"The first annual long distance dog-sled race for Canada will take place in Marmora next Feb. 15, 16, 17 & 18 - a race of around 150 miles involving dogs and their owners from all over the continent. It will be sponsored by the Marmora & District Business Association and managed by the Arctic Sled Dog Club of Ontario."         MARMORA HERALD OCT. 12, 1978

This was the exciting news that broke after the October 6th 1978 meeting of the 15 businesses that attended their association meeting at the Relm Club in Marmora. Guest speaker that night was Dennis Fitzgerald of the Arctic Sled Dog Club of Ontario, who was invited when it was learned from the Highlands of Hastings Tourist Association that the Club was looking for a race site. He explained that there was no long distance race in Canada at the time, and only three in the U.S. Marmora, he agreed, was a good choice in that it was the focal point of the Highlands of Hastings, with lots of snowmobile trails and enthusiastic people. By October 12, 1978, all Committee members had been chosen. The upcoming work was laid out with a budget of $4,000.00 (the 1998 budget is closer to $40,000.00!) And the whole village was to be called upon to work with the committee to make the weekend the biggest event Marmora had seen.

AND SO IT ALL BEGAN……..

AND THAN, AFTER 39 YEARS,

IT ENDED…….

Global News Jan. 18. 2018 By Greg Davis

There will be no wagging tails on the trails near Peterborough as the Marmora SnoFest is ending the popular sled dog races.  The event has been part of the community’s annual February winter festival since its inception in 1979 in the community 56 kilometres east of Peterborough.

The festival is held the first weekend of the month, which was originally considered ideal weather for the dogs to race in the heart of winter, organizers say. The races were promoted as the first long-distance race in Canada. Through its near four decades, the event grew at the Marmora fairgrounds, attracting competitors from across Canada and worldwide, even a Jamaican entry in 2011. But Mother Nature is now playing a role in the event’s fate.

Organizers say over the last decade, they’ve only been able to hold the event four times.

“The board has decided that the weather has been too unpredictable for such a long time, that too much energy goes into organizing, fundraising, and planning the races for them to be cancelled due to weather so often,” the post reads.

 “This has also caused other locations (further north) to take our weekend and run their own races. So we don’t expect turn out to be as predictable either. We do have some fun things planned though! So stay tuned!”

The Marmora Sled Dog Song by Michael McDermott.  Click here to read more