But the city will host a new outdoor 10K and the return of dog sled races.
City officials have decided to forego Winter West in what would have been the fourth year of the annual winter festival in Westbrook.
According to Maria Dorn, the director of Westbrook Community Services, which organizes the event, the festival has fallen victim to weather complications each year, forcing the city to scale back or reschedule events.
“It’s a funny mix with Winter West if there’s no winter,” she said Tuesday, referring to the flucuating winter weather so far this season.
However, she said, the city will be lending a hand in two separate upcoming winter events – a 10K road race fundraiser on Sunday, Jan. 24, and the return of dog sled races on the weekend of Feb. 20-21.
The first Winter West Fest, in January 2013, drew a few thousand spectators at a series of events, including dog sled races, an ice hockey tournament, kayaking on the Presumpscot River, a 5K run, and a snow sculpture contest. It was widely seen as a success for the city, attracting people to the downtown during slow winter months.
However, in the years following, weather and the rescheduling of events hurt attendance and tested the organizers. In 2014, temperatures in the 40s forced the cancellation of the 5K run, sled dog races, and ice hockey and skating events. They were then rescheduled for a month later, but attendance was down.
Last year, the city split up the events into separate weekends thoughout the winter, but a family skate night in Riverbank Park was canceled due to frigid temperatures.
Dog sled races at Sunset Ridge Golf Links have continued to be well-attended, which is why the New England Sled Dog Club will return to Westbrook in February. Last year, the races were seen as a highlight of Winter West, with 21 teams and a few hundred people hoping to catch the excitement. An arts and crafts fair and dog adoption event were held during the races last year.
During past years, an annual snow-sculpture event has also been affected by weather.
“The things we’ve planned have been great, but if there’s no snow or ice, it doesn’t happen,” Dorn said. “Navigating Mother Nature is the hardest part.”
For the past two years, a skating rink has been built in Riverbank Park, where Westbrook Kiwanis hosts an annual family skate night. This year, the event will be held at the Stroudwater Street rink next to the Armory – most likely during the last weekend of January.
“Such events take a lot of time and energy away from other projects, and need a great deal of promotion to make that effort worth it,” said Abigail Cioffi, the coordinator of the Downtown Westbrook Coalition. “I think cutting back to some smaller events is the right choice, until an effective promotion campaign can be assembled.”
Last year, the coalition organized a pub crawl and other events to coincide with Winter West. She said the Westbrook Community Center is so busy that it didn’t make sense for it to take the lead in organizing the festival, especially with the history of weather headaches.
“The coalition will likely do a pub crawl again, though I am not yet sure if it will be a ‘Winter West’ type event in March again, or if we will postpone it to a month with more reliable weather,” she said.
Dorn said the community center will assist organizers of the inaugural Robert Burns 10K Road Race. As part of Winter West, the city had been hosting a 5K race in downtown Westbrook.
“Last year, we tried planning it in January and ended up holding it in March,” she said of the race. Now, she said, the city can assist a passionate group of people organizing a fundraiser.
According to a press release, the 10K race is a fundraiser for the Alternative Education program at Westbrook High School. The Scottish-themed race begins at 9:30 a.m. from the Westbrook Community Center, following a course through Cumberland Street, Park Road, East Bridge Street, Lincoln Street, and Pierce Street before ending back at the community center. Runners will be able to warm up and change at the community center both before and after the race.
There will be a $300 cash prize for the first-place man and woman.
“The expected cold temperatures and hilly nature of the course will challenge runners but also make the course more rewarding,” said the release. Registration is $30.
Dog sled races at Sunset Ridge have been seen as one of the highlights of the city’s annual Winter West festival for the past three years. The city has scrapped the festival for this year, but dog sled racing will return on Feb. 20-21. Send questions/comments to the editors.
