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Snowfest Celebrates 10th Anniversary

January 22, 2012 - Norway- “This is our biggest fundraiser,” said Diane Gammon, president of the Norway Trackers snowmobile club. Gammon and the club secretary, Mark McGovern, are excited about new events at this year's fundraiser.

“We have a fundraiser every year to add money to the club treasury,” said McGovern. “It started with the Chowderfest that used to be held in the Little Red Schoolhouse on Norway Lake. It was a half-day event and the women in the club would get together and make great big vats of fish, corn and clam chowders.”

They've also had chili and on occasion, beef stew.

The first Snowfest was held in January 2002 when snowmobile racing was added to the already-popular Chowderfest. Chowder is still served at Snowfest, but it's no longer held in the schoolhouse and has been narrowed down to three kinds: fish and clam chowders and chili. Now, all events take place out on the ice.

“We have a food court on the ice where you can get hamburgers, hot dogs, chowders, coffee and cocoa,” McGovern explained.

Snowmobile racing is the main event. “Snowmobile racing is very big among snowmobile enthusiasts,” McGovern said. “That's why you see 1,000 people on the ice at Snowfest and why we worry about getting at least a foot and a half of ice by the end of January.”

There are two straight tracks side-by-side, each 660 feet long. The ice track is for sleds with studs or picks and those without race on the snow track. There are two types of racing: drag racing and radar runs. The club has raised money in the past for a set of lights and professional sensors that clock the racers.

Racers can pre-register for a fee of $15 on the Norway Trackers website www.norwaytrackers.com, or register at the Snowfest for $20. Snowmobiles are classified by motor size and whether or not they've been modified. This year the club will be giving trophies for the fastest sleds in each class.

Snowfest has been a success in the past, which is essential to the survival of the sport in the Norway area. As McGovern and Gammon explained, there is a lot that goes into keeping the trails open to the public.

“We're a non-profit. We exist to promote interest in the sport and groom the trails,” McGovern said.

According to McGovern, there is a statewide system of official trails, called the Interconnected Trail System, sponsored by the state, which gives each of the local clubs a certain amount of money each year to maintain them.

"We have about 35 miles of ITS trails in the Norway area," he said. "In addition to that we have some of our own local trails that by agreement with local landowners, we can use their land for the trails and we clear it and maintain it. We probably have around 60-80 miles of trails in the Norway area that we maintain.”

Maintenance isn't just a matter of grooming the trails after snowfall, either, as McGovern explained.

“'Maintain' means that in the summertime we're out cutting brush, we're clearing the sides and getting the rocks out of the way. After any snowfall these big tuckers ride the trails pulling behind them a large heavy block of metal which flattens the trail, so that it's like a highway through the woods and the mountains.”

It's not just the physical maintenance of the trails that's a lot of work, but also working with the landowners can be time consuming.

“Some people don't realize that someone from the club has to go to the town office to get the landowners names and addresses and physically go to these people and get permission to use their land, every year,” Gammon explained.

Each town has its own club that works together to keep the trails open and maintained for other people. The Norway Trackers depend on outside funding in addition to the money it receives from the state.

“The state does pay us to groom our local trails. It costs a lot of gas money to go out, and people donate their time to do all of this,” McGovern said.

This year, the Norway Trackers members have added a few new features to Snowfest.

In past years they've had an antique snowmobile exhibit and noon-time parade. They invite people with sleds 25 years or older to participate and one of the requirements is that the snowmobile still runs. This year, for the first time, they'll be racing the antique sleds, as well.

“We're hoping that's a big hit with the crowd, to see the old sleds race,” McGovern said.

Members have also purchased a new printer for the racing that will print out the times for them.

They also announced that they now have all of the trails in the Norway area mapped out by GPS and will be giving away maps at Snowfest for a small donation of $3 to the club.

The event is open to the public and there is no admission fee to get in.

Aimee Edwards, Advertiser Democrat, January 2012


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Regions: Sebago


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