This last week, La Ronge held the annual Trapper's Winter Festival. There were several events every day throughout the week, including a memorial broomball tournament, community pancake breakfasts, the Talent of the North talent show, and the King and Queen Trapper competition, in which both men and women compete in timed tests of skill, speed, and endurance, completing traditional trapping tasks.
This year's festival was a resounding success, with all of the local schools participating, and an excellent time had by all.
Canadian Challenge!
Over February 1st through the 5th, La Ronge had the pleasure of hosting the 10th annual Canadian Challenge International Dog Sled Race. The race, the longest held entirely within Canada, is also an official qualifier for both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod races.
This year was unique, as it is the first year that a junior race has been run. The junior challenge runs from Prince Albert to Elk Ridge, and was the brainchild of Tommy Bird, a Southend musher who hopes it will create interest among young people. Bird donated his own winnings from last year in order to create the junior challenge.
The junior challenge had one entrant this year, Natanis Charles, a 17-year-old from La Ronge, who has trained for this race since October.
Mushers struggled through bitter cold and harsh winds, with temperatures dropping below -30c overnight for the duration of the race. However, ten teams made it through to emerge victorious and with this incredible achievement under their belt.
The website for the Canadian Challenge is available at www.canadianchallenge.com
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