GRAND PORTAGE, MINN. — Close to 150 snowmobilers took to the trails around the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino in northern Minnesota over the weekend to support a long-running fundraiser for Easter Seals.
The 20th Snowarama was held on Saturday. Tony Swader was one of the riders and is a longtime volunteer. “It raises money and helps out the kids a lot,” he told Dougall Media. “You get to see people you see every year come back, so it's great and it benefits the kids.”
“That's the biggest thing that we do.”
Over the past two decades, Snowarama officials said that the event has raised over $610,000 in support of children and youth with physical disabilities. The event schedule said that, in addition to the ride, the weekend also included a bonfire, dinner and live entertainment.
Officials are still counting this year’s total.
Rhonda Harrison, Easter Seals Ontario’s community engagement manager for the northern region, said the healthy amount of snow the cross-border region has seen this year likely had a positive impact on the strong turnout.
“It's the biggest winter fundraiser for Easter Seal kids and this event has been the largest in Ontario,” she said.
For Emilie Pike, an Easter Seals ambassador, not only is the fundraising important for the purchasing of equipment she requires, but it allows her and other young people a chance have more experiences.
“It feels really good and to know, because not a lot of kids like me get recognized a lot, so it feels really good that people actually come out and support,” she said. “They help purchase equipment for kids that have physical disabilities, but also they help with camps, and I actually went to one of the camps … and it makes kids feel like kids.”
Grand Portage has been the home of Snowarama throughout its running. The organization’s marketing director Levi Libra said it remains a worthy cause to be a part of and the feeling of cross-border cooperation makes it even better.
“It's great because it's just an extended community and to see people coming together and raising money for such a great cause and having fun doing something that they love,” he said.
“So yeah, we're super excited that they keep coming back.”
