newsminer.com

It doesn’t matter if you’re a dog musher or simply a fan of Alaska’s state sport, Yukon Quest Fest has a little something for everyone.

The Fairbanks Downtown Association and the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race want to get the whole city fired up about this year’s race: the 25th running.

So starting Tuesday, activities will happen downtown and continue until race day on Saturday when 24 teams will bolt from the chute on the Chena River headed for Whitehorse, Yukon.

This is the third year for Quest Fest, the brainchild of former Yukon Quest Executive Director Julie Estey, her Quest colleagues and the Fairbanks Downtown Association. Quest Fest incorporates the race into a week-long downtown party with live music, family activities, food and more.

“We felt there was really an opportunity here to get the community more involved in the Yukon Quest and not just that, but to get people downtown and show them what a great city we have with all our great restaurants and shops,” said Yukon Quest Executive Director Tania Simpson in her office Thursday afternoon.

Not only is this event good for educating locals and visitors about the race, but it boosts the downtown economy just in time for Valentine’s Day, added Emma Wilson, executive director of the Fairbanks Downtown Association.

“Our goal is to make the Yukon Quest start as big as the Iditarod start in Anchorage,” Wilson said. “This is an internationally significant event and we should make it a big deal. The partnership between the Downtown Association and the Yukon Quest has been great.”

The hoopla begins Tuesday with Legends of the Yukon Quest, a free reception at the Fairbanks Community Museum. The event is a great opportunity to get tales from the trail firsthand from dog drivers who have done past Quests. You can hear stories about raging blizzards, tough trail and more about the special bond between a musher and their dogs that makes the 1,000-mile race so unique. Yukon Quest founders Roger Williams and Leroy Shank will host the event and talk about how the race began and how it has changed over 25 years.

“We’re thrilled to have them and they’re actually emceeing the start banquet on Thursday,” said Simpson, adding that the count is up to 500 for the start banquet.

“Tuesday, you can speak to the Quest gods themselves,” laughed Wilson.

After the legends share their stories, Quest Fest continues at the Lacey Street Theater with a showing of Becky Bristow’s film, “Dog Gone Addiction,” for $5. Bristow followed the 2004 Yukon Quest and captured the stories of three women out to conquer the race. On Wednesday and Thursday, mushers taking on this year’s race will be in town for Meet the Mushers (location TBA) and the Yukon Quest start banquet, respectively. This year’s banquet is at the Carlson Center.

Quest Fest was born with the intent to spur interest in the race, but the events don’t stop when the last team leaves the start line.

There’ll be live music all day at various downtown venues as well as another showing of Bristow’s film. The Quest 300 mushers leave the chute at 8 p.m. on their way to Circle City.

“There are so many community events happening from the fifth through the ninth and then on the ninth, we’re closing down First Street and there’ll be tents set up with children’s activities,” Simpson said.

During the week, Quest Festers can get stamps in their “Pawsports” at various restaurants for a chance to win $500 worth of prizes. The winner will be announced after the race start.

“Everyone opens their doors to make a huge event of this,” Wilson said. “There is a lot of community spirit plus the benefit of economic development.”

Another aspect is the Yukon Quest fan bus that will depart downtown after the last 1,000-mile musher has hit the trail around 3:30 p.m. The bus will travel to North Pole, stopping at Santa Claus House to give visitors a chance to take in the experience.

The bus will then go to Chena Hot Springs, the first checkpoint on the race, but not before stopping at Pleasant Valley for a viewing opportunity of the teams resting. The bus will stay at the hot springs to allow fans to watch the mushers and check out the resort before returning to Fairbanks around 11 p.m.

North Pole mayor Doug Issacson will host the bus ride.

“North Pole has been a huge supporter of the Quest, so we’re excited to offer this,” Simpson said. “We’re excited about the whole thing.”