attended the camp and is comfortable in front of a crowd. Denysek also notes that Perepeluk also has the support of her family and her school at St. Paul's, and they are excited to have her as part of the event.
Perepeluk says that Camp Easter Seals is something she looks forward to every year, and that she really enjoys the different activities available at the camp. She says this will be the first year she attends Snowarama itself, and she is excited to be involved.
Some things will remain the same. Riders will be entered to win a new sled, a 2014 Polaris. More importantly, money raised will be used to support Camp Easter Seals, the Abilities Council's Summer Fun Program, and Adaptive Technolgies. Last year's event raised over $140,000, and the plan is to continue that success.
Snowarama 2014 takes place on February 8.
